Update and Delete

Learn how to update payloads, update vectors, delete points by ID, and delete points by filter in Qdrant.

Qdrant provides flexible APIs for updating and deleting points, including operations on payloads, vectors, and entire points.

Update Payloads

Update or add payload fields to existing points without modifying vectors.

Set Payload (Merge)

Add or update specific payload fields while keeping existing fields.

API Endpoint

POST /collections/{collection_name}/points/payload

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/payload \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "payload": {
      "status": "active",
      "last_updated": "2024-03-04"
    },
    "points": [1, 2, 3]
  }'

Set Payload with Filter

Update payload for all points matching a filter.

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/payload \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "payload": {
      "verified": true
    },
    "filter": {
      "must": [
        {
          "key": "country",
          "match": {"value": "Germany"}
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

Overwrite Payload

Replace the entire payload, removing all existing fields.

API Endpoint

PUT /collections/{collection_name}/points/payload

REST API

curl -X PUT http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/payload \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "payload": {
      "city": "Berlin",
      "country": "Germany"
    },
    "points": [1]
  }'

overwrite_payload removes all existing payload fields. Use set_payload to merge fields instead.

Delete Payload Fields

Remove specific payload fields from points.

API Endpoint

POST /collections/{collection_name}/points/payload/delete

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/payload/delete \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "keys": ["status", "last_updated"],
    "points": [1, 2, 3]
  }'

Delete Nested Fields

Use dot notation to delete nested payload fields.

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/payload/delete \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "keys": ["metadata.internal.temp_flag"],
    "points": [1, 2]
  }'

Clear All Payload

Remove all payload from specified points, keeping vectors intact.

API Endpoint

POST /collections/{collection_name}/points/payload/clear

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/payload/clear \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "points": [1, 2, 3, 5, 8]
  }'

Update Vectors

Update vectors for existing points without changing payloads.

API Endpoint

PUT /collections/{collection_name}/points/vectors

REST API

curl -X PUT http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/vectors \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "points": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "vector": [0.11, 0.22, 0.33, 0.44]
      },
      {
        "id": 2,
        "vector": [0.55, 0.66, 0.77, 0.88]
      }
    ]
  }'

Update Named Vectors

For collections with multiple named vectors, update specific vectors.

REST API

curl -X PUT http://localhost:6333/collections/multi_vector_collection/points/vectors \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "points": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "vector": {
          "text": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4]
        }
      }
    ]
  }'

When updating named vectors, you only need to specify the vectors you want to update. Other vectors remain unchanged.

Delete Vectors

Delete specific named vectors from points while keeping other vectors and payloads.

API Endpoint

POST /collections/{collection_name}/points/vectors/delete

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/multi_vector_collection/points/vectors/delete \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "vectors": ["image"],
    "points": [1, 2, 3]
  }'

Delete Points by ID

Delete entire points (vectors and payloads) by their IDs.

API Endpoint

POST /collections/{collection_name}/points/delete

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/delete \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "points": [1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13]
  }'

Delete Points by Filter

Delete all points matching specific filter conditions.

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/delete \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "filter": {
      "must": [
        {
          "key": "status",
          "match": {"value": "inactive"}
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

Complex Delete Filters

REST API

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/delete \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "filter": {
      "must": [
        {
          "key": "year",
          "range": {
            "lt": 2020
          }
        }
      ],
      "must_not": [
        {
          "key": "important",
          "match": {"value": true}
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

Delete by filter can affect many points. Always test your filter with a search query first to verify which points will be deleted.

Query Parameters

wait · boolean · default: "true"

If true, wait for the operation to complete. If false, return immediately after accepting the request.

ordering · string

Ordering guarantees for the operation:

• weak - No ordering guarantees
• medium - Operations ordered within a node
• strong - Operations ordered across all nodes

timeout · integer

Operation timeout in seconds.

Response Format

All update and delete operations return a similar response:

{
  "result": {
    "operation_id": 127,
    "status": "completed"
  },
  "status": "ok",
  "time": 0.003
}

result.operation_id · integer

Sequential number of the operation.

result.status · string

Operation status: completed or acknowledged (if wait=false).

status · string

Overall response status.

time · number

Time taken in seconds.

Atomic Operations

All update and delete operations in Qdrant are atomic:

Single Operation

Each individual operation (set_payload, delete, etc.) is atomic. Either all specified points are updated or none are.

Batch Operations

When using the batch API (/points/batch), all operations in the batch are applied atomically.

Consistency

Use the ordering parameter to control consistency guarantees across distributed deployments.

Best Practices

1. Test Filters First: Before deleting by filter, run a search with the same filter to preview affected points
2. Use Set Payload: Prefer set_payload over overwrite_payload to avoid accidentally removing fields
3. Batch Updates: Group multiple updates into batch operations for better performance
4. Wait Parameter: Use wait=false for bulk operations to improve throughput
5. Named Vectors: When updating vectors in multi-vector collections, only update the vectors that changed
6. Backup: Consider backing up important data before large delete operations
7. Point IDs: Keep track of point IDs when performing updates to ensure you’re modifying the correct points

Update operations modify points in-place without creating new versions. The point’s version number is incremented with each update.