Update and Delete

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

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]
  }'

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.set_payload(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    payload={
        "status": "active",
        "last_updated": "2024-03-04"
    },
    points=[1, 2, 3]
)

Set Payload with Filter

Update payload for all points matching a filter.

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"}
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient
from qdrant_client.models import Filter, FieldCondition, MatchValue

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.set_payload(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    payload={"verified": True},
    points=Filter(
        must=[
            FieldCondition(
                key="country",
                match=MatchValue(value="Germany")
            )
        ]
    )
)

Overwrite Payload

Replace the entire payload, removing all existing fields.

API Endpoint

PUT /collections/{collection_name}/points/payload

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

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.overwrite_payload(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    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

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]
  }'

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.delete_payload(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    keys=["status", "last_updated"],
    points=[1, 2, 3]
)

Delete Nested Fields

Use dot notation to delete nested payload fields.

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]
  }'

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.delete_payload(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    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

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

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.clear_payload(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    points_selector=[1, 2, 3, 5, 8]
)

Update Vectors

Update vectors for existing points without changing payloads.

API Endpoint

PUT /collections/{collection_name}/points/vectors

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]
      }
    ]
  }'

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient
from qdrant_client.models import PointVectors

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.update_vectors(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    points=[
        PointVectors(
            id=1,
            vector=[0.11, 0.22, 0.33, 0.44]
        ),
        PointVectors(
            id=2,
            vector=[0.55, 0.66, 0.77, 0.88]
        )
    ]
)

Update Named Vectors

For collections with multiple named vectors, update specific vectors.

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]
        }
      }
    ]
  }'

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient
from qdrant_client.models import PointVectors

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.update_vectors(
    collection_name="multi_vector_collection",
    points=[
        PointVectors(
            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

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]
  }'

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.delete_vectors(
    collection_name="multi_vector_collection",
    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

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

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.delete(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    points_selector=[1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13]
)

Delete Points by Filter

Delete all points matching specific filter conditions.

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

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient
from qdrant_client.models import Filter, FieldCondition, MatchValue

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.delete(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    points_selector=Filter(
        must=[
            FieldCondition(
                key="status",
                match=MatchValue(value="inactive")
            )
        ]
    )
)

Complex Delete Filters

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}
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

from qdrant_client import QdrantClient
from qdrant_client.models import Filter, FieldCondition, MatchValue, Range

client = QdrantClient(url="http://localhost:6333")

client.delete(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    points_selector=Filter(
        must=[
            FieldCondition(
                key="year",
                range=Range(lt=2020)
            )
        ],
        must_not=[
            FieldCondition(
                key="important",
                match=MatchValue(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

boolean

default:"true"

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

string

Ordering guarantees for the operation:

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

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
}

integer

Sequential number of the operation.

string

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

string

Overall response status.

number

Time taken in seconds.

Atomic Operations

All update and delete operations in Qdrant are atomic:

Single Operation
Batch Operations
Consistency

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

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

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

Best Practices

Test Filters First: Before deleting by filter, run a search with the same filter to preview affected points
Use Set Payload: Prefer set_payload over overwrite_payload to avoid accidentally removing fields
Batch Updates: Group multiple updates into batch operations for better performance
Wait Parameter: Use wait=false for bulk operations to improve throughput
Named Vectors: When updating vectors in multi-vector collections, only update the vectors that changed
Backup: Consider backing up important data before large delete operations
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.

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Working with Data

Advanced Features

Deployment

Operations

Update and Delete

Update Payloads

Set Payload (Merge)

API Endpoint

Set Payload with Filter

Overwrite Payload

API Endpoint

Delete Payload Fields

API Endpoint

Delete Nested Fields

Clear All Payload

API Endpoint

Update Vectors

API Endpoint

Update Named Vectors

Delete Vectors

API Endpoint

Delete Points by ID

API Endpoint

Delete Points by Filter

Complex Delete Filters

Query Parameters

Response Format

Atomic Operations

Best Practices

​Update Payloads

​Set Payload (Merge)

​API Endpoint

​Set Payload with Filter

​Overwrite Payload

​API Endpoint

​Delete Payload Fields

​API Endpoint

​Delete Nested Fields

​Clear All Payload

​API Endpoint

​Update Vectors

​API Endpoint

​Update Named Vectors

​Delete Vectors

​API Endpoint

​Delete Points by ID

​API Endpoint

​Delete Points by Filter

​Complex Delete Filters

​Query Parameters

​Response Format

​Atomic Operations

​Best Practices

Update Payloads

Set Payload (Merge)

API Endpoint

Set Payload with Filter

Overwrite Payload

API Endpoint

Delete Payload Fields

API Endpoint

Delete Nested Fields

Clear All Payload

API Endpoint

Update Vectors

API Endpoint

Update Named Vectors

Delete Vectors

API Endpoint

Delete Points by ID

API Endpoint

Delete Points by Filter

Complex Delete Filters

Query Parameters

Response Format

Atomic Operations

Best Practices