create_alias()

This operation creates an alias for an existing collection.

Request syntax

create_alias(
    collection_name: str,
    alias: str,
    timeout: float | None
) -> None

PARAMETERS:

• collection_name (str) -

  [REQUIRED]

  The name of the collection to create an alias for.

• alias (str) -

  [REQUIRED]

  The alias of the collection. Before this operation, ensure that the alias does not already exist. If it does, exceptions will occur.

  what is a collection alias?

  A collection alias is an additional name for a collection. Collection aliases are useful when you want to switch your application to a new collection without any changes to your code.

  In Milvus, a collection alias is a globally unique identifier. One alias can only be assigned to exactly one collection. Conversely, a collection can have multiple aliases.

  Below is an example of reassigning the alias of one collection to another:

  Suppose there are two collections: collection_1 and collection_2. There is also a collection alias named bob, which was originally assigned to collection_1:

  • collection_1's alias = [“bob”]

  • collection_2's alias = []

  After calling alter_alias("collection_2", “bob”):

  • collection_1's alias = []

  • collection_2's alias = [“bob”]

• timeout (float | None)

  The timeout duration for this operation. Setting this to None indicates that this operation timeouts when any response arrives or any error occurs.

RETURN TYPE:

NoneType

RETURNS:

None

EXCEPTIONS:

• MilvusException

  This exception will be raised when any error occurs during this operation, especially when you set alias to an existing alias.

• BaseException

  This exception will be raised when this operation fails.

Example

from pymilvus import MilvusClient

# 1. Create a milvus client
client = MilvusClient(
    uri="http://localhost:19530",
    token="root:Milvus"
)

# 2. Create a collection
client.create_collection(collection_name="test_collection", dimension=5)

# 3. Create an alias for the collection
client.create_alias(collection_name="test_collection", alias="test")

Related methods

• alter_alias()

• describe_alias()

• drop_alias()

• list_aliases()