weaviate

name	weaviate
description	Search, query, and manage Weaviate vector database collections. Use when running semantic search, hybrid search, keyword search, natural language Q&A with source citations, collection schema inspection, data exploration, filtered fetching, bulk imports, or creating example data. Triggers: 'Weaviate', 'vector search', 'hybrid search', 'semantic search', 'Query Agent', 'collection management', 'import data', 'explore collection'.
allowed-tools	Read, Glob, Grep
metadata	{"triggers":"Weaviate, vector search, hybrid search, semantic search, Query Agent, collection management, data import, explore collection, keyword search","related-skills":"vector-database, weaviate-cookbooks, agentic-ai-dev","domain":"backend","role":"specialist","scope":"query","output-format":"results"}
last-reviewed	2026-03-15

Weaviate Database Operations

Iron Law

ALWAYS LIST COLLECTIONS FIRST — never assume collection names or schemas exist.

Running any search or import against a non-existent collection returns a cryptic error. list_collections.py takes under 1 second and prevents every "collection not found" failure.

Process

1. List collections — discover what exists before any operation
2. Ask user — confirm which collection(s) to target, or offer example data if empty
3. Get collection details — inspect schema, vectorizer, multi-tenancy status
4. Explore collection — check data distribution and sample objects
5. Run operation — search, import, fetch, or ask

Script Index

Script	Command	When to Use
ask.py	uv run scripts/ask.py	AI-generated answer with source citations across collections
query_search.py	uv run scripts/query_search.py	Browse raw objects across collections (no synthesis)
hybrid_search.py	uv run scripts/hybrid_search.py	Default search — BM25 + vector, balanced recall
semantic_search.py	uv run scripts/semantic_search.py	Conceptual similarity, intent matters more than keywords
keyword_search.py	uv run scripts/keyword_search.py	Exact terms, IDs, SKUs, specific text patterns
list_collections.py	uv run scripts/list_collections.py	Discover all collections in the instance
get_collection.py	uv run scripts/get_collection.py --name NAME	Schema, vectorizer config, multi-tenancy status
explore_collection.py	uv run scripts/explore_collection.py NAME	Data distribution, top values, sample objects
create_collection.py	uv run scripts/create_collection.py	Create collection with custom schema
fetch_filter.py	uv run scripts/fetch_filter.py	Retrieve by ID or structured filter criteria
import.py	uv run scripts/import.py data.csv --collection NAME	Bulk import from CSV, JSON, or JSONL
example_data.py	uv run scripts/example_data.py	Load toy data when no real data exists

Reference Files

File	Content	When to Use
references/ask.md	Query Agent ask mode — answer synthesis, source citation format	Building Q&A interfaces
references/query_search.md	Query Agent search mode — raw object retrieval	Browsing/exploring objects
references/hybrid_search.md	Hybrid BM25 + vector, alpha tuning, fusion types	General-purpose search
references/semantic_search.md	nearText query patterns, distance thresholds	Conceptual/intent-based search
references/keyword_search.md	BM25 patterns, tokenization, exact match	Keyword/ID/SKU lookup
references/list_collections.md	Collection discovery, schema overview	Discovery step
references/get_collection.md	Schema inspection, vectorizer config, properties	Pre-query schema check
references/explore_collection.md	Data stats, value distribution, sample objects	Understanding data shape
references/create_collection.md	Collection creation, properties, vectorizer config	Schema design
references/fetch_filter.md	ID fetch, where filter, structured retrieval	Precise data retrieval
references/import_data.md	Batch import, error handling, UUID strategy	Data ingestion
references/example_data.md	Pre-built toy datasets	Demos, testing
references/environment_requirements.md	All env vars and provider keys	Environment setup

Environment Variables

Required:

• WEAVIATE_URL — Weaviate Cloud cluster URL
• WEAVIATE_API_KEY — Weaviate API key

External provider keys (set only what your collections use): → See references/environment_requirements.md for the full list.

If the user has no Weaviate instance, direct them to Weaviate Cloud to create a free sandbox, then run /weaviate:quickstart.

Documentation Sources

Before generating code, consult these sources for current APIs:

Source	Tool	Purpose
Weaviate Python v4	weaviate-docs MCP	Collection creation, query APIs, vectorizer config
Weaviate general docs	weaviate-docs MCP	Best practices, multi-tenancy, named vectors
Python client fallback	Context7 MCP	weaviate-client package, async patterns

Output Formats

All scripts support --json flag. Default output is markdown tables.

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Fix
WEAVIATE_URL not set	Missing env var	Export env var in terminal
Collection not found	Wrong name or not yet created	Run list_collections.py first
Authentication error	Bad API key	Check both Weaviate key and vectorizer provider key
Dimension mismatch	Collection vectorizer ≠ query vectorizer	Match vectorizer on import and query

Post-Code Review

After writing Weaviate code, dispatch:

• weaviate-schema-reviewer — collection schema, v4 API, multi-tenancy, distance metric
• rag-pipeline-reviewer — if building a retrieval pipeline