> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.interactive.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.interactive.ai/cli/iai_collections.md).

# iai collections

Knowledge bases (searchable tables of chunks) inside a pgvector database

## Synopsis

Manage collections within a database.

A collection is a table of chunks (rows) — each chunk is text plus its vector embedding(s) — that you search by meaning or keyword; it's what backs a knowledge base. It lives inside an existing pgvector database, so every command requires --database. Use 'iai databases create' first to provision the database.

Run 'iai collections schema' to see the body format for every --file command.

## Options

```
  -h, --help   help for collections
```

## Options inherited from parent commands

```
      --api-key string               API key for authentication
      --cfg-file string              Path to YAML config file with organization, project, and optional service definitions
      --deployment-hostname string   Hostname for the deployment API (default "https://deployment.interactive.ai")
      --hostname string              Hostname for the API (default "https://app.interactive.ai")
```

## SEE ALSO

* [iai](/cli/iai.md) - InteractiveAI's CLI
* [iai collections chunks](/cli/iai_collections_chunks.md) - Manage the chunks (rows) in a collection
* [iai collections create](/cli/iai_collections_create.md) - Create a collection from a config file
* [iai collections delete](/cli/iai_collections_delete.md) - Delete a collection and all its data
* [iai collections describe](/cli/iai_collections_describe.md) - Describe a collection's configuration
* [iai collections documents](/cli/iai_collections_documents.md) - Inspect documents (chunks grouped by documentId)
* [iai collections list](/cli/iai_collections_list.md) - List collections in a database
* [iai collections patch](/cli/iai_collections_patch.md) - Update a collection's mutable config from a file
* [iai collections schema](/cli/iai_collections_schema.md) - Show the file schemas for the --file-based collection commands
* [iai collections search](/cli/iai_collections_search.md) - Search a collection (single-lane vector search)
* [iai collections slots](/cli/iai_collections_slots.md) - Manage a collection's vector slots and their indexes
* [iai collections stats](/cli/iai_collections_stats.md) - Show a collection's chunk count, size, and index status


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