---
title: "Index"
sidebarTitle: "Index"
description: "CREATE INDEX and DROP INDEX — one column, with the algorithm chosen by USING."
icon: bolt
keywords: ["create index", "drop index", "sql"]
---

<Badge color="red">Enterprise</Badge> [SQL runs in LanceDB Enterprise.](/sql)

## CREATE INDEX {#create}

```sql
CREATE INDEX ON documents USING btree (title)
CREATE INDEX text_search ON documents USING fts (text)
```

`USING` is required: it names the algorithm. The scalar algorithms are `btree`,
`bitmap` and `label_list`; `fts` builds a full-text index; and the vector
algorithms are `ivf_pq`, `ivf_rq`, `ivf_flat`, `ivf_hnsw_sq` and `ivf_hnsw_pq`,
where the deployment supports them. Index options go in a `WITH (...)` clause.

<Note>
In LanceDB Enterprise, SQL `CREATE INDEX` covers **one column**. A name between
`INDEX` and `ON` names the index, where the deployment's configuration allows
it; without one, the server names it after the column, as in `title_idx`. For a
multi-column index, use the SDK's [`create_index`](/indexing).
</Note>

<Note>
**Enterprise job type:** `reindex_` followed by the algorithm, such as
`reindex_btree` or `reindex_ivf_pq`; the name says which algorithm is building,
not a different feature. An SDK build that must not replace an existing index
runs as `create_` followed by the algorithm instead. See
[Build & Repair](/indexing/reindexing).
</Note>

## DROP INDEX {#drop}

```sql
DROP INDEX documents.title_idx
```

Takes the qualified `table.index` name. Find it with the SDK's
[`list_indices`](/indexing) if you created the index without
naming it yourself. A deployment builds the index in the background after
`CREATE INDEX` returns; until that build finishes, the index is not listed and
`DROP INDEX` reports it as not found.

## What to read next {#next}

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Indexing" icon="bolt" href="/indexing">
    Choosing an index type from the SDK.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Build & Repair" icon="refresh" href="/indexing/reindexing">
    Keeping an index current as data arrives.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>