Prerequisites
- CLI installed, logged in, and cluster context set (see setup skill).
- Target collection must exist and be loaded (see collection skill).
Commands Reference
All vector commands accept an optional --database <db-name> flag to target a non-default database. If omitted, the database from the current context is used.
Insert Vectors
zilliz vector insert --collection <collection-name> --data '[{"id": 1, "vector": [0.1, 0.2, ...], "text": "hello"}]'
# Optional: --database <database-name>
# Or use raw JSON: --body '{...}'
Upsert Vectors
zilliz vector upsert --collection <collection-name> --data '[{"id": 1, "vector": [0.1, 0.2, ...], "text": "hello"}]'
# Optional: --partition <partition-name>, --database <database-name>
# Or use raw JSON: --body '{...}'
Vector Search
zilliz vector search --collection <collection-name> --data '[[0.1, 0.2, 0.3, ...]]'
# Optional:
# --anns-field <vector-field-to-search-on>
# --limit <max-results-to-return>
# --filter <scalar-filter-expression>
# --output-fields '["field1", "field2"]'
# --database <database-name>
Hybrid Search
zilliz vector hybrid-search \
--collection <collection-name> \
--search '[{"data": [[0.1, ...]], "annsField": "dense_vector", "limit": 10}, {"data": [["search text"]], "annsField": "sparse_vector", "limit": 10}]' \
--rerank '{"strategy": "rrf", "params": {"k": 60}}'
# Optional:
# --limit <max-results-to-return>
# --output-fields '["field1", "field2"]'
# --database <database-name>
# Or use raw JSON: --body '{...}'
Query by Filter
zilliz vector query --collection <collection-name> --filter <scalar-filter-expression>
# Optional:
# --limit <max-results-to-return>
# --output-fields '["field1", "field2"]'
# --database <database-name>
Get by ID
zilliz vector get --collection <collection-name> --id '[1, 2, 3]'
# Optional: --output-fields '["field1", "field2"]', --database <database-name>
Delete a Vector
zilliz vector delete --collection <collection-name> --filter <filter>
# Optional: --partition <partition-name>, --database <database-name>
Filter Expression Syntax
Common filter patterns:
| Expression | Example |
|---|---|
| Comparison | age > 20 |
| Equality | status == "active" |
| IN list | id in [1, 2, 3] |
| AND/OR | age > 20 and status == "active" |
| String match | text like "hello%" |
| Array contains | tags array_contains "ml" |
Guidance
- The
--dataparameter accepts a JSON array of vectors. Each vector is an array of floats. - Before searching, inspect the collection schema with
zilliz collection describeto understand field names and vector dimensions. - The collection must be loaded before search/query operations.
- For search, the
--datavalue must match the collection's vector dimension exactly. - Use
--anns-fieldto specify which vector field to search on when the collection has multiple vector fields. - When the user provides a text query and wants semantic search, explain that they need to convert text to vectors first (using an embedding model) before passing to
--data. - For large insert operations, suggest writing data to a JSON file first, then using
zilliz vector insert --collection <name> --data "$(cat data.json)". - Always show
--output-fieldswhen the user wants specific fields in results. - Or use
--bodyfor complex hybrid search configurations.