Collection

Prerequisites

1. CLI installed, logged in, and cluster context set (see setup skill).

Commands Reference

All collection commands accept an optional --database <db-name> flag to target a non-default database. If omitted, the database from the current context is used.

Collection metrics

Query per-collection metrics against POST /v2/clusters/{clusterId}/metrics/query with collectionName set in the request body. Mirrors the web console's Collection Detail > Metrics page.

zilliz collection metrics --collection-name <collection-name> --metric <metric-name>
# Optional:
#   --cluster-id <cluster-id>         Override cluster context
#   --period <duration>               e.g. 1h, 24h, 7d (mutually exclusive with --start/--end)
#   --start <iso-8601> --end <iso-8601>
#   --granularity <duration> / -g     e.g. 30s, 5m, 1h (auto-selected if omitted)
#   -o table                          Render pivot table instead of the default inline chart

The default output is an inline text chart: one block per metric with a summary line (min / max / avg / last) and a Braille-rendered line chart. Pass an explicit -o table (or --output table) to render the pivot-table layout — useful for terminals without good Braille font support. -o json, -o yaml, -o csv, and --query always bypass both renderers and return the raw response.

Examples:

# Period shorthand: last hour of SEARCH_QPS for a collection
zilliz collection metrics -c my_coll -m SEARCH_QPS --period 1h

# Explicit range with 1h granularity
zilliz collection metrics -c my_coll -m ENTITIES_LOADED \
  --start 2026-04-13T00:00:00Z --end 2026-04-14T00:00:00Z -g 1h

# Multiple metrics in a single call
zilliz collection metrics -c my_coll -m SEARCH_QPS -m SEARCH_LATENCY_P99 --period 6h

Metric scope

Each metric is tagged with a scope. zilliz collection metrics only accepts metrics whose scope is Collection or Both. Using a Cluster-only metric emits:

Metric '<NAME>' is cluster-scope only and cannot be used with --collection-name.

Hybrid-search aliases

For cluster-wide metrics (CU sizing, storage, serverless VCU, slow queries) use zilliz cluster metrics instead -- see the monitoring skill.

Create a Collection

zilliz collection create --name <collection-name> --dimension <vector-dimension>
# Optional:
#   --metric-type <COSINE|L2|IP>
#   --id-type <Int64|VarChar>
#   --auto-id <true|false>
#   --primary-field <primary-key-field-name>
#   --vector-field <vector-field-name>
#   --database <database-name>
# Or use raw JSON: --body '{"schema": {"fields": [{"fieldName": "id", "dataType": "Int64", "isPrimary": true}, {"fieldName": "vector", "dataType": "FloatVector", "elementTypeParams": {"dim": "768"}}]}}'

List Collections

zilliz collection list
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Describe a Collection

zilliz collection describe --name <collection-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Drop a Collection

zilliz collection drop --name <collection-name-to-drop>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Rename a Collection

zilliz collection rename --name <current-collection-name> --new-name <new-collection-name>
# Optional: --database <current-database-name>, --new-database <target-database-name>

Load a Collection

zilliz collection load --name <collection-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Release a Collection

zilliz collection release --name <collection-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Get Load State

zilliz collection get-load-state --name <collection-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Get Statistics

zilliz collection get-stats --name <collection-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Check if a Collection Exists

zilliz collection has --name <collection-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Flush a Collection

zilliz collection flush --name <collection-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Compact a Collection

zilliz collection compact --name <collection-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Collection Aliases

Create an Alias

zilliz alias create --collection <target-collection-name> --alias <alias-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

List Aliases

zilliz alias list --database <database-name>
# Optional: --collection <filter-by-collection-name>

Describe an Alias

zilliz alias describe --alias <alias-name>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Alter an Alias

zilliz alias alter --collection <new-target-collection> --alias <alias-name-to-reassign>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Drop an Alias

zilliz alias drop --alias <alias-name-to-drop>
# Optional: --database <database-name>

Guidance

• When the user wants to create a collection, ask about their use case to recommend appropriate dimension, metric type, and schema.
• Before dropping a collection, always confirm with the user -- this deletes all data.
• A collection must be loaded before it can be searched or queried.
• After creating a collection, suggest loading it if the user plans to query immediately.
• Use describe to inspect schema before performing vector operations.