Features
Content and Metadata
How to use content and metadata fields in your documents
Content
The content field contains the searchable data of your documents. This is what gets indexed and can be queried.
- Required: You must provide
contentwhen upserting documents - Format: JSON object structure
- Searchable: All fields within content are indexed for search
- Filterable: Content fields can be used in filter queries
index.upsert( documents=[ { "id": "star-wars", "content": { "text": "Star Wars is a sci-fi space opera."} } ])await index.upsert([ { id: "star-wars", content: { title: "Star Wars", genre: "sci-fi", category: "classic" } }]);Metadata
The metadata field stores additional context about your documents that won't be indexed for search. This is useful for data you want to retrieve with your search results but don't need to search through.
- Optional: You can upsert documents without metadata
- Format: JSON object structure
- Not Searchable: Metadata fields are not indexed
index.upsert( documents=[ { "id": "star-wars", "content": { "text": "Star Wars is a sci-fi space opera."}, "metadata": { "genre": "sci-fi", } } ])await index.upsert([ { id: "star-wars", content: { title: "Star Wars", genre: "sci-fi", category: "classic" }, metadata: { director: "George Lucas" } , }]);Best Practices
| Use Content When | Use Metadata When |
|---|---|
| Users need to search for this information | Information is for display/reference only (e.g. IDs) |
| The field is important for finding relevant documents | The field provides context after finding documents |
| You want to filter results by this field | You need to track internal system information |
Examples & Common Patterns
- E-commerce Products
{ // 👇 searchable and filterable content: { name: "Wireless Headphones", description: "Noise-cancelling bluetooth headphones", brand: "Sony", category: "Electronics" }, // 👇 not searchable, for reference only metadata: { sku: "AT-WH-001", warehouse_location: "A3-15", supplier_id: "SUP-123" }}- Knowledge Base Articles
{ // 👇 searchable and filterable content: { title: "How to Reset Your Password", body: "Follow these steps to reset your password...", tags: ["password", "security", "account"] }, // 👇 not searchable, for reference only metadata: { author_id: "usr_123", version: 3, approved_by: "usr_456", view_count: 1523 }}- News Articles
{ // 👇 searchable and filterable content: { headline: "Tech Company Announces New Product", excerpt: "In a press conference today...", category: "Technology", keywords: ["innovation", "product launch"] }, // 👇 not searchable, for reference only metadata: { source_url: "https://news.example.com/article/123", syndication_rights: true, word_count: 200 }}