## What kind of change does this PR introduce?
Feature. Exposes the NGram scalar index in the Python SDK.
## What is the current behavior?
The NGram scalar index already exists in the Rust core (`Index::NGram`) and is accepted over the remote protocol (the `"NGRAM"` type), but the Python SDK has no way to create it. `lancedb.index` offers `BTree`, `Bitmap`, `LabelList`, `Fm`, and the vector indexes, but not `NGram`, so it cannot be built through `create_index(config=...)`.
## What is the new behavior?
Adds an `NGram` config to `lancedb.index` and wires it through the pyo3 binding:
```python
from lancedb.index import NGram
await table.create_index("text", config=NGram())
```
The NGram index accelerates substring filters such as `contains(col, 'needle')`, along with some `LIKE` and regular-expression predicates, on UTF-8 string columns. It is parameter free and uses Lance's default trigram parameters.
Changes:
- `lancedb.index`: new `NGram` dataclass, added to `__all__`.
- pyo3 binding (`python/src/index.rs`): a match arm mapping `NGram` to `LanceDbIndex::NGram`, plus the import and the error message.
- Type hints: `NGram` added to the `create_index` config unions and the isinstance check in `table.py`, the `IndexConfigType` union, and the `_lancedb.pyi` stubs; `"NGRAM"` added to the `IndexType` and `IndexStatistics.index_type` literals.
- Test: `test_create_ngram_index` covers creation, `list_indices`, `index_stats`, and that a substring filter uses the index.
- Docs: an NGram section in the scalar index guide.
This mirrors the approach used for the RTree index in https://github.com/lancedb/lancedb/pull/4555 (that PR keeps the RTree scope; this one adds the remaining parameter free string index).
## Summary
Fixes the problems a page-by-page review of the docs found before
launch, after checking each one against the current source and, where
noted, the code. The matching fixes for the dataset and Geneva pages,
which live in `lancedb/docs`, are in lancedb/docs#402.
**Tables**
- `integrations/embedding/cohere`: each input-type description was split
across two table rows and wrapped in literal quotes
(`"`search_document`"`). Now one row per type.
- `integrations/embedding/gemini`: removes the same stray quotes from
the task-type table.
- `integrations/ai/langchain`: the MMR search table's `kwargs` row was
missing a cell, so its description sat under Type.
- Six reranker pages (answerdotai, cohere, colbert, jina, openai,
voyageai): closes the backtick before `_relevance_score`.
- `indexing/vector-index`: finishes a cell cut off at "with scalar".
- `sql/dql/dedupe`: labels the empty header cell in the resolution
table.
**Corrections**
- `curation/sampling`: sampling works in LanceDB Embedded through the
Python SDK, so the page is available in both, with the SQL sections
marked Enterprise.
- `feature-engineering/index`, `add-computed-column`: automatic refresh
is on by default for each computed column and takes effect once a
deployment enables its scheduler. `refresh-column` already said so;
these two implied it was off.
- `indexing/scalar-index`, `indexing/index`: `LABEL_LIST` accelerates
`array_has_all`/`array_has_any`; `array_contains_*` doesn't exist. Also
merges scalar-index's two "nested fields" sections into one.
- `integrations/embedding/ibm`: lists the four current models from
`CURRENT_MODELS` (it listed a deprecated one) and explains that the
default stays a legacy ID so existing tables reload with their model.
- `integrations/reranking/openai`: the class is `OpenaiReranker`, not
`OpenAI()`.
- `integrations/ai/synthetic-data-kit`: the CLI is `synthetic-data-kit`
throughout, each step runs one command, each step passes the file it
writes to the next, and `save-as` uses `-f`/`-o`.
- `integrations/data/dlt`: `secrets.toml` defines `api_token`, which the
pipeline reads, and the run command runs the file the page creates.
- `search/vector-search`: the multivector walkthrough connected to
Enterprise in step 1 and a local path in step 2. It now runs locally
throughout, with a note on connecting to Enterprise, and is renamed so
it doesn't read as a duplicate of the short section above.
**Structure and wording**
- `integrations/embedding/nvidia`: adds headings, and drops test-suite
details aimed at contributors.
- `integrations/ai/genkit`: makes the retrieval test a real heading and
describes the query step.
- `integrations/data/voxel51`: replaces a raw MkDocs `!!! note` with a
`<Note>`.
- `sql/ddl/table`, `sql/ddl/job`: "Errors and limits" is a real heading,
not bold text.
- `curation/windowing`: sidebar title matches the curation overview
("Rank and Deduplicate").
- `deployment/storage`, `basics/agentic-skills`: fixes a garbled
sentence and a stale reference to the quickstart.
**Checked:** no new Vale alerts on the changed pages. Assembled together
with lancedb/docs#402, the site passes `mint validate` and `mint
broken-links --check-anchors --check-redirects`. Every changed page was
reviewed in a local preview.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
## Summary
- Complete the SQL reference: `ATTACH DATABASE`, the `CHANGES` clause,
and
`dedupe()`/`duplicate_pairs()` (verified against current sophon source;
these were recently renamed from
`vector_dedup`/`vector_duplicate_pairs`).
Fix the blob-column default-projection claim and add the previously
undocumented `blob_descriptor()`.
- Enrich the gated Functions draft (still `.mintignore`'d, pre-release):
chained Functions over blob outputs, GPU-produced blobs, Secrets,
multi-input/output binding, `code=[module]` packaging.
- Upgrade the materialized-view and computed-column auto-refresh drafts
with
precise, verified catch-up semantics, and add the missing `ALTER
MATERIALIZED VIEW` / `CREATE ... WITH(...)` sections (also gated — the
automatic-refresh scheduler is still dev/staging-only).
- Thread one running example (video frames → GPU extract/caption → dedup
→
auto-refreshing materialized view) through Functions, materialized
views,
and the LeRobotDataset integration guide instead of a separate tutorial.
- Rename "LanceDB OSS"/"OSS" to "LanceDB Embedded"/"Embedded" throughout
(52 files); activate the existing availability-comparison mechanism on
`basics/offerings.mdx` for a full feature-by-feature comparison table.
## Summary
Adopts the product terminology guide across the docs site pages, SDK
docstrings and error messages. "LanceDB OSS" and local mode become
**LanceDB Embedded**. "Remote" as the execution model becomes **LanceDB
Distributed**, which LanceDB Enterprise provides. Where free vs paid is
the point, pages contrast "LanceDB Embedded (open source)" with "LanceDB
Enterprise". This is a first trial of the Embedded name, so reviewers
can judge it in context.
- **Embedded vs Distributed** for where execution runs (`optimize()`,
consistency, branching, maintenance). Main pages define it once:
"LanceDB Enterprise runs LanceDB Distributed: …"
- **LanceDB Cloud** is kept only for legacy-Cloud specifics (`db://`
region, the brute-force KNN limit) and marked legacy. "Cloud and
Enterprise" becomes Enterprise or Distributed.
- **Plan executor** becomes "executor" or the fleet name.
- **Error messages** change, e.g. `optimize is not supported for remote
tables.` → `... in LanceDB Distributed.` Tests that match on them are
updated.
- **Vale rules** (`EmbeddedName`, `OSSProduct`, `RemoteExecution`,
`DistributedEnterprise`, `LegacyCloud`, `InternalNames`) enforce the
terms in prose.
Unchanged: identifiers (`availability.oss`, the `remote` module and
feature, `RemoteTable`, `db://`), heading anchors, internal code
comments, and Geneva.
## Evidence
- Rust lib tests for the changed messages and the Python tests in
`test_remote_db.py`, `test_materialized_views.py` and `test_table.py`
pass locally.
- Not run locally:
- The Node tests: `remote.test.ts` and `table.test.ts` have updated
assertions.
- Vale.
- The `experimental_functions`-marked materialized-view tests.
- `docs/src` API reference was hand-edited to match the docstrings
rather than regenerated.
## Merge Risk
**Door:** two-way; prose and message text only.
**Blast Radius:** `docs`, `error-messages`: callers matching on old
error strings would break.
Companion PRs: lancedb/docs (assembler labels, STYLE.md) and sophon
(Enterprise pages).
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
`IvfRq()` forced `num_bits=1` through Python's Rust binding, overriding
Lance's five-bit default. The shared native index creation path also
substituted one bit when the Rust or Node builder left the value unset.
Make Python's bit count optional and forward only explicit values. Use
`RQBuildParams::default()` for an unset native bit count, and omit unset
values when dispatching to pylance for accelerator builds. Update the
Python, Rust, Node, and vector-index documentation.
New indexes with an unset bit count now inherit Lance's default,
currently five bits, across Python, Rust, and Node. Five-bit vector
codes use roughly five times the storage of one-bit codes, plus other
index overhead. This also changes reader compatibility: indexes created
with `num_bits >= 2` use a newer on-disk layout that some older LanceDB
versions cannot read. Upgrade readers to versions that support multi-bit
IVF_RQ, or explicitly set `num_bits=1` (for example, `IvfRq(num_bits=1)`
in Python) when sharing indexes with readers limited to one-bit IVF_RQ.
Validation:
- Reproduced six regression failures before the fix: one-bit default
metadata, rejected `None`, and incorrect remote/accelerator forwarding.
- After merging `main` through `b762ec22`, rebuilt both native bindings
against Lance 15.0.0-beta.1. Python validation passed with 106 tests and
15 optional Ollama skips. Coverage includes the full index suite,
omitted and explicit bit counts, reading Lance-created IVF_RQ indexes,
accelerator forwarding, CUDA-unavailability handling, timeout
validation, remote requests, and table/namespace listing behavior.
- Rust formatting and Python package Ruff lint/format checks pass. Node
`pnpm lint`, `pnpm build` (including TypeScript checks), `pnpm run
docs`, the full connection suite, and the existing IVF_RQ regression
pass. Generated documentation adds no further changes.
The merge preserves upstream's explicit RaBitQ heading anchor alongside
the `IvfRq()` example and five-bit default/reader-compatibility
guidance.
Repository-wide `ruff check .` still reports 49 existing errors in
unchanged documentation examples under `docs/web-tests`; root formatting
also finds 11 unchanged documentation example files. The Python package
checks pass.
Fixes#4582
<!-- lance-gatekeeper-fix:v1 agent=6ef9406f0142b1ab66d53d9d56098223
generation=1 -->
---------
Co-authored-by: Gatefixer <313497061+lancedb-gatefixer[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Xuanwo <github@xuanwo.io>
Adds the Enterprise reference page at
`docs/web/enterprise/distributed-search.mdx`, following the same
arrangement as Enterprise architecture. The page describes distributed
search and the embedded execution model, with links to shared search
guides. Enterprise architecture links to it, and the official sidebar
lists it immediately after Architecture in the existing Deployment
group.
Adds stable anchors for the RaBitQ and `approx_mode` sections linked by
the Enterprise guide.
Companion: https://github.com/lancedb/sophon/pull/8986 supplies the
detailed Enterprise overlay at the same path. Merge this reference-page
PR first so the overlay has an existing route to replace.
Validation:
- Combined-site assembly with both PR branches passed (309 files).
- Mintlify build validation and link, anchor, and redirect checks
passed.
The existing docs have 254 findings from our shared Vale rules.
Contributors would otherwise inherit these when editing the same lines.
Clean up the prose across 80 pages: correct product names and a repeated
word, simplify a few phrases, and replace dashes with punctuation that
fits each sentence. The pinned Vale scan now reports zero findings, with
no suppressions.
This PR is part of the documentation revamp. Once the full set of PRs is
merged, we’ll publish the combined site to staging for review before
updating docs.lancedb.com.
Ingestion, search and integration examples are incomplete or
inconsistent across languages, and some guidance misstates SDK behavior.
This brings the guides and their example sources together. It includes
complete Python, TypeScript and Rust workflows, isolated provider and
reranker examples, the Superlinked corrections, and guidance on retries
that can duplicate writes.
Stacked on #4491. Each MDX file has one PR owner. Rebase onto main after
#4491 is squash-merged.
Local assembly, Mint validation and link checks pass. Example code is
unchanged from the previously validated package. Publication stays held
through integration.
Keep IVF probe fields unset by default so Lance supplies adaptive
behavior. Preserve `nprobes`, `minimum_nprobes`, and `maximum_nprobes`
independently through Rust, Python, namespace, and remote request
construction, with compatibility fields serialized only when explicitly
configured.
The final Rust namespace and LSM propagation update depends on the Lance
release containing lance-format/lance#9184.
Move the public website pages into `docs/web` beside the SDK, with
shared navigation and executable example sources in `docs/web-tests`.
The combined website is assembled by
[lancedb/docs#355](https://github.com/lancedb/docs/pull/355), with six
Enterprise replacements from
[lancedb/sophon#7681](https://github.com/lancedb/sophon/pull/7681).
This includes Function guidance, runnable Quickstarts, regenerated
snippets, production contact/demo fixes, the legacy SQL route, and the
LeRobot redirect. LeRobot remains attributed to Geneva; all 34 Geneva
pages remain in the docs repository until Function officially launches.
Materialized-view guidance follows the full rebuild refresh introduced
by #4373: local refresh writes the complete result, has no `full`
argument, supports `source_version`, and no longer requires stable row
IDs. Deployment SQL refresh options and stable-ID setup are qualified by
version/configuration. Function input guidance distinguishes ordinary
stored columns from computed inputs supported by newer deployments.
**Validation:** independently accepted local checks include 95 Python
tests (real Enterprise excluded), eight TypeScript tests, Rust
Quickstart, snippet parity, typos, deterministic assembly, Mint
validation and links/anchors/redirects. The combined baseline retains
all 181 production routes and 17 legacy redirects. Examples ran locally
against source-built Python SDK 0.40.0b13; existing GitHub workflows do
not run `docs/web-tests`. New main at `069b2f7d` is 0.41.0b0 and adds
computed Function inputs; that SDK was not exercised by the accepted
tests. Latest prose corrections receive focused site validation.
**Merge/rollout:** merge this and #7681 before #355's combined CI, which
reads producer `main`. This is migration infrastructure: section
overlays, source-owned skills and automatic versioned paired releases
remain follow-ups. The current manual publisher is transitional. Hosted
validation, a supported SDK/Enterprise release pair and a real
Enterprise walkthrough remain pending.
Production Mintlify watches `lancedb/docs:deploy-freeze`, directory
`docs`; preserve that source through review. The separate SDK GitHub
Pages reference workflow rebuilds on main merges.
**Updated-head CI (9a50f8db):**
[Typos](https://github.com/lancedb/lancedb/actions/runs/37654185443/job/112904990558),
[PR
title](https://github.com/lancedb/lancedb/actions/runs/37654179507/job/112904974595)
and
[Aikido](https://app.aikido.dev/featurebranch/scan/215386145?groupId=74229)
pass. Critical findings in the example lockfiles were patched: all Sharp
copies use 0.35.5, protobufjs 7.6.6, tar 7.5.22, quinn-proto 0.11.19,
zerovec 0.11.8 and zerovec-derive 0.11.6. The SDK's product dependencies
are unchanged. The revised lockfiles pass eight TypeScript examples,
HuggingFace decode/resize/crop/rescale/normalize plus AVIF roundtrip,
and Rust Quickstart. Aikido passing does not mean every advisory is
cleared; npm still reports 29 high and five moderate advisories in the
example dependency graph. No scanner bypass or suppression was added.
The Function prose correction passes combined/standalone Mint,
deterministic assembly, routes and assets. The revised 325-file site
checksum is
`175bec06864abb400dd292e667ba93448c0479b8359fd7bf6146afabf9040647`. This
PR remains open for independent review; further merges are on hold.
---------
Co-authored-by: Brendan Clement <brendan.clement@lancedb.com>
BHAWESHBHASKAR
Brendan ClementandClaude Opus 5.5
Jack Ye
Will JonesandClaude Opus 5.5
lancedb-gatefixer[bot]andXuanwo
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