> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.open-metadata.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a Search Index

> Create a new search index within a search service

# Create a Search Index

Create a new search index within a search service.

## Body Parameters

<ParamField body="name" type="string" required>
  Name of the search index. Must be unique within the parent search service.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="service" type="string" required>
  Fully qualified name of the parent SearchService (e.g., `elasticsearch_sample`).
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="fields" type="array">
  Array of field objects defining the index schema.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="name" type="string">
      Name of the field.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="dataType" type="string">
      Data type of the field (e.g., `TEXT`, `KEYWORD`, `INT`, `OBJECT`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="description" type="string">
      Description of the field.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="children" type="array">
      Nested child fields for complex types.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="displayName" type="string">
  Human-readable display name for the search index.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="description" type="string">
  Description of the search index in Markdown format.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="owners" type="array">
  Array of owner references (users or teams) to assign to the search index.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="id" type="string">
      UUID of the owner entity.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="type" type="string">
      Type of owner entity (e.g., `user`, `team`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="name" type="string">
      Name of the owner entity.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="domain" type="string">
  Fully qualified name of the domain to assign for governance purposes.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="tags" type="array">
  Array of classification tags to apply to the search index.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="tagFQN" type="string" required>
      Fully qualified name of the tag.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="labelType" type="string">
      Type of label (e.g., `Manual`, `Derived`, `Propagated`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="state" type="string">
      State of the tag (e.g., `Suggested`, `Confirmed`).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="extension" type="object">
  Custom property values defined by your organization's metadata schema.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample dropdown>
  ```python POST /v1/searchIndexes theme={null}
  from metadata.sdk import configure
  from metadata.sdk.entities import SearchIndexes
  from metadata.generated.schema.api.data.createSearchIndex import CreateSearchIndexRequest

  configure(
      host="https://your-company.open-metadata.org/api",
      jwt_token="your-jwt-token"
  )

  request = CreateSearchIndexRequest(
      name="table_search_index",
      displayName="TableSearchIndex",
      service="elasticsearch_sample",
      description="Search index for table entities",
      fields=[
          {"name": "name", "dataType": "TEXT"},
          {"name": "description", "dataType": "TEXT"}
      ]
  )

  search_index = SearchIndexes.create(request)
  print(f"Created: {search_index.fullyQualifiedName}")
  ```

  ```java POST /v1/searchIndexes theme={null}
  import static org.openmetadata.sdk.fluent.SearchIndexes.*;

  // Create using builder pattern
  var searchIndex = SearchIndexes.builder()
      .name("table_search_index")
      .displayName("TableSearchIndex")
      .service("elasticsearch_sample")
      .description("Search index for table entities")
      .create();
  ```

  ```bash POST /v1/searchIndexes theme={null}
  curl -X POST "{base_url}/api/v1/searchIndexes" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "name": "table_search_index",
      "displayName": "TableSearchIndex",
      "service": "elasticsearch_sample",
      "description": "Search index for table entities",
      "fields": [
        {"name": "name", "dataType": "TEXT"},
        {"name": "description", "dataType": "TEXT"}
      ]
    }'
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Response theme={null}
  {
    "id": "f5b0fa81-f241-4508-9219-dae31dcced18",
    "name": "table_search_index",
    "fullyQualifiedName": "elasticsearch_sample.table_search_index",
    "displayName": "TableSearchIndex",
    "version": 0.1,
    "updatedAt": 1769982670810,
    "updatedBy": "admin",
    "service": {
      "id": "search-service-id",
      "type": "searchService",
      "name": "elasticsearch_sample",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "elasticsearch_sample",
      "deleted": false
    },
    "serviceType": "ElasticSearch",
    "fields": [
      {"name": "name", "dataType": "TEXT"},
      {"name": "description", "dataType": "TEXT"}
    ],
    "deleted": false,
    "owners": [],
    "tags": [],
    "followers": [],
    "votes": {
      "upVotes": 0,
      "downVotes": 0
    },
    "domains": []
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>

***

## Returns

Returns the created search index object with all specified properties and system-generated fields.

## Response

<ResponseField name="id" type="string">
  Unique identifier for the search index (UUID format).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="name" type="string">
  Search index name.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="fullyQualifiedName" type="string">
  Fully qualified name in format `service.indexName`.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="displayName" type="string">
  Human-readable display name.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="description" type="string">
  Description of the search index in Markdown format.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="service" type="object">
  Reference to the parent search service.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ResponseField name="id" type="string">
      UUID of the search service.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="type" type="string">
      Type of entity (always `searchService`).
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="name" type="string">
      Name of the search service.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="fullyQualifiedName" type="string">
      Fully qualified name of the search service.
    </ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="fields" type="array">
  Array of field definitions for the index schema.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ResponseField name="name" type="string">
      Name of the field.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="dataType" type="string">
      Data type of the field.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="description" type="string">
      Description of the field.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="children" type="array">
      Nested child fields.
    </ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="serviceType" type="string">
  Type of search service (e.g., ElasticSearch, OpenSearch).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="owners" type="array" optional>
  List of owners assigned to the search index.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ResponseField name="id" type="string">
      UUID of the owner entity.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="type" type="string">
      Type of owner entity (e.g., `user`, `team`).
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="name" type="string">
      Name of the owner entity.
    </ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="domains" type="array" optional>
  Domain assignments for governance.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="tags" type="array" optional>
  Classification tags applied to the search index.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ResponseField name="tagFQN" type="string">
      Fully qualified name of the tag.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="labelType" type="string">
      Type of label (e.g., `Manual`, `Derived`, `Propagated`).
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="state" type="string">
      State of the tag (e.g., `Suggested`, `Confirmed`).
    </ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="extension" type="object" optional>
  Custom property values defined by your organization's metadata schema.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="version" type="number">
  Version number for the entity (starts at 0.1).
</ResponseField>

***

## Create or Update (PUT)

Use `PUT /v1/searchIndexes` instead of `POST` to perform an upsert. If a search index with the same `fullyQualifiedName` already exists, it will be updated; otherwise, a new search index is created. The request body is the same as `POST`.

```bash theme={null}
curl -X PUT "{base_url}/api/v1/searchIndexes" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ ... same body as POST ... }'
```

<Note>
  `PUT` will not return a `409` conflict error if the entity already exists -- it will update the existing entity instead.
</Note>

***

## Bulk Create or Update (PUT)

Use `PUT /v1/searchIndexes/bulk` to create or update multiple search indexes in a single request. The request body is an array of create request objects.

```bash theme={null}
curl -X PUT "{base_url}/api/v1/searchIndexes/bulk" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '[
    { "name": "index_one", "service": "elasticsearch_sample" },
    { "name": "index_two", "service": "elasticsearch_sample" }
  ]'
```

***

## Error Handling

| Code  | Error Type              | Description                                                       |
| ----- | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `400` | `BAD_REQUEST`           | Invalid request body or missing required fields                   |
| `401` | `UNAUTHORIZED`          | Invalid or missing authentication token                           |
| `403` | `FORBIDDEN`             | User lacks permission to create search indexes                    |
| `409` | `ENTITY_ALREADY_EXISTS` | Search index with same name already exists in service (POST only) |