From da77b9e88885328aaac21dd277f6c785baf5af66 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ivan Despot <66276597+g-despot@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 21:46:32 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 1/5] docs: reference updates for Weaviate 1.39 Remove the schema_tx metrics, which were deleted from core in 1.39. Promote the Boost API note from preview to generally available, and rename the now-misleading BoostPreview import alias to BoostNote across the five pages that render it. --- _includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx | 3 +-- docs/deploy/configuration/monitoring.md | 8 -------- docs/weaviate/search/bm25.md | 4 ++-- docs/weaviate/search/boost.md | 4 ++-- docs/weaviate/search/hybrid.md | 4 ++-- docs/weaviate/search/rerank.md | 4 ++-- docs/weaviate/search/similarity.md | 4 ++-- 7 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-) diff --git a/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx b/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx index 68167df1..b522d781 100644 --- a/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx +++ b/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx @@ -1,3 +1,2 @@ -:::caution Preview — added in `v1.38` -This is a preview feature. The API may change in future releases. +:::info Added in `v1.39` ::: diff --git a/docs/deploy/configuration/monitoring.md b/docs/deploy/configuration/monitoring.md index 4ecf2dc1..5268dc34 100644 --- a/docs/deploy/configuration/monitoring.md +++ b/docs/deploy/configuration/monitoring.md @@ -282,14 +282,6 @@ These metrics track Write-Ahead Log (WAL) recovery operations during startup. | `schema_reads_leader_seconds` | Duration of schema reads that are passed to the leader | `type` | `Summary` | | `schema_wait_for_version_seconds` | Duration of waiting for a schema version to be reached | `type` | `Summary` | -#### Schema transactions (deprecated) - -| Metric | Description | Labels | Type | -| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------- | --------- | -| `schema_tx_opened_total` | Total number of opened schema transactions | `ownership` | `Counter` | -| `schema_tx_closed_total` | Total number of closed schema transactions. A close must be either successful or failed | `ownership`, `status` | `Counter` | -| `schema_tx_duration_seconds` | Mean duration of a tx by status | `ownership`, `status` | `Summary` | - #### RAFT metrics (internal) | Metric | Description | Labels | Type | diff --git a/docs/weaviate/search/bm25.md b/docs/weaviate/search/bm25.md index 414e6f85..8acf000c 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/search/bm25.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/search/bm25.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import GoCode from '!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/howto/go/docs/mainpkg/search-b import JavaV6Code from "!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/java-v6/src/test/java/SearchKeywordTest.java"; import CSharpCode from "!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/csharp/SearchKeywordTest.cs"; import GQLCode from '!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/howto/search.bm25.gql.py'; -import BoostPreview from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; +import BoostNote from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; `Keyword` search, also called "BM25 (Best match 25)" or "sparse vector" search, returns objects that have the highest BM25F scores. @@ -767,7 +767,7 @@ Set the tokenization method to `trigram` at the property level when creating you ## Soft-rank with Boost - + Keyword (BM25) queries accept an optional `boost` argument that promotes or demotes matching documents without removing them — useful for biasing results by recency, popularity, a soft filter, or another property. Matching documents move up. Everything else stays in the results but ranks lower. diff --git a/docs/weaviate/search/boost.md b/docs/weaviate/search/boost.md index 7fe9c60c..3cf663f2 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/search/boost.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/search/boost.md @@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs'; import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem'; import FilteredTextBlock from '@site/src/components/Documentation/FilteredTextBlock'; import PyCode from '!!raw-loader!/_includes/code/howto/search.boost.py'; -import BoostPreview from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; +import BoostNote from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; - + **Boost** soft-ranks search results — promote or demote matching documents without removing them from the result set. Matching documents move up. Non-matching documents stay in the results but rank lower. diff --git a/docs/weaviate/search/hybrid.md b/docs/weaviate/search/hybrid.md index 0956af11..1a522821 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/search/hybrid.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/search/hybrid.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import GoCode from '!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/howto/go/docs/mainpkg/search-h import JavaV6Code from "!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/java-v6/src/test/java/SearchHybridTest.java"; import CSharpCode from "!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/csharp/SearchHybridTest.cs"; import GQLCode from '!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/howto/search.hybrid.gql.py'; -import BoostPreview from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; +import BoostNote from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; `Hybrid` search combines the results of a vector search and a keyword (BM25F) search by fusing the two result sets. @@ -1041,7 +1041,7 @@ import TokenizationNote from '/\_includes/tokenization.mdx' ## Soft-rank with Boost - + Hybrid queries accept an optional `boost` argument that promotes or demotes matching documents without removing them — useful for biasing results by recency, popularity, a soft filter, or another property. diff --git a/docs/weaviate/search/rerank.md b/docs/weaviate/search/rerank.md index 2dac8f57..df7b5b54 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/search/rerank.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/search/rerank.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import SimilarityPyCode from '!!raw-loader!/_includes/code/howto/search.similari import SimilarityPyCodeV3 from '!!raw-loader!/_includes/code/howto/search.similarity-v3.py'; import SimilarityTSCode from '!!raw-loader!/_includes/code/howto/search.similarity.ts'; import GoCode from '!!raw-loader!/_includes/code/howto/go/docs/mainpkg/search-rerank_test.go'; -import BoostPreview from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; +import BoostNote from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; Reranking modules reorder the search result set according to a different set of criteria or a different (e.g. more expensive) algorithm. @@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ The response should look like this: ## Soft-rank with Boost - + For lightweight result reordering based on filters, property values, or time / numeric decay — without calling an external rerank model — use [Boost](./boost.md). Rerank and Boost can be used independently. Pick rerank when you need a smarter model to re-rank the top-N, and Boost when you want to bias by simple signals already on the objects. diff --git a/docs/weaviate/search/similarity.md b/docs/weaviate/search/similarity.md index 5a4c2fe9..5a15583e 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/search/similarity.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/search/similarity.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import TSCode from '!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/howto/search.similarity.ts'; import GoCode from '!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/howto/go/docs/mainpkg/search-similarity_test.go'; import JavaV6Code from "!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/java-v6/src/test/java/SearchSimilarityTest.java"; import CSharpCode from "!!raw-loader!/\_includes/code/csharp/SearchSimilarityTest.cs"; -import BoostPreview from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; +import BoostNote from '/_includes/feature-notes/boost.mdx'; Vector search returns the objects with most similar vectors to that of the query. @@ -719,7 +719,7 @@ A larger candidate set (higher top-level `limit`) gives MMR more results to choo ## Soft-rank with Boost - + Vector search queries accept an optional `boost` argument that promotes or demotes matching documents without removing them — useful for biasing results by recency, popularity, a soft filter, or another property. Matching documents move up. Everything else stays in the results but ranks lower. From 9a08110ebba52f11a11aca329a38a849a008ee73 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ivan Despot <66276597+g-despot@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 21:59:57 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 2/5] Document HNSW snapshot automation and env var deprecation in v1.39 In v1.39 the HNSW commit log compactor owns the full on-disk lifecycle of the vector index. Snapshots are always created and managed automatically, and the five PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_* environment variables are inert no-ops that log a startup warning when set. Docs serve the latest three supported minors, so the pre-v1.39 configuration guidance is retained and scoped to v1.31 through v1.38 rather than removed. - configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md: lead with the v1.39 behavior and the list of ignored variables; move the existing configuration reference into a section scoped to earlier versions. - concepts/storage.md: describe snapshots as part of the storage engine rather than an opt-in speedup, cover the streaming on-disk merge and the crash-safety mechanisms, and scope the previous conditional creation and snapshot fallback behavior to earlier versions. - env-vars/index.md: mark the five variables deprecated in v1.39 while preserving what they did for readers on earlier versions. - feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx: note the v1.39 change on both pages that consume the include. --- _includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx | 1 + docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md | 10 ++--- docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md | 26 +++++------- docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md | 40 ++++++++++++++----- 4 files changed, 48 insertions(+), 29 deletions(-) diff --git a/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx b/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx index ff9190c5..d8dd6042 100644 --- a/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx +++ b/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx @@ -1,2 +1,3 @@ :::info Added in `v1.31` +Starting in `v1.39`, HNSW snapshots are created and managed automatically, and are no longer configurable. ::: diff --git a/docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md b/docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md index e5cca50b..037cf00c 100644 --- a/docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md +++ b/docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md @@ -83,11 +83,11 @@ import APITable from '@site/src/components/APITable'; | `OPERATIONAL_MODE` | Sets the [mode of operation](../status.md#operational-modes) for the instance. Options: `READ_WRITE` (default), `READ_ONLY`, `WRITE_ONLY`, `SCALE_OUT`. Limits available operations based on the mode selected. | `string` | `READ_WRITE` | | `ORIGIN` | Set the http(s) origin for Weaviate | `string - HTTP origin` | `https://my-weaviate-deployment.com` | | `PERSISTENCE_DATA_PATH` | Path to the Weaviate data store.
[Note about file systems and performance](/weaviate/concepts/resources.md#file-system). | `string - file path` | `/var/lib/weaviate`
Defaults to `./data`| -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` | If set, [HNSW snapshotting](/weaviate/concepts/storage.md#persistence-and-crash-recovery) will be disabled. Default: `false` (enabled) as of `v1.36`; `true` (disabled) in `v1.31`–`v1.35`
Added in `v1.31` | `boolean` | `false` | -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_INTERVAL_SECONDS` | The minimum time in seconds that must pass before the next snapshot is created. Default: `21600` seconds (6 hours)
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `3600` | -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_NUMBER` | The minimum number of new commit log files created since the last snapshot. Default: `1`
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `100` | -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_SIZE_PERCENTAGE` | The minimum total size of new commit logs (as a percentage of the previous snapshot's size) required to trigger a new snapshot. Default: `5` (meaning 5% of the previous snapshot's size in new commit logs)
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `15` | -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_ON_STARTUP` | If set, Weaviate will try to create a new snapshot during startup if there are changes in the commit log since the last snapshot. If there are no changes, then the existing snapshot will be loaded. Default: `true`
Added in `v1.31` | `boolean` | `false` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: if set, HNSW snapshotting will be disabled. Default: `false` (enabled) as of `v1.36`; `true` (disabled) in `v1.31`–`v1.35`
Added in `v1.31` | `boolean` | `false` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_INTERVAL_SECONDS` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: the minimum time in seconds that must pass before the next snapshot is created. Default: `21600` seconds (6 hours)
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `3600` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_NUMBER` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: the minimum number of new commit log files created since the last snapshot. Default: `1`
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `100` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_SIZE_PERCENTAGE` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: the minimum total size of new commit logs (as a percentage of the previous snapshot's size) required to trigger a new snapshot. Default: `5` (meaning 5% of the previous snapshot's size in new commit logs)
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `15` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_ON_STARTUP` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: if set, Weaviate will try to create a new snapshot during startup if there are changes in the commit log since the last snapshot. If there are no changes, then the existing snapshot will be loaded. Default: `true`
Added in `v1.31` | `boolean` | `false` | | `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_MAX_LOG_SIZE` | Maximum size of the HNSW [write-ahead-log](/weaviate/concepts/storage.md#hnsw-vector-index-storage). Increase this to improve log compaction efficiency, or decrease to reduce memory requirements. Default: 500MiB | `string` | `4GiB` (IEC units), `4GB` (SI units), `4000000000` (bytes) | | `PERSISTENCE_LSM_ACCESS_STRATEGY` | Function used to access disk data in virtual memory. Default: `mmap` | `string` | `mmap` or `pread` | | `PERSISTENCE_LSM_MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE` | Maximum size of a segment in the [LSM store](/weaviate/concepts/storage.md#object-and-inverted-index-store). Set this to limit disk usage spikes during compaction to ~2x the segment size. Default: no limit | `string` | `4GiB` (IEC units), `4GB` (SI units), `4000000000` (bytes) | diff --git a/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md b/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md index 607330f5..4ce2936e 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md @@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ For the HNSW vector index, the Write-Ahead-Log (WAL) is a critical component for The entire HNSW index state can be reconstructed by replaying these WAL entries. -For very large indexes of tens or hundreds of millions of objects, this can be time-consuming. If you have a large index and you want to speed up the startup time, you can use the **[HNSW snapshots](../configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md)** feature. +For very large indexes of tens or hundreds of millions of objects, this can be time-consuming. To avoid replaying the entire WAL on every restart, Weaviate periodically writes **[HNSW snapshots](../configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md)**. ### HNSW snapshots @@ -109,27 +109,23 @@ import HnswSnapshots from '/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx'; -For very large HNSW vector indexes, HNSW snapshots can significantly reduce the startup time. +For very large HNSW vector indexes, HNSW snapshots significantly reduce the startup time. -A snapshot represents a point-in-time state of the HNSW index. When Weaviate starts, if a valid snapshot exists, it will be loaded into memory first. This significantly reduces startup time, as the number of WAL entries that need to be processed, as only the changes made after the snapshot was taken need to be replayed from the WAL. +A snapshot represents a point-in-time state of the HNSW index. When Weaviate starts, if a snapshot exists, it is loaded first, and only the changes made after the snapshot was taken are replayed from the WAL. This significantly reduces startup time, because the number of WAL entries that have to be processed no longer grows with the age of the index. -If a snapshot cannot be loaded for any reason, it is safely removed, and Weaviate falls back to the traditional method of loading the full commit log from the beginning, ensuring resilience. +The WAL is still used to persist every change immediately, guaranteeing that any acknowledged write is durable. Even with a fresh snapshot, the server typically still has to load at least one subsequent commit log file. -Snapshots can be created at startup and periodically based on time passed or changes in the commit log. +Starting in `v1.39`, snapshots are part of how the vector index is stored rather than an optional speedup, and Weaviate manages them automatically. A background compactor owns the on-disk lifecycle of the index: it converts each newly flushed commit log into a sorted file, merges sorted files together, and writes a new snapshot when doing so is worthwhile. Snapshot and commit log files live in the same directory, and a snapshot replaces the files it covers rather than duplicating them, which keeps the disk footprint proportional to the size of the index. -Weaviate will try to create a new snapshot during startup if there are changes in the commit log since the last snapshot. If there are no changes, then the existing snapshot will be loaded. +Because the merge reads its inputs as sorted streams from disk, only the most recently flushed commit log is processed in memory. That step has a fixed cost regardless of how large the graph is, so snapshot creation no longer requires enough memory to hold the previous snapshot plus the commit log delta. -A snapshot will also be created if the corresponding conditions are met, meaning the specified time interval has passed and a sufficient number of new commits exist. This is handled by the same background process that manages commit log combining and condensing, ensuring stability as the commit logs used for snapshot creation are not mutable during this process. +Weaviate protects this on-disk state in several ways. New files are written to a temporary path and atomically renamed into place, so an interrupted write can never be mistaken for a complete file, and orphaned temporary files are cleaned up on the next startup. Snapshots are stored in a checksummed block format. If a commit log file has a torn tail after a crash, it is truncated back to its last valid entry, and a compacted segment that cannot be read in full is dropped in favor of the snapshot and the remaining clean segments. -Each new HNSW snapshot is based on the previous snapshot and newer (delta) commit logs. +See **[the HNSW snapshots configuration](../configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md)** for version-specific details. -It's important to note that even with a fresh snapshot, the server typically still has to load at least one subsequent commit log file. - -The WAL is still used to persist every change immediately, guaranteeing that any acknowledged write is durable. Over time, the append-only WAL will contain redundant information for operations occurring after the last snapshot. A background process continuously compacts these newer WAL files, removing redundant information. This, combined with snapshotting, keeps the disk footprint manageable and startup times fast. - -See **[the HNSW snapshots configuration](../configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md)** for more details on how to configure this feature. - -Starting in `v1.36`, HNSW snapshots are enabled by default. In `v1.31` through `v1.35`, they are disabled by default. +:::note Behavior before `v1.39` +In `v1.31` through `v1.38`, snapshots are an optional feature layered on top of the commit log, and are configured with the `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_*` environment variables. They are enabled by default starting in `v1.36`, and disabled by default in `v1.31` through `v1.35`. In these versions, Weaviate creates a snapshot at startup if the commit log changed since the last snapshot, and periodically once a configured time interval has passed and enough new commit log data has accumulated. If a snapshot cannot be loaded, it is removed and Weaviate falls back to loading the full commit log from the beginning. In `v1.39` and later, a snapshot that cannot be read is a startup error instead, because the commit logs it covers no longer exist as a separate copy. +::: ## Conclusions diff --git a/docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md b/docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md index 9db38efb..85479f8d 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md @@ -2,29 +2,51 @@ title: HNSW Snapshots sidebar_position: 47 sidebar_label: HNSW Snapshots -description: Learn about HNSW snapshots in Weaviate for faster startup times and how to manage them. +description: Learn how Weaviate uses HNSW snapshots for faster startup times, and how they were configured in versions before v1.39. --- import HnswSnapshots from '/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx'; -HNSW (Hierarchical Navigable Small World) snapshots can significantly reduce startup times for instances with large vector indexes. - -HNSW snapshotting is **enabled by default** starting in `v1.36`. To disable it, set `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` to `true`. - -In versions prior to `v1.36`, HNSW snapshotting is disabled by default. Set `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` to `false` to enable it. +HNSW (Hierarchical Navigable Small World) snapshots significantly reduce startup times for instances with large vector indexes. :::info Concepts: HNSW snapshots See this [concepts page](../concepts/storage.md#hnsw-snapshots) for a detailed description. ::: -## Configuring snapshot creation +## Snapshots in `v1.39` and later + +Starting in `v1.39`, HNSW snapshots are always enabled and are not configurable. + +The commit log compactor owns the on-disk lifecycle of the vector index, and snapshots are one of the file formats it produces. Weaviate creates and maintains them automatically, so there is nothing to enable, disable, schedule, or tune. + +### Environment variables that no longer have an effect + +The following environment variables are still recognized, so existing deployments continue to start without a configuration error. However, they are ignored: + +- `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` +- `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_INTERVAL_SECONDS` +- `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_ON_STARTUP` +- `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_NUMBER` +- `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_SIZE_PERCENTAGE` + +If any of these variables is set, Weaviate logs a warning at startup that names the variable and states that it has no effect and will be removed in a future version. Variables that are not set produce no warning. To clear the warnings, remove the variables from your deployment configuration. + +Setting the equivalent options in a YAML or JSON configuration file is also accepted and also ignored, but it does not produce a startup warning. + +## Configuring snapshot creation in versions before `v1.39` + +:::note +This section applies to `v1.31` through `v1.38` only. In `v1.39` and later, the environment variables below are ignored. +::: + +In these versions, HNSW snapshotting is an optional feature layered on top of the commit log, and the following environment variables control it. -Set the following optional environment variables to configure the snapshotting behavior. +HNSW snapshotting is **enabled by default** starting in `v1.36`. To disable it, set `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` to `true`. In versions prior to `v1.36`, HNSW snapshotting is disabled by default. Set `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` to `false` to enable it. :::note -Before creating a new snapshot, the previous snapshot and the commit log difference need to be loaded into memory. Make sure you have enough memory to accommodate this process. +Before creating a new snapshot, the previous snapshot and the commit log difference need to be loaded into memory. Make sure you have enough memory to accommodate this process. This requirement does not apply in `v1.39` and later, where snapshots are merged from disk as a stream. ::: ### Snapshot on startup From ea6236e4ef7540cd04cff07b5c3c973a0045196c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ivan Despot <66276597+g-despot@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 22:12:53 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 3/5] Correct corrupt segment recovery description in storage concepts The v1.39 crash-safety paragraph said a compacted segment that cannot be read in full is dropped in favor of the snapshot and the remaining clean segments. That is not what the loader does. For both raw commit logs and compacted .sorted/.condensed segments it calls truncateToLastValidRecord, keeping every record written before the corruption and leaving the file valid for later compaction. Only the damaged tail is lost. The two outcomes differ in recall, so describe the retention explicitly and phrase both cases as the single mechanism they actually are. Note that the struct comment at compact/loader.go:73-74 and the matching one at hnsw/startup.go:101-102 still describe the discard behavior and contradict the implementation. Tracked separately on the core side. --- docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md b/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md index 4ce2936e..f8a4a383 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md @@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ Starting in `v1.39`, snapshots are part of how the vector index is stored rather Because the merge reads its inputs as sorted streams from disk, only the most recently flushed commit log is processed in memory. That step has a fixed cost regardless of how large the graph is, so snapshot creation no longer requires enough memory to hold the previous snapshot plus the commit log delta. -Weaviate protects this on-disk state in several ways. New files are written to a temporary path and atomically renamed into place, so an interrupted write can never be mistaken for a complete file, and orphaned temporary files are cleaned up on the next startup. Snapshots are stored in a checksummed block format. If a commit log file has a torn tail after a crash, it is truncated back to its last valid entry, and a compacted segment that cannot be read in full is dropped in favor of the snapshot and the remaining clean segments. +Weaviate protects this on-disk state in several ways. New files are written to a temporary path and atomically renamed into place, so an interrupted write can never be mistaken for a complete file, and orphaned temporary files are cleaned up on the next startup. Snapshots are stored in a checksummed block format. If a file cannot be read in full, whether it is a commit log with a torn tail after a crash or a compacted segment damaged on disk, it is truncated back to its last valid entry. The entries written before the damage are retained, and the file becomes valid again so that later compaction can read it. Only the damaged tail is lost, and it is unrecoverable in any case. See **[the HNSW snapshots configuration](../configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md)** for version-specific details. From 9e2a168fa2accc54a5da0e423e52d638adbb8fc8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ivan Despot <66276597+g-despot@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 22:14:44 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 4/5] Reword the HNSW Snapshots configuration card The card read "Configure HNSW index snapshots for faster recovery and startup." There is nothing to configure in v1.39, but the page still serves v1.37 and v1.38 readers who can configure it, so the description now leads with the outcome instead of the action and reads correctly for both audiences. Keeps the imperative benefit-first voice of the neighbouring cards ("Reduce memory usage with...", "Enable the built-in..."), and drops the restatement of the card title, which the title already supplies. --- docs/weaviate/configuration/index.mdx | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/docs/weaviate/configuration/index.mdx b/docs/weaviate/configuration/index.mdx index 40bc472d..3177eca4 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/configuration/index.mdx +++ b/docs/weaviate/configuration/index.mdx @@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ export const configOpsData = [ { title: "HNSW Snapshots", description: - "Configure HNSW index snapshots for faster recovery and startup.", + "Speed up startup and recovery for instances with large vector indexes.", link: "/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots", icon: "fas fa-camera", }, From 4bad93ce961cc86fe644f89b85058ef7199480d6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ivan Despot <66276597+g-despot@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 22:23:06 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 5/5] Apply editor feedback to the v1.39 HNSW snapshot docs Blocking items: - Move the v1.39 startup-failure behavior out of the historical note and into the main durability prose. It was the last sentence of a box titled "Behavior before v1.39", which told v1.39 readers to skip the highest-consequence fact in the release. - Split the durability paragraph in three so commit logs and snapshots are not conflated. Commit logs, including compacted ones, self-heal by truncation; snapshots are never truncated or repaired and an unreadable one fails the index load. - Stop calling HNSW compaction output a "segment", which contradicts "the vector index does not use segmentation" earlier on the same page. Vocabulary is now commit log, compacted commit log, snapshot, compactor. - Replace en dashes in the env-var rows with "through", matching the other two files. Also: - Compound title on the feature-note include, per the rq-8bit precedent. - Halve the repeated boilerplate in the five env-var rows and point the historical half at a new stable anchor on the pre-v1.39 section, so readers on earlier versions land on the part that applies to them. - Drop "periodically" from the snapshot lead-in (compaction is driven by the compactor, not a timer) and stop framing a snapshot as conditional. - Retitle both scoping notes to name v1.31 through v1.38 explicitly, since snapshots did not exist before v1.31. - Add a caution to the configuration page covering the fail-to-start behavior, which every deprecated env-var row links to. - Name the configuration file that silently accepts these settings. The recovery advice was verified against the compactor deleting its input files after a successful snapshot write, and the loader filtering covered commit logs, which together confirm no local copy survives. --- _includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx | 4 +++- docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md | 10 +++++----- docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md | 18 +++++++++++------- docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md | 12 ++++++++---- 4 files changed, 27 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-) diff --git a/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx b/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx index d8dd6042..4d7fb6b8 100644 --- a/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx +++ b/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx @@ -1,3 +1,5 @@ -:::info Added in `v1.31` +:::info Added in `v1.31` · Changed in `v1.39` + Starting in `v1.39`, HNSW snapshots are created and managed automatically, and are no longer configurable. + ::: diff --git a/docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md b/docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md index 037cf00c..74f83efe 100644 --- a/docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md +++ b/docs/deploy/configuration/env-vars/index.md @@ -83,11 +83,11 @@ import APITable from '@site/src/components/APITable'; | `OPERATIONAL_MODE` | Sets the [mode of operation](../status.md#operational-modes) for the instance. Options: `READ_WRITE` (default), `READ_ONLY`, `WRITE_ONLY`, `SCALE_OUT`. Limits available operations based on the mode selected. | `string` | `READ_WRITE` | | `ORIGIN` | Set the http(s) origin for Weaviate | `string - HTTP origin` | `https://my-weaviate-deployment.com` | | `PERSISTENCE_DATA_PATH` | Path to the Weaviate data store.
[Note about file systems and performance](/weaviate/concepts/resources.md#file-system). | `string - file path` | `/var/lib/weaviate`
Defaults to `./data`| -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: if set, HNSW snapshotting will be disabled. Default: `false` (enabled) as of `v1.36`; `true` (disabled) in `v1.31`–`v1.35`
Added in `v1.31` | `boolean` | `false` | -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_INTERVAL_SECONDS` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: the minimum time in seconds that must pass before the next snapshot is created. Default: `21600` seconds (6 hours)
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `3600` | -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_NUMBER` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: the minimum number of new commit log files created since the last snapshot. Default: `1`
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `100` | -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_SIZE_PERCENTAGE` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: the minimum total size of new commit logs (as a percentage of the previous snapshot's size) required to trigger a new snapshot. Default: `5` (meaning 5% of the previous snapshot's size in new commit logs)
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `15` | -| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_ON_STARTUP` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** [HNSW snapshots](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md) are now always enabled and managed automatically, so this variable is ignored and setting it logs a startup warning. In `v1.31`–`v1.38`: if set, Weaviate will try to create a new snapshot during startup if there are changes in the commit log since the last snapshot. If there are no changes, then the existing snapshot will be loaded. Default: `true`
Added in `v1.31` | `boolean` | `false` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_DISABLE_SNAPSHOTS` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** Ignored, and logs a startup warning. [In `v1.31` through `v1.38`](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md#pre-v1-39-configuration): if set, HNSW snapshotting will be disabled. Default: `false` (enabled) as of `v1.36`; `true` (disabled) in `v1.31` through `v1.35`
Added in `v1.31` | `boolean` | `false` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_INTERVAL_SECONDS` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** Ignored, and logs a startup warning. [In `v1.31` through `v1.38`](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md#pre-v1-39-configuration): the minimum time in seconds that must pass before the next snapshot is created. Default: `21600` seconds (6 hours)
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `3600` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_NUMBER` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** Ignored, and logs a startup warning. [In `v1.31` through `v1.38`](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md#pre-v1-39-configuration): the minimum number of new commit log files created since the last snapshot. Default: `1`
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `100` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_MIN_DELTA_COMMITLOGS_SIZE_PERCENTAGE` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** Ignored, and logs a startup warning. [In `v1.31` through `v1.38`](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md#pre-v1-39-configuration): the minimum total size of new commit logs (as a percentage of the previous snapshot's size) required to trigger a new snapshot. Default: `5` (meaning 5% of the previous snapshot's size in new commit logs)
Added in `v1.31` | `string - number` | `15` | +| `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_ON_STARTUP` | **Deprecated in `v1.39`.** Ignored, and logs a startup warning. [In `v1.31` through `v1.38`](/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md#pre-v1-39-configuration): if set, Weaviate will try to create a new snapshot during startup if there are changes in the commit log since the last snapshot. If there are no changes, then the existing snapshot will be loaded. Default: `true`
Added in `v1.31` | `boolean` | `false` | | `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_MAX_LOG_SIZE` | Maximum size of the HNSW [write-ahead-log](/weaviate/concepts/storage.md#hnsw-vector-index-storage). Increase this to improve log compaction efficiency, or decrease to reduce memory requirements. Default: 500MiB | `string` | `4GiB` (IEC units), `4GB` (SI units), `4000000000` (bytes) | | `PERSISTENCE_LSM_ACCESS_STRATEGY` | Function used to access disk data in virtual memory. Default: `mmap` | `string` | `mmap` or `pread` | | `PERSISTENCE_LSM_MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE` | Maximum size of a segment in the [LSM store](/weaviate/concepts/storage.md#object-and-inverted-index-store). Set this to limit disk usage spikes during compaction to ~2x the segment size. Default: no limit | `string` | `4GiB` (IEC units), `4GB` (SI units), `4000000000` (bytes) | diff --git a/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md b/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md index f8a4a383..69112ec0 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/concepts/storage.md @@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ For the HNSW vector index, the Write-Ahead-Log (WAL) is a critical component for The entire HNSW index state can be reconstructed by replaying these WAL entries. -For very large indexes of tens or hundreds of millions of objects, this can be time-consuming. To avoid replaying the entire WAL on every restart, Weaviate periodically writes **[HNSW snapshots](../configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md)**. +For very large indexes of tens or hundreds of millions of objects, this can be time-consuming. To avoid replaying the entire WAL on every restart, Weaviate writes **[HNSW snapshots](../configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md)**. ### HNSW snapshots @@ -111,20 +111,24 @@ import HnswSnapshots from '/_includes/feature-notes/hnsw-snapshots.mdx'; For very large HNSW vector indexes, HNSW snapshots significantly reduce the startup time. -A snapshot represents a point-in-time state of the HNSW index. When Weaviate starts, if a snapshot exists, it is loaded first, and only the changes made after the snapshot was taken are replayed from the WAL. This significantly reduces startup time, because the number of WAL entries that have to be processed no longer grows with the age of the index. +A snapshot represents a point-in-time state of the HNSW index. When Weaviate starts, it loads the most recent snapshot and replays only the commit log entries written after it. This significantly reduces startup time, because the number of entries that have to be replayed no longer grows with the age of the index. -The WAL is still used to persist every change immediately, guaranteeing that any acknowledged write is durable. Even with a fresh snapshot, the server typically still has to load at least one subsequent commit log file. +The commit log still persists every change immediately, guaranteeing that any acknowledged write is durable. Even with a fresh snapshot, the server typically still has to load at least one subsequent commit log file. -Starting in `v1.39`, snapshots are part of how the vector index is stored rather than an optional speedup, and Weaviate manages them automatically. A background compactor owns the on-disk lifecycle of the index: it converts each newly flushed commit log into a sorted file, merges sorted files together, and writes a new snapshot when doing so is worthwhile. Snapshot and commit log files live in the same directory, and a snapshot replaces the files it covers rather than duplicating them, which keeps the disk footprint proportional to the size of the index. +Starting in `v1.39`, snapshots are part of how the vector index is stored rather than an optional speedup, and Weaviate manages them automatically. A background compactor owns the on-disk lifecycle of the index: it compacts newly flushed commit logs, merges them together, and writes a new snapshot when doing so is worthwhile. Snapshots and commit logs live in the same directory, and a snapshot replaces the commit logs it covers rather than duplicating them, which keeps the disk footprint proportional to the size of the index. Because the merge reads its inputs as sorted streams from disk, only the most recently flushed commit log is processed in memory. That step has a fixed cost regardless of how large the graph is, so snapshot creation no longer requires enough memory to hold the previous snapshot plus the commit log delta. -Weaviate protects this on-disk state in several ways. New files are written to a temporary path and atomically renamed into place, so an interrupted write can never be mistaken for a complete file, and orphaned temporary files are cleaned up on the next startup. Snapshots are stored in a checksummed block format. If a file cannot be read in full, whether it is a commit log with a torn tail after a crash or a compacted segment damaged on disk, it is truncated back to its last valid entry. The entries written before the damage are retained, and the file becomes valid again so that later compaction can read it. Only the damaged tail is lost, and it is unrecoverable in any case. +Weaviate protects this on-disk state in several ways. New files are written to a temporary path and atomically renamed into place, so an interrupted write can never be mistaken for a complete file, and orphaned temporary files are cleaned up on the next startup. + +Commit logs, including compacted ones, are self-healing. If one cannot be read in full, whether because a crash tore its tail or because the file was damaged on disk, it is truncated back to its last valid entry. The entries written before the damage are retained and the file becomes valid again for later compaction, so only the damaged tail is lost. + +Snapshots are handled differently. A snapshot is stored in a checksummed block format, and it is never truncated or repaired. If the current snapshot cannot be read, the affected vector index fails to start rather than loading partial data. Because the commit logs a snapshot covers are deleted once it has been written, nothing remains on the node to replay in its place, so recovering that shard means restoring the data, for example from a [backup](/deploy/configuration/backups.md). See **[the HNSW snapshots configuration](../configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md)** for version-specific details. -:::note Behavior before `v1.39` -In `v1.31` through `v1.38`, snapshots are an optional feature layered on top of the commit log, and are configured with the `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_*` environment variables. They are enabled by default starting in `v1.36`, and disabled by default in `v1.31` through `v1.35`. In these versions, Weaviate creates a snapshot at startup if the commit log changed since the last snapshot, and periodically once a configured time interval has passed and enough new commit log data has accumulated. If a snapshot cannot be loaded, it is removed and Weaviate falls back to loading the full commit log from the beginning. In `v1.39` and later, a snapshot that cannot be read is a startup error instead, because the commit logs it covers no longer exist as a separate copy. +:::note Behavior in `v1.31` through `v1.38` +In these versions, snapshots are an optional feature layered on top of the commit log, and are configured with the `PERSISTENCE_HNSW_SNAPSHOT_*` environment variables. They are enabled by default starting in `v1.36`, and disabled by default in `v1.31` through `v1.35`. Weaviate creates a snapshot at startup if the commit log changed since the last snapshot, and periodically once a configured time interval has passed and enough new commit log data has accumulated. If a snapshot cannot be loaded, it is removed and Weaviate falls back to loading the full commit log from the beginning. ::: ## Conclusions diff --git a/docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md b/docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md index 85479f8d..ec0f392f 100644 --- a/docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md +++ b/docs/weaviate/configuration/hnsw-snapshots.md @@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ Starting in `v1.39`, HNSW snapshots are always enabled and are not configurable. The commit log compactor owns the on-disk lifecycle of the vector index, and snapshots are one of the file formats it produces. Weaviate creates and maintains them automatically, so there is nothing to enable, disable, schedule, or tune. +:::caution Snapshots are now required to start +Because a snapshot replaces the commit logs it covers, it is the only copy of the index state up to that point. If the current snapshot cannot be read, the affected vector index fails to start rather than loading partial data, and it cannot be rebuilt from the node's remaining files. Recovering that shard means restoring the data, for example from a [backup](/deploy/configuration/backups.md). In `v1.31` through `v1.38`, an unreadable snapshot is discarded and Weaviate replays the full commit log instead. +::: + ### Environment variables that no longer have an effect The following environment variables are still recognized, so existing deployments continue to start without a configuration error. However, they are ignored: @@ -33,12 +37,12 @@ The following environment variables are still recognized, so existing deployment If any of these variables is set, Weaviate logs a warning at startup that names the variable and states that it has no effect and will be removed in a future version. Variables that are not set produce no warning. To clear the warnings, remove the variables from your deployment configuration. -Setting the equivalent options in a YAML or JSON configuration file is also accepted and also ignored, but it does not produce a startup warning. +The same settings in a Weaviate configuration file (`weaviate.conf.json` by default) are accepted and ignored too, but they produce no startup warning. -## Configuring snapshot creation in versions before `v1.39` +## Configuring snapshot creation in versions before `v1.39` {#pre-v1-39-configuration} -:::note -This section applies to `v1.31` through `v1.38` only. In `v1.39` and later, the environment variables below are ignored. +:::note Applies to `v1.31` through `v1.38` +In `v1.39` and later, the environment variables below are ignored. ::: In these versions, HNSW snapshotting is an optional feature layered on top of the commit log, and the following environment variables control it.