Vectors

⚠️ Warning

HelixQL is deprecated in HelixDB v2. Queries are now written with the Rust DSL and dispatched as JSON — see the Querying guide. This section is kept as a reference for legacy HelixQL projects.

For the complete documentation index optimized for AI agents, see llms.txt.

Create Vectors using AddV  

Create new vector embeddings in your graph.

AddV<Type>
AddV<Type>(vector, {properties})

ℹ️ Note

Currently, Helix only supports using an array of F64 values to represent the vector. We will be adding support for different types such as F32, binary vectors and more in the very near future. Please reach out to us if you need a different vector type.

⚠️ Warning

When using the SDKs or curling the endpoint, the query name must match what is defined in the queries.hx file exactly.

Example 1: Creating a vector with no properties

QUERY InsertVector (vector: [F64]) =>
    vector_node <- AddV<Document>(vector)
    RETURN vector_node

// You don't need to define the properties in the schema,
//  it uses [F64] by default
V::Document {}

Here’s how to run the query using the SDKs or curl

from helix.client import Client

client = Client(local=True, port=6969)

print(client.query("InsertVector", {
    "vector": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4],
}))

use helix_rs::{HelixDB, HelixDBClient};
use serde_json::json;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let client = HelixDB::new(Some("http://localhost"), Some(6969), None);

    let payload = json!({
        "vector": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4],
    });

    let result: serde_json::Value = client.query("InsertVector", &payload).await?;
    println!("Created vector node: {result:#?}");

    Ok(())
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"

    "github.com/HelixDB/helix-go"
)

func main() {
    client := helix.NewClient("http://localhost:6969")

    payload := map[string]any{
        "vector": []float64{0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4},
    }

    var result map[string]any
    if err := client.Query("InsertVector", helix.WithData(payload)).Scan(&result); err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("InsertVector failed: %s", err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("Created vector node: %#v\n", result)
}

import HelixDB from "helix-ts";

async function main() {
    const client = new HelixDB("http://localhost:6969");

    const result = await client.query("InsertVector", {
        vector: [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4],
    });

    console.log("Created vector node:", result);
}

main().catch((err) => {
    console.error("InsertVector query failed:", err);
});

curl -X POST \
  http://localhost:6969/InsertVector \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"vector":[0.1,0.2,0.3,0.4]}'

Example 2: Creating a vector with properties

QUERY InsertVector (vector: [F64], content: String, created_at: Date) =>
    vector_node <- AddV<Document>(vector, { content: content, created_at: created_at })
    RETURN vector_node

V::Document {
    content: String,
    created_at: Date
}

Here’s how to run the query using the SDKs or curl

from datetime import datetime, timezone
from helix.client import Client

client = Client(local=True, port=6969)

payload = {
    "vector": [0.12, 0.34, 0.56, 0.78],
    "content": "Quick brown fox",
    "created_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
}

print(client.query("InsertVector", payload))

use chrono::Utc;
use helix_rs::{HelixDB, HelixDBClient};
use serde_json::json;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let client = HelixDB::new(Some("http://localhost"), Some(6969), None);

    let payload = json!({
        "vector": [0.12, 0.34, 0.56, 0.78],
        "content": "Quick brown fox",
        "created_at": Utc::now().to_rfc3339(),
    });

    let result: serde_json::Value = client.query("InsertVector", &payload).await?;
    println!("Created vector node: {result:#?}");

    Ok(())
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"

    "github.com/HelixDB/helix-go"
    "time"
)

func main() {
    client := helix.NewClient("http://localhost:6969")

    payload := map[string]any{
        "vector":     []float64{0.12, 0.34, 0.56, 0.78},
        "content":    "Quick brown fox",
        "created_at": time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339),
    }

    var result map[string]any
    if err := client.Query("InsertVector", helix.WithData(payload)).Scan(&result); err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("InsertVector failed: %s", err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("Created vector node: %#v\n", result)
}

import HelixDB from "helix-ts";

async function main() {
    const client = new HelixDB("http://localhost:6969");

    const result = await client.query("InsertVector", {
        vector: [0.12, 0.34, 0.56, 0.78],
        content: "Quick brown fox",
        created_at: new Date().toISOString(),
    });

    console.log("Created vector node:", result);
}

main().catch((err) => {
    console.error("InsertVector query failed:", err);
});

curl -X POST \
  http://localhost:6969/InsertVector \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"vector":[0.12,0.34,0.56,0.78],"content":"Quick brown fox","created_at":"'"$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")"'"}'

Example 3: Creating a vector and connecting it to a node

QUERY InsertVector (user_id: ID, vector: [F64], content: String, created_at: Date) =>
    vector_node <- AddV<Document>(vector, { content: content, created_at: created_at })
    edge <- AddE<User_to_Document_Embedding>::From(user_id)::To(vector_node)
    RETURN "Success"

QUERY CreateUser (name: String, age: U8, email: String) =>
    user <- AddN<User>({
        name: name,
        age: age,
        email: email
    })
    RETURN user

N::User {
    name: String,
    age: U8,
    email: String,
}

V::Document {
    content: String,
    created_at: Date
}

E::User_to_Document_Embedding {
    From: User,
    To: Document,
}

Here’s how to run the query using the SDKs or curl

from datetime import datetime, timezone
from helix.client import Client

client = Client(local=True, port=6969)

user = client.query("CreateUser", {
    "name": "Alice",
    "age": 25,
    "email": "alice@example.com",
})
user_id = user[0]["user"]["id"]

payload = {
    "user_id": user_id,
    "vector": [0.05, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75],
    "content": "Favorite quotes",
    "created_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
}

print(client.query("InsertVector", payload))

use chrono::Utc;
use helix_rs::{HelixDB, HelixDBClient};
use serde_json::json;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let client = HelixDB::new(Some("http://localhost"), Some(6969), None);

    let alice: serde_json::Value = client.query("CreateUser", &json!({
        "name": "Alice",
        "age": 25,
        "email": "alice@example.com",
    })).await?;
    let user_id = alice["user"]["id"].as_str().unwrap().to_string();

    let payload = json!({
        "user_id": user_id,
        "vector": [0.05, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75],
        "content": "Favorite quotes",
        "created_at": Utc::now().to_rfc3339(),
    });

    let result: serde_json::Value = client.query("InsertVector", &payload).await?;
    println!("InsertVector result: {result:#?}");

    Ok(())
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "time"

    "github.com/HelixDB/helix-go"
)

func main() {
    client := helix.NewClient("http://localhost:6969")

    userPayload := map[string]any{
        "name":  "Alice",
        "age":   uint8(25),
        "email": "alice@example.com",
    }

    var user map[string]any
    if err := client.Query("CreateUser", helix.WithData(userPayload)).Scan(&user); err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("CreateUser failed: %s", err)
    }

    userID := user["user"].(map[string]any)["id"].(string)

    payload := map[string]any{
        "user_id":   userID,
        "vector":    []float64{0.05, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75},
        "content":   "Favorite quotes",
        "created_at": time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339),
    }

    var result map[string]any
    if err := client.Query("InsertVector", helix.WithData(payload)).Scan(&result); err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("InsertVector failed: %s", err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("InsertVector result: %#v\n", result)
}

import HelixDB from "helix-ts";

async function main() {
    const client = new HelixDB("http://localhost:6969");

    const user = await client.query("CreateUser", {
        name: "Alice",
        age: 25,
        email: "alice@example.com",
    });
    const userId: string = user.user.id;

    const result = await client.query("InsertVector", {
        user_id: userId,
        vector: [0.05, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75],
        content: "Favorite quotes",
        created_at: new Date().toISOString(),
    });

    console.log("InsertVector result:", result);
}

main().catch((err) => {
    console.error("InsertVector query failed:", err);
});

curl -X POST \
  http://localhost:6969/CreateUser \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name":"Alice","age":25,"email":"alice@example.com"}'

curl -X POST \
  http://localhost:6969/InsertVector \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"user_id":"<user_id>","vector":[0.05,0.25,0.5,0.75],"content":"Favorite quotes","created_at":"'"$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")"'"}'

Example 4: Using the built in Embed function

You can also use the built in Embed function to embed the text without sending in the array of floats. It uses the embedding model defined in your config.hx.json file.

⚠️ Warning

All vectors in a vector type must have the same dimensions. If you change your embedding model (e.g., switching from text-embedding-ada-002 to a different model), the new vectors will have different dimensions and will cause an error. Ensure you use the same embedding model consistently for all vectors.

QUERY InsertVector (content: String, created_at: Date) =>
    vector_node <- AddV<Document>(Embed(content), { content: content, created_at: created_at })
    RETURN vector_node

V::Document {
    content: String,
    created_at: Date
}

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key

Here’s how to run the query using the SDKs or curl

from datetime import datetime, timezone
from helix.client import Client

client = Client(local=True, port=6969)

payload = {
    "content": "Quick summary of a meeting",
    "created_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
}

print(client.query("InsertVector", payload))

use chrono::Utc;
use helix_rs::{HelixDB, HelixDBClient};
use serde_json::json;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let client = HelixDB::new(Some("http://localhost"), Some(6969), None);

    let payload = json!({
        "content": "Quick summary of a meeting",
        "created_at": Utc::now().to_rfc3339(),
    });

    let result: serde_json::Value = client.query("InsertVector", &payload).await?;
    println!("InsertVector result: {result:#?}");

    Ok(())
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "time"

    "github.com/HelixDB/helix-go"
)

func main() {
    client := helix.NewClient("http://localhost:6969")

    payload := map[string]any{
        "content":   "Quick summary of a meeting",
        "created_at": time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339),
    }

    var result map[string]any
    if err := client.Query("InsertVector", helix.WithData(payload)).Scan(&result); err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("InsertVector failed: %s", err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("InsertVector result: %#v\n", result)
}

import HelixDB from "helix-ts";

async function main() {
    const client = new HelixDB("http://localhost:6969");

    const result = await client.query("InsertVector", {
        content: "Quick summary of a meeting",
        created_at: new Date().toISOString(),
    });

    console.log("InsertVector result:", result);
}

main().catch((err) => {
    console.error("InsertVector query failed:", err);
});

curl -X POST \
  http://localhost:6969/InsertVector \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"content":"Quick summary of a meeting","created_at":"'"$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")"'"}'