search-documents

name	search-documents
description	Domain knowledge for @azure/search-documents. Covers architecture, type conversions, data flow, and common pitfalls. WHEN: regenerate search-documents; modify search-documents; fix search-documents bug; add search-documents feature; search-documents tsp-client update. Use when this capability is needed.

@azure/search-documents — Package Skill

Common Pitfalls

• Generated sub-client ≠ convenience client — src/search/searchClient.ts is the GENERATED sub-client (overwritten on regeneration). src/searchClient.ts is the HAND-AUTHORED convenience client. Adding methods to the generated file does nothing for consumers. Always edit the hand-authored file at the src/ root. See the "Generated vs Hand-Authored Files" table in Architecture.
• New operations must be wired through the convenience layer — after regeneration, new operations appearing in generated files are NOT available to consumers until explicitly exposed via the hand-authored convenience clients, model files, and src/index.ts. Do not stop at regeneration. See "Exposing New Operations and Models" below.
• New models must be wired through the convenience layer — likewise, new generated interface / type / enum declarations (including new discriminated-union members like additional *KnowledgeSource, *Skill, *Vectorizer, or *Activity kinds) are invisible to consumers until mirrored in src/serviceModels.ts / src/indexModels.ts / src/knowledgeBaseModels.ts, plumbed through any serviceUtils.ts dispatch tables that switch on kind, and re-exported from src/index.ts.
• Never hand-edit files in generated/ — these are overwritten on every tsp-client update. Edit src/ files directly; the 3-way merge preserves your changes.
• Never hand-edit generated-mirrored files — files under src/search/, src/searchIndex/, src/searchIndexer/, src/knowledgeBaseRetrieval/, and src/models/ are mirrored from generated/. Edits will be overwritten on next regeneration.
• Check for merge conflicts FIRST after regeneration — dev-tool customization apply can produce conflict markers in src/. Run grep -r "<<<<<<" src/ --include="*.ts".
• src/index.ts is skipped during customization apply — new exports must be manually added. The ae-forgotten-export lint error catches missing exports.
• test/snippets.spec.ts is documentation, not tests — it contains source code for README and doc-comment snippets. Never delete or replace its contents when updating real tests.
• Uses @azure-rest/core-client not @azure/core-client — this TypeSpec package uses the REST variant for OperationOptions, ClientOptions, etc.
• knownSkills whitelist — convertSkillsToPublic() in src/serviceUtils.ts silently drops unknown skill types. New service skill types require updating this hardcoded record.
• No reverse conversion for some types — vectorSearch and individual skills are passed through directly without dedicated public-to-generated converters.
• search() uses custom POST pagination — not standard nextLink GET paging. Uses nextPageParameters POST body with opaque Base64 continuation tokens.
• Date deserialization is strict — only matches UTC ISO strings with 0-3 fractional seconds and Z suffix. Non-UTC strings are not auto-converted.
• indexDocuments 207 behavior — partial success (HTTP 207) is thrown as an exception when throwOnAnyFailure is set. This is intentional.
• Generated client argument order ≠ public client argument order — when wrapping new operations in src/searchIndexClient.ts / src/searchClient.ts etc., open the matching generated searchIndexClient.ts (under src/searchIndex/ etc.) and verify the parameter order on the call. Subtle swaps silently target the wrong resource (e.g. deleteKnowledgeSourceFile(fileId, name) vs (name, fileId)), producing no error and a silently no-op'd request.

Architecture

Two-directory layout with customization merge:

• generated/ — auto-generated from TypeSpec. Never hand-edit.
• src/ — mirrors generated/ structure plus hand-authored convenience layer. Files with counterparts in generated/ are merged; files without counterparts are preserved as-is.

Four convenience clients wrap generated sub-clients:

Client	Constructor	Purpose
SearchClient<TModel>	(endpoint, indexName, credential, options?)	Search, suggest, autocomplete, document CRUD
SearchIndexClient	(endpoint, credential, options?)	Index CRUD, synonym maps, aliases, knowledge bases
SearchIndexerClient	(endpoint, credential, options?)	Indexer, data source, skillset CRUD
KnowledgeRetrievalClient	(endpoint, knowledgeBaseName, credential, options?)	Knowledge base retrieval

Each client: creates generated client → replaces auth with search-specific auth (API key header or bearer token) → adds OData metadata policy → wraps every method in tracingClient.withSpan() with type conversion. SearchClient uses OData metadata "none"; others use "minimal".

Generated vs Hand-Authored Files — Know the Difference

The file paths look deceptively similar. Confusing them is the single most common mistake:

File	Type	Edit?
src/search/searchClient.ts	Generated sub-client (mirrored from generated/)	NEVER — overwritten on regeneration
src/searchClient.ts	Hand-authored convenience client (SearchClient<TModel>)	✅ Add operations here
src/searchIndex/searchIndexClient.ts	Generated sub-client	NEVER
src/searchIndexClient.ts	Hand-authored convenience client (SearchIndexClient)	✅ Add operations here
src/searchIndexer/searchIndexerClient.ts	Generated sub-client	NEVER
src/searchIndexerClient.ts	Hand-authored convenience client (SearchIndexerClient)	✅ Add operations here
src/knowledgeBaseRetrieval/knowledgeBaseRetrievalClient.ts	Generated sub-client	NEVER
src/knowledgeRetrievalClient.ts	Hand-authored convenience client (KnowledgeRetrievalClient)	✅ Add operations here
src/search/api/operations.ts	Generated operations	NEVER
src/models/models.ts	Generated models	NEVER

Rule: Any file under src/{subclient}/ (i.e. src/search/, src/searchIndex/, src/searchIndexer/, src/knowledgeBaseRetrieval/) or src/models/ is generated-mirrored code. Never hand-edit these files.

The convenience layer converts between generated and public types via src/serviceUtils.ts (200+ conversion functions). Key patterns: additionalProperties unwrapping, field visibility inversion (hidden ↔ !retrievable), encryption key renames (vaultUrl ↔ vaultUri), and custom serialization for NaN/Infinity/Date/GeographyPoint.

Regeneration

Generation command (from package.json):

tsp-client update -d --emitter-options="ignore-nullable-on-optional=true;wrap-non-model-return=false" && npm run format && npx dev-tool customization apply --skip index.ts

Run via: npm run generate:client. All changes must be committed first — the 3-way merge requires committed state.

Important flags:

• ignore-nullable-on-optional=true — mitigates TypeSpec's T | null on optional properties
• wrap-non-model-return=false — prevents wrapping non-model return types
• --skip index.ts — barrel export is manually maintained

Error Categorization

Error Location	Root Cause	Fix In
generated/**/*.ts	TypeSpec spec change	Update tsp-location.yaml, re-run npm run generate:client
src/<sub-client>/api/*.ts (merged)	Merge conflict from spec change	Resolve conflict in src/, preserving hand-authored intent
src/serviceUtils.ts	Type conversion mismatch	Update conversion functions to match new generated types
src/serviceModels.ts or src/indexModels.ts	Public type doesn't match generated shape	Update public type definitions and their conversions
src/index.ts	Missing export after regeneration	Manually add new exports
src/searchClient.ts	Wire format encoding changed	Update conversion/encoding helpers in searchClient.ts

Breaking Change Detection

After spec changes, check for:

• New/removed/renamed properties in generated models → update conversions in serviceUtils.ts
• New/removed operations → add/remove convenience wrappers and exports
• New sub-clients → create convenience wrapper, add exports
• Changed discriminator values → update union handling in conversion functions

For 3-way merge details and conflict resolution, see references/customization.md.

Exposing New Operations and Models

New operations and models appearing after regeneration are not available to consumers until explicitly wired through the hand-authored layer. Regeneration only changes generated/ and the generated-mirrored files under src/{subclient}/ and src/models/ — none of those are part of the public package API. Do not stop at regeneration.

Before declaring a regeneration done, do a post-regeneration audit:

1. Diff the generated client wrappers — git diff generated/<subclient>/<subclient>Client.ts src/<subclient>/<subclient>Client.ts — to enumerate every operation method added, removed, or with a changed signature. Every newly added operation needs a hand-authored convenience method; every signature change needs a matching update.
2. Diff generated/models/ for new exported interface / type / enum declarations, especially new discriminated-union members (e.g. new *KnowledgeSource, *Skill, *Vectorizer, *Authentication, *Activity kinds). Each new union member that consumers should be able to construct or pattern-match needs a public mirror in src/serviceModels.ts / src/indexModels.ts / src/knowledgeBaseModels.ts, and a re-export from src/index.ts.
3. Diff the generated barrel (generated/index.ts) for new Known* enums and union aliases (*Union). These typically need to be re-exported from src/index.ts so consumers can name them.
4. Update knownSkills and any other whitelists — convertSkillsToPublic() in src/serviceUtils.ts (and similar discriminator switches) silently drop unknown kinds. New skill / KS / vectorizer / authentication kinds must be added to every dispatch table that switches on kind.
5. Add conversion functions in src/serviceUtils.ts for every new request/response type that needs public ↔ generated translation. Simple pass-throughs can stay inline in the convenience client, but anything with field renames, enum widening, or polymorphic discrimination belongs in serviceUtils.ts.
6. Export every new public symbol from src/index.ts. This file is intentionally skipped during the customization merge, so new exports are never added automatically. The ae-forgotten-export lint error catches the most obvious omissions; it does not catch missing operations or types that are never referenced internally.
7. Run api-extractor (via pnpm run extract-api or the package build) and inspect review/search-documents-node.api.md. Cross-check that every new operation and every new model from steps 1–3 appears.

Then add a public method per new operation:

• Place the method on the correct hand-authored convenience client (src/searchClient.ts, src/searchIndexClient.ts, src/searchIndexerClient.ts, or src/knowledgeRetrievalClient.ts) — never in the generated-mirrored sub-client under src/<subclient>/.
• Wrap the body in tracingClient.withSpan("ClientName-methodName", options, async (updatedOptions) => { ... }).
• Convert public input types → generated types, call this.client.<operation>(...), then convert the generated response → public types.
• Mirror the generated argument order exactly when calling this.client.* (see the pitfall about arg-order swaps). Open the matching generated wrapper and verify each parameter position.
• Add a TSDoc comment with @param entries and an @example snippet when the operation has non-trivial inputs.

The task is not complete until:

• Every new generated operation has a corresponding convenience method.
• Every new generated model / union member that consumers need to construct or pattern-match is mirrored, converted, and re-exported.
• review/*.api.md contains the new surface, the changelog lists it, and the public surface compiles with no ae-forgotten-export or ae-internal-mixed-release warnings.

For a detailed example (wrong vs right), see references/architecture.md.

Where to Make Changes

Goal	Where to edit
Add/modify type conversions (generated ↔ public)	src/serviceUtils.ts
Add/modify public model types for indexes, indexers, skills, data sources	src/serviceModels.ts
Add/modify public types for search/suggest/autocomplete operations	src/indexModels.ts
Add/modify public types for knowledge base operations	src/knowledgeBaseModels.ts
Change how search/suggest/autocomplete/document operations work	src/searchClient.ts
Change how index management works	src/searchIndexClient.ts
Change how indexer/data source/skillset management works	src/searchIndexerClient.ts
Change how knowledge retrieval works	src/knowledgeRetrievalClient.ts
Add/modify special serialization (NaN, Infinity, Date, GeographyPoint)	src/serialization.ts
Export a new public symbol	src/index.ts

Prefer extension points over editing generated-mirrored code. Add conversion helpers in src/serviceUtils.ts and custom public models in src/serviceModels.ts/src/indexModels.ts, rather than editing files that have counterparts in generated/.

Testing Notes

• Stable API tests in test/public/node/, preview feature tests in test/public/node/preview/.
• Recorded tests use @azure-tools/test-recorder. The recorder removes sanitizers AZSDK2021 and AZSDK3493.
• WAIT_TIME pattern: isPlaybackMode() ? 0 : 4000 — live/record mode needs 4s delays for index consistency.
• Test data: Hotel interface in test/public/utils/interfaces.ts, mock embeddings in mockEmbeddings.ts.
• test/snippets.spec.ts is NOT a real test — it contains doc snippet source code.
• To run live tests, copy sample.env to .env and fill in values.
• Always register non-ENDPOINT env vars in envSetupForPlayback in test/public/utils/recordedClient.ts. Any env var the tests read (e.g. AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT, AZURE_OPENAI_EMBEDDING_DEPLOYMENT_NAME) needs a stable placeholder value there, otherwise the recorder swaps the live value in record mode but exposes it raw in playback, producing body diffs.
• Recorder env-var sanitizer is value-based, not field-based — every occurrence of an env var's value in a request body is replaced with the playback placeholder. If two distinct fields (e.g. deploymentId and modelName) happen to share the same string, both get sanitized to the same placeholder; the test must then either source both from the same env var or use distinct values that don't collide.
• File knowledge source tests require an MSI-enabled search service — File KS ingestion calls Azure OpenAI under the search service's managed identity. The service returns HTTP 500 ("File upload processing failed. Please check the file format and try again.") even for valid files when the identity is missing or lacks the "Cognitive Services OpenAI User" role on the embedding account. The error message is misleading; the fix is identity/role, not file format.
• Test fixtures live under test/public/node/preview/fixtures/ — load with readFileSync(resolve(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), "fixtures", name)) to keep tests reproducible without inlining binary buffers.

Asset Sync

Recordings are stored under .assets/<random>/js/sdk/search/search-documents/recordings/... and tracked via assets.json (AssetsRepo: Azure/azure-sdk-assets). After recording locally, run pnpm exec dev-tool test-proxy push from the package directory to publish the recordings and bump assets.json.Tag. Commit the updated assets.json alongside the test source change.

References

Reference	Contents
references/architecture.md	Source layout, four clients, key hand-authored files
references/data-flow.md	Search pagination, serialization, data flow patterns, buffered sender, strong typing
references/customization.md	3-way merge algorithm, conflict resolution, post-regeneration scenarios
references/type-mapping.md	Property name mappings, wire format encodings, conversion function inventory

---

Source: Azure/azure-sdk-for-js — distributed by TomeVault.