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redis-vl-dotnet

SearchSchema

SearchSchema is the top-level model that binds together index metadata and the fields Redis should index.

What SearchSchema contains

Every schema has two parts:

  • an IndexDefinition that describes the Redis index name, prefixes, storage type, and FT.CREATE-level flags

  • a field collection that describes how document properties map to RediSearch field types

var schema = new SearchSchema(
    new IndexDefinition("movies-idx", "movie:", StorageType.Json),
    [
        new TextFieldDefinition("title", sortable: true),
        new TagFieldDefinition("genre"),
        new NumericFieldDefinition("year", sortable: true)
    ]);

Create a SearchIndex from that schema:

var index = new SearchIndex(database, schema);

JSON versus HASH storage

Storage type is defined on schema.Index.StorageType:

  • StorageType.Json indexes RedisJSON documents and works with LoadJsonAsync, FetchJsonByIdAsync, UpdateJsonByIdAsync, and DeleteJsonByIdAsync.

  • StorageType.Hash indexes Redis hashes and works with LoadHashAsync, FetchHashByIdAsync, UpdateHashByIdAsync, and DeleteHashByIdAsync.

That choice affects both index creation and which document APIs are valid at runtime. The library enforces the match between schema storage type and document operation.

Key derivation

The schema also controls how document ids become Redis keys:

  • IndexDefinition.Prefixes defines the allowed key prefixes for the index

  • IndexDefinition.KeySeparator controls how ids are joined to prefixes when the library resolves keys

  • the first prefix is exposed as IndexDefinition.Prefix and is the default prefix used when resolving ids back into keys

If your schema uses multiple prefixes, Redis can index documents from all of them, but library-generated keys still resolve through the schema metadata rather than ad hoc string concatenation.

Typed construction or YAML

You can build a schema in code or load one from YAML:

The repository’s primary example for this pattern is /examples/JsonStorageExample, which loads a YAML file and then creates a SearchIndex from it.

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