Reporting bugs

Unfortunately, Manticore is not yet 100% bug-free, although the development team is working hard towards that goal. You may encounter some issues from time to time. It is crucial to report as much information as possible about each bug to fix it effectively. To fix a bug, either it needs to be reproduced and fixed or its cause needs to be deduced based on the information you provide. To help with this, please follow the instructions below.

Bug-tracker

Bugs and feature requests are tracked on Github. You are welcome to create a new ticket and describe your bug in detail to save time for both you and the developers.

Documentation updates

Updates to the documentation (what you are reading now) are also done on Github.

Crashes

Manticore Search is written in C++, which is a low-level programming language that allows for direct communication with the computer for faster performance. However, there is a drawback to this approach as in rare cases, it may not be possible to elegantly handle a bug by writing an error to a log and skipping the processing of the command that caused the problem. Instead, the program may crash, resulting in it stopping completely and needing to be restarted.

When Manticore Search crashes, it is important to let the Manticore team know by submitting a bug report on GitHub or through Manticore's professional services in your private helpdesk. The Manticore team requires the following information:

  1. The searchd log
  2. The coredump
  3. The query log

Additionally, it would be helpful if you could do the following:

  1. Run gdb to inspect the coredump:
    gdb /usr/bin/searchd </path/to/coredump>
  2. Find the crashed thread ID in the coredump file name (make sure you have %p in /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern), e.g. core.work_6.29050.server_name.1637586599 means thread_id=29050
  3. In gdb run:
    set pagination off
info threads
# find thread number by it's id (e.g. for `LWP 29050` it will be thread number 8
thread apply all bt
thread <thread number>
bt full
info locals
quit
  4. Provide the outputs

What do I do when Manticore Search hangs?

If Manticore Search hangs, you need to collect some information that may be useful in understanding the cause. Here's how you can do it:

  1. Run show threads option format=all trough a VIP port

  2. collect the lsof output output, as hanging can be caused by too many connections or open file descriptors.

    lsof -p `cat /var/run/manticore/searchd.pid`

  3. Dump the core:

    gcore `cat /var/run/manticore/searchd.pid`

    (It will save the dump to the current directory.)

  4. Install and run gdb:

    gdb /usr/bin/searchd `cat /var/run/manticore/searchd.pid`

    Note that this will halt your running searchd, but if it's already hanging, it shouldn't be a problem.

  5. In gdb run:

    set pagination off
info threads
thread apply all bt
quit

  6. Collect all the outputs and files and provide them in a bug report.

For experts: the macros added in this commit can be helpful in debugging.

How to enable saving coredumps on crash?

[root@srv lib]# systemctl set-environment _ADDITIONAL_SEARCHD_PARAMS='--coredump'
[root@srv lib]# systemctl restart manticore
[root@srv lib]# ps aux|grep searchd
mantico+  1955  0.0  0.0  61964  1580 ?        S    11:02   0:00 /usr/bin/searchd --config /etc/manticoresearch/manticore.conf --coredump
mantico+  1956  0.6  0.0 392744  2664 ?        Sl   11:02   0:00 /usr/bin/searchd --config /etc/manticoresearch/manticore.conf --coredump

  • Ensure that your operating system allows you to save core dumps by checking that: /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern is not empty. This is the location where the core dumps will be saved. To save core dumps to a file such as core.searchd.1773.centos-4gb-hel1-1.1636454937, run the following command:

    echo "/cores/core.%e.%p.%h.%t" > /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern

  • searchd should be started with ulimit -c unlimited. If you start Manticore using systemctl, it will automatically set the limit to infinity as indicated by the following line in the manticore.service file:

    [root@srv lib]# grep CORE /lib/systemd/system/manticore.service
LimitCORE=infinity

How do I install debug symbols?

Manticore Search and Manticore Columnar Library are written in C++, which results in compiled binary files that execute optimally on your operating system. However, when running a binary, your system does not have full access to the names of variables, functions, methods, and classes. This information is provided in separate "debuginfo" or "symbol packages."

Debug symbols are essential for troubleshooting and debugging, as they allow you to visualize the system state when it crashed, including the names of functions. Manticore Search provides a backtrace in the searchd log and generates a coredump if run with the --coredump flag. Without symbols, all you will see is internal offsets, making it difficult or impossible to decode the cause of the crash. If you need to make a bug report about a crash, the Manticore team will often require debug symbols to assist you.

To install Manticore Search/Manticore Columnar Library debug symbols, you will need to install the *debuginfo* package for CentOS, the *dbgsym* package for Ubuntu and Debian, or the *dbgsymbols* package for Windows and macOS. These packages should be the same version as the installed Manticore. For example, if you installed Manticore Search in Centos 8 from the package https://repo.manticoresearch.com/repository/manticoresearch/release/centos/8/x86_64/manticore-4.0.2_210921.af497f245-1.el8.x86_64.rpm , the corresponding package with symbols would be https://repo.manticoresearch.com/repository/manticoresearch/release/centos/8/x86_64/manticore-debuginfo-4.0.2_210921.af497f245-1.el8.x86_64.rpm

Note that both packages have the same commit id af497f245, which corresponds to the commit that this version was built from.

If you have installed Manticore from a Manticore APT/YUM repository, you can use one of the following tools:

  • debuginfo-install in CentOS 7
  • dnf debuginfo-install CentOS 8
  • find-dbgsym-packages in Debian and Ubuntu

to find a debug symbols package for you.

How to check the debug symbols exist?

  1. Find the build ID in the output of file /usr/bin/searchd:
[root@srv lib]# file /usr/bin/searchd
/usr/bin/searchd: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (GNU/Linux), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), for GNU/Linux 2.6.32, BuildID[sha1]=2c582e9f564ea1fbeb0c68406c271ba27034a6d3, stripped

In this case, the build ID is 2c582e9f564ea1fbeb0c68406c271ba27034a6d3.

  1. Find symbols in /usr/lib/debug/.build-id like this:
[root@srv ~]# ls -la /usr/lib/debug/.build-id/2c/582e9f564ea1fbeb0c68406c271ba27034a6d3*
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 23 Nov  9 10:42 /usr/lib/debug/.build-id/2c/582e9f564ea1fbeb0c68406c271ba27034a6d3 -> ../../../../bin/searchd
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 27 Nov  9 10:42 /usr/lib/debug/.build-id/2c/582e9f564ea1fbeb0c68406c271ba27034a6d3.debug -> ../../usr/bin/searchd.debug

Uploading your data

To fix your bug, developers often need to reproduce it locally. To do this, they need your configuration file, table files, binlog (if present), and sometimes source data (such as data from external storages or XML/CSV files) and queries.

Attach your data when you create a ticket on Github. If the data is too large or sensitive, you can upload it to our write-only S3 storage at s3://s3.manticoresearch.com/write-only/. Here's how you can do it using the Minio client:

  1. Install the client https://min.io/docs/minio/linux/reference/minio-mc.html#install-mc For example on 64-bit Linux:
curl https://dl.min.io/client/mc/release/linux-amd64/mc \
  --create-dirs \
  -o $HOME/minio-binaries/mc
chmod +x $HOME/minio-binaries/mc
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/minio-binaries/
  1. Add our s3 host (use full path to executable or change into its directory): cd $HOME/minio-binaries and then ./mc config host add manticore http://s3.manticoresearch.com:9000 manticore manticore
  2. Copy your files (use full path to executable or change into its directory): cd $HOME/minio-binaries and then ./mc cp -r issue-1234/ manticore/write-only/issue-1234 . Make sure the folder name is unique and best if it corresponds to the issue on GitHub where you described the bug.

DEBUG

DEBUG [ subcommand ]

The DEBUG statement is designed for developers and testers to call various internal or VIP commands. However, it is not intended for production use as the syntax of the subcommand component may change freely in any build.

To view a list of useful commands and DEBUG statement subcommands available in the current context, simply call DEBUG without any parameters.

mysql> debug;
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| command                                                                 | meaning                                                                                |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| flush logs                                                              | emulate USR1 signal                                                                    |
| reload indexes                                                          | emulate HUP signal                                                                     |
| debug token <password>                                                  | calculate token for password                                                           |
| debug malloc_stats                                                      | perform 'malloc_stats', result in searchd.log                                          |
| debug malloc_trim                                                       | pefrorm 'malloc_trim' call                                                             |
| debug sleep <N>                                                         | sleep for <N> seconds                                                                  |
| debug tasks                                                             | display global tasks stat (use select from @@system.tasks instead)                     |
| debug sched                                                             | display task manager schedule (use select from @@system.sched instead)                 |
| debug merge <TBL> [chunk] <X> [into] [chunk] <Y> [option sync=1,byid=0] | For RT table <TBL> merge disk chunk X into disk chunk Y                                |
| debug drop [chunk] <X> [from] <TBL> [option sync=1]                     | For RT table <TBL> drop disk chunk X                                                   |
| debug files <TBL> [option format=all|external]                          | list files belonging to <TBL>. 'all' - including external (wordforms, stopwords, etc.) |
| debug close                                                             | ask server to close connection from it's side                                          |
| debug compress <TBL> [chunk] <X> [option sync=1]                        | Compress disk chunk X of RT table <TBL> (wipe out deleted documents)                   |
| debug split <TBL> [chunk] <X> on @<uservar> [option sync=1]             | Split disk chunk X of RT table <TBL> using set of DocIDs from @uservar                 |
| debug wait <cluster> [like 'xx'] [option timeout=3]                     | wait <cluster> ready, but no more than 3 secs.                                         |
| debug wait <cluster> status <N> [like 'xx'] [option timeout=13]         | wait <cluster> commit achieve <N>, but no more than 13 secs                            |
| debug meta                                                              | Show max_matches/pseudo_shards. Needs set profiling=1                                  |
| debug trace OFF|'path/to/file' [<N>]                                    | trace flow to file until N bytes written, or 'trace OFF'                               |
| debug curl <URL>                                                        | request given url via libcurl                                                          |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
19 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Same from VIP connection:

mysql> debug;
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| command                                                                 | meaning                                                                                |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| flush logs                                                              | emulate USR1 signal                                                                    |
| reload indexes                                                          | emulate HUP signal                                                                     |
| debug shutdown <password>                                               | emulate TERM signal                                                                    |
| debug crash <password>                                                  | crash daemon (make SIGSEGV action)                                                     |
| debug token <password>                                                  | calculate token for password                                                           |
| debug malloc_stats                                                      | perform 'malloc_stats', result in searchd.log                                          |
| debug malloc_trim                                                       | pefrorm 'malloc_trim' call                                                             |
| debug procdump                                                          | ask watchdog to dump us                                                                |
| debug setgdb on|off                                                     | enable or disable potentially dangerous crash dumping with gdb                         |
| debug setgdb status                                                     | show current mode of gdb dumping                                                       |
| debug sleep <N>                                                         | sleep for <N> seconds                                                                  |
| debug tasks                                                             | display global tasks stat (use select from @@system.tasks instead)                     |
| debug sched                                                             | display task manager schedule (use select from @@system.sched instead)                 |
| debug merge <TBL> [chunk] <X> [into] [chunk] <Y> [option sync=1,byid=0] | For RT table <TBL> merge disk chunk X into disk chunk Y                                |
| debug drop [chunk] <X> [from] <TBL> [option sync=1]                     | For RT table <TBL> drop disk chunk X                                                   |
| debug files <TBL> [option format=all|external]                          | list files belonging to <TBL>. 'all' - including external (wordforms, stopwords, etc.) |
| debug close                                                             | ask server to close connection from it's side                                          |
| debug compress <TBL> [chunk] <X> [option sync=1]                        | Compress disk chunk X of RT table <TBL> (wipe out deleted documents)                   |
| debug split <TBL> [chunk] <X> on @<uservar> [option sync=1]             | Split disk chunk X of RT table <TBL> using set of DocIDs from @uservar                 |
| debug wait <cluster> [like 'xx'] [option timeout=3]                     | wait <cluster> ready, but no more than 3 secs.                                         |
| debug wait <cluster> status <N> [like 'xx'] [option timeout=13]         | wait <cluster> commit achieve <N>, but no more than 13 secs                            |
| debug meta                                                              | Show max_matches/pseudo_shards. Needs set profiling=1                                  |
| debug trace OFF|'path/to/file' [<N>]                                    | trace flow to file until N bytes written, or 'trace OFF'                               |
| debug curl <URL>                                                        | request given url via libcurl                                                          |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
24 rows in set (0.00 sec)

All debug XXX commands should be regarded as non-stable and subject to modification at any time, so don't be surprised if they change. This example output may not reflect the actual available commands, so try it on your system to see what is available on your instance. Additionally, there is no detailed documentation provided aside from this short 'meaning' column.

As a quick illustration, two commands available only to VIP clients are described below - shutdown and crash. Both require a token, which can be generated with the debug token subcommand, and added to the shutdown_token param in the searchd section of the config file. If no such section exists, or if the provided password hash does not match the token stored in the config, the subcommands will do nothing.

mysql> debug token hello;
+-------------+------------------------------------------+
| command     | result                                   |
+-------------+------------------------------------------+
| debug token | aaf4c61ddcc5e8a2dabede0f3b482cd9aea9434d |
+-------------+------------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0,00 sec)

The subcommand shutdown will send a TERM signal to the server, causing it to shut down. This can be dangerous, as nobody wants to accidentally stop a production service. Therefore, it requires a VIP connection and the password to be used.

The subcommand crash literally causes a crash. It may be used for testing purposes, such as to test how the system manager maintains the service's liveness or to test the feasibility of tracking coredumps.

If some commands are found to be useful in a more general context, they may be moved from the debug subcommands to a more stable and generic location (as exemplified by the debug tasks and debug sched in the table).

References

SQL commands

Schema management
Data management
Backup
  • BACKUP - Backs up your tables
SELECT
Flushing misc things
  • FLUSH ATTRIBUTES - Forces flushing updated attributes to disk
  • FLUSH HOSTNAMES - Renews IPs associates to agent host names
  • FLUSH LOGS - Initiates reopen of searchd log and query log files (similar to USR1)
Real-time table optimization
Importing to a real-time table
  • ATTACH TABLE - Moves data from a plain table to a real-time table
  • IMPORT TABLE - Imports previously created RT or PQ table into a server running in the RT mode
Replication
Plain table rotate
Transactions
  • BEGIN - Begins a transaction
  • COMMIT - Finishes a transaction
  • ROLLBACK - Rolls back a transaction
CALL
Plugins
Server status
  • SHOW STATUS - Displays a number of useful performance counters
  • SHOW THREADS - Lists all currently active client threads
  • SHOW VARIABLES - Lists server-wide variables and their values
  • SHOW VERSION - Provides detailed version information of various components of the instance.

HTTP endpoints

  • /sql - Execute an SQL statement over HTTP JSON
  • /cli - Provides an HTTP command line interface
  • /insert - Inserts a document into a real-time table
  • /pq/tbl_name/doc - Adds a PQ rule to a percolate table
  • /update - Updates a document in a real-time table
  • /replace - Replaces an existing document in a real-time table or inserts it if it doesn't exist
  • /pq/tbl_name/doc/N?refresh=1 - Replaces a PQ rule in a percolate table
  • /delete - Removes a document from a table
  • /bulk - Executes multiple insert, update, or delete operations in a single call. Learn more about bulk inserts here.
  • /search - Performs a search
  • /search -> knn - Performs a KNN vector search
  • /pq/tbl_name/search - Performs a reverse search in a percolate table
  • /tbl_name/_mapping - Creates a table schema in the Elasticsearch style

Common things

Common table settings
Plain table settings
Distributed table settings
RT table settings

Full-text search operators

Functions

Mathematical
  • ABS() - Returns absolute value
  • ATAN2() - Returns arctangent function of two arguments
  • BITDOT() - Returns sum of products of each bit of a mask multiplied with its weight
  • CEIL() - Returns smallest integer value greater or equal to the argument
  • COS() - Returns cosine of the argument
  • CRC32() - Returns CRC32 value of the argument
  • EXP() - Returns exponent of the argument
  • FIBONACCI() - Returns the N-th Fibonacci number, where N is the integer argument
  • FLOOR() - Returns the largest integer value lesser or equal to the argument
  • GREATEST() - Takes JSON/MVA array as the argument and returns the greatest value in that array
  • IDIV() - Returns result of an integer division of the first argument by the second argument
  • LEAST() - Takes JSON/MVA array as the argument, and returns the least value in that array
  • LN() - Returns natural logarithm of the argument
  • LOG10() - Returns common logarithm of the argument
  • LOG2() - Returns binary logarithm of the argument
  • MAX() - Returns the larger of two arguments
  • MIN() - Returns the smaller of two arguments
  • POW() - Returns the first argument raised to the power of the second argument
  • RAND() - Returns random float between 0 and 1
  • SIN() - Returns sine of the argument
  • SQRT() - Returns square root of the argument
Searching and ranking
  • BM25F() - Returns precise BM25F formula value
  • EXIST() - Replaces non-existing columns with default values
  • GROUP_CONCAT() - Produces a comma-separated list of the attribute values of all documents in the group
  • HIGHLIGHT() - Highlights search results
  • MIN_TOP_SORTVAL() - Returns sort key value of the worst found element in the current top-N matches
  • MIN_TOP_WEIGHT() - Returns weight of the worst found element in the current top-N matches
  • PACKEDFACTORS() - Outputs weighting factors
  • REMOVE_REPEATS() - Removes repeated adjusted rows with the same 'column' value
  • WEIGHT() - Returns fulltext match score
  • ZONESPANLIST() - Returns pairs of matched zone spans
  • QUERY() - Returns current full-text query
Type casting
  • BIGINT() - Forcibly promotes the integer argument to 64-bit type
  • DOUBLE() - Forcibly promotes given argument to floating point type
  • INTEGER() - Forcibly promotes given argument to 64-bit signed type
  • TO_STRING() - Forcibly promotes the argument to string type
  • UINT() - Converts the given argument to 32-bit unsigned integer type
  • UINT64() - Converts the given argument to 64-bit unsigned integer type
  • SINT() - Interprets 32-bit unsigned integer as signed 64-bit integer
Arrays and conditions
  • ALL() - Returns 1 if condition is true for all elements in the array
  • ANY() - Returns 1 if condition is true for any element in the array
  • CONTAINS() - Checks whether the (x,y) point is within the given polygon
  • IF() - Checks whether the 1st argument is equal to 0.0, returns the 2nd argument if it is not zero or the 3rd one when it is
  • IN() - Returns 1 if the first argument is equal to any of the other arguments, or 0 otherwise
  • INDEXOF() - Iterates through all elements in the array and returns index of the first matching element
  • INTERVAL() - Returns index of the argument that is less than the first argument
  • LENGTH() - Returns number of elements in MVA
  • REMAP() - Allows to make some exceptions of expression values depending on the condition values
Date and time
  • NOW() - Returns current timestamp as an INTEGER
  • CURTIME() - Returns current time in local timezone
  • CURDATE() - Returns current date in local timezone
  • UTC_TIME() - Returns current time in UTC timezone
  • UTC_TIMESTAMP() - Returns current date/time in UTC timezone
  • SECOND() - Returns integer second from the timestamp argument
  • MINUTE() - Returns integer minute from the timestamp argument
  • HOUR() - Returns integer hour from the timestamp argument
  • DAY() - Returns integer day from the timestamp argument
  • MONTH() - Returns integer month from the timestamp argument
  • QUARTER() - Returns the integer quarter of the year from a timestamp argument
  • YEAR() - Returns integer year from the timestamp argument
  • DAYNAME() - Returns the weekday name for a given timestamp argument
  • MONTHNAME() - Returns the name of the month for a given timestamp argument
  • DAYOFWEEK() - Returns the integer weekday index for a given timestamp argument
  • DAYOFYEAR() - Returns the integer day of the year for a given timestamp argument
  • YEARWEEK() - Returns the integer year and the day code of the first day of current week for a given timestamp argument
  • YEARMONTH() - Returns integer year and month code from the timestamp argument
  • YEARMONTHDAY() - Returns integer year, month and day code from the timestamp argument
  • TIMEDIFF() - Returns difference between the timstamps
  • DATEDIFF() - Returns the number of days between two given timestamps
  • DATE() - Formats the date part from a timestamp argument
  • TIME() - Formats the time part from a timestamp argument
  • DATE_FORMAT() - Returns a formatted string based on the provided date and format arguments
Geo-spatial
  • GEODIST() - Computes geosphere distance between two given points
  • GEOPOLY2D() - Creates a polygon that takes in account the Earth's curvature
  • POLY2D() - Creates a simple polygon in plain space
String
  • CONCAT() - Concatenates two or more strings
  • REGEX() - Returns 1 if regular expression matched to string of attribute and 0 otherwise
  • SNIPPET() - Highlights search results
  • SUBSTRING_INDEX() - Returns a substring of the string before the specified number of delimiter occurs
  • Other
  • CONNECTION_ID() - Returns the current connection ID
  • KNN_DIST() - Returns KNN vector search distance
  • LAST_INSERT_ID() - Returns ids of documents inserted or replaced by last statement in the current session

Common settings in configuration file

To be put to section common {} in configuration file:

Indexer

indexer is a tool to create plain tables

Indexer settings in configuration file

To be put to section indexer {} in configuration file:

Indexer start parameters
indexer [OPTIONS] [indexname1 [indexname2 [...]]]
  • --all - Rebuilds all tables from the config
  • --buildstops - Analyzes the table source as if indexing the data, generating a list of indexed terms
  • --buildfreqs - Adds the frequency count to the table for --buildstops
  • --config, -c - Specifies the path to the configuration file
  • --dump-rows - Dumps rows retrieved by SQL source(s) into the specified file
  • --help - Displays all available parameters
  • --keep-attrs - Allows reuse of existing attributes when reindexing
  • --keep-attrs-names - Specifies which attributes to reuse from the existing table
  • --merge-dst-range - Applies the given filter range during merging
  • --merge-killlists - Alters kill list processing when merging tables
  • --merge - Combines two plain tables into one
  • --nohup - Prevents indexer from sending SIGHUP when this option is enabled
  • --noprogress - Hides progress details
  • --print-queries - Outputs SQL queries sent by the indexer to the database
  • --print-rt - Displays data fetched from SQL source(s) as INSERTs into a real-time table
  • --quiet - Suppresses all output
  • --rotate - Initiates table rotation after all tables are built
  • --sighup-each - Triggers rotation of each table after it's built
  • -v - Displays indexer version

Table Converter for Manticore v2 / Sphinx v2

index_converter is a tool designed to convert tables created with Sphinx/Manticore Search 2.x into the Manticore Search 3.x table format.

index_converter {--config /path/to/config|--path}
Table converter start parameters
  • --config, -c - Path to table configuration file
  • --index - Specifies which table to convert
  • --path - Sets path containing table(s) instead of the configuration file
  • --strip-path - Removes path from filenames referenced by table
  • --large-docid - Allows conversion of documents with ids larger than 2^63
  • --output-dir - Writes new files in a specified folder
  • --all - Converts all tables from the configuration file / path
  • --killlist-target - Sets target tables for applying kill-lists

Searchd

searchd is the Manticore server.

Searchd settings in a configuration file

To be put in the searchd {} section of the configuration file:

Searchd start parameters
searchd [OPTIONS]
  • --config, -c - Specifies the path to the configuration file
  • --console - Forces the server to run in console mode
  • --coredump - Enables core dump saving upon crash
  • --cpustats - Enables CPU time reporting
  • --delete - Removes the Manticore service from Microsoft Management Console and other locations where services are registered
  • --force-preread - Prevents the server from serving incoming connections until table files are pre-read
  • --help, -h - Displays all available parameters
  • --table (--index) - Restricts the server to serve only the specified table
  • --install - Installs searchd as a service in Microsoft Management Console
  • --iostats - Enables input/output reporting
  • --listen, -l - Overrides listen from the configuration file
  • --logdebug, --logdebugv, --logdebugvv - Enables additional debug output in the server log
  • --logreplication - Enables extra replication debug output in the server log
  • --new-cluster - Initializes a replication cluster and sets the server as a reference node with cluster restart protection
  • --new-cluster-force - Initializes a replication cluster and sets the server as a reference node, bypassing cluster restart protection
  • --nodetach - Keeps searchd running in the foreground
  • --ntservice - Used by Microsoft Management Console to launch searchd as a service on Windows platforms
  • --pidfile - Overrides pid_file in the configuration file
  • --port, p - Specifies the port searchd should listen on, ignoring the port specified in the configuration file
  • --replay-flags - Sets additional binary log replay options
  • --servicename - Assigns the given name to searchd when installing or deleting the service, as displayed in Microsoft Management Console
  • --status - Queries the running search service to return its status
  • --stop - Stops the Manticore server
  • --stopwait - Stops the Manticore server gracefully
  • --strip-path - Removes path names from all file names referenced in the table
  • -v - Displays version information
Searchd environment variables

Indextool

Assorted table maintenance features helpful for troubleshooting.

indextool <command> [options]
Indextool Start Parameters

Utilized for dumping various debug information related to the physical table.

indextool <command> [options]
  • --config, -c - Specifies the path to the configuration file
  • --quiet, -q - Keeps indextool quiet; no banner output, etc.
  • --help, -h - Lists all available parameters
  • -v - Displays version information
  • Indextool - Verifies the configuration file
  • --buildidf - Builds an IDF file from one or more dictionary dumps
  • --build-infixes - Builds infixes for an existing dict=keywords table
  • --dumpheader - Quickly dumps the provided table header file
  • --dumpconfig - Dumps table definition from the given table header file in a nearly compliant manticore.conf format
  • --dumpheader - Dumps table header by table name while looking up the header path in the configuration file
  • --dumpdict - Dumps the table dictionary
  • --dumpdocids - Dumps document IDs by table name
  • --dumphitlist - Dumps all occurrences of the given keyword/id in the specified table
  • --docextract - Runs table check pass on entire dictionary/docs/hits and collects all words and hits belonging to the requested document
  • --fold - Tests tokenization based on table settings
  • --htmlstrip - Filters STDIN using HTML stripper settings for the specified table
  • --mergeidf - Merges multiple .idf files into a single file
  • --morph - Applies morphology to the provided STDIN and outputs the result to stdout
  • --check - Checks table data files for consistency
  • --check-id-dups - Checks for duplicate IDs
  • --check-disk-chunk - Checks a single disk chunk of an RT table
  • --strip-path - Removes path names from all file names referenced in the table
  • --rotate - Determines whether to check a table waiting for rotation when using --check
  • --apply-killlists - Applies kill-lists for all tables listed in the configuration file

Wordbreaker

Splits compound words into their components.

wordbreaker [-dict path/to/dictionary_file] {split|test|bench}
Wordbreaker start parameters
  • STDIN - Accepts a string to break into parts
  • -dict - Specifies the dictionary file to use
  • split|test|bench - Specifies the command

Spelldump

Extracts the contents of a dictionary file using ispell or MySpell format

spelldump [options] <dictionary> <affix> [result] [locale-name]
  • dictionary - Main dictionary file
  • affix - Affix file for the dictionary
  • result - Specifies the output destination for the dictionary data
  • locale-name - Specifies the locale details to use

List of reserved keywords

A comprehensive alphabetical list of keywords currently reserved in Manticore SQL syntax (thus, they cannot be used as identifiers).

AND, AS, BY, COLUMNARSCAN, DATE_ADD, DATE_SUB, DAY, DISTINCT, DIV, DOCIDINDEX, EXPLAIN, FACET, FALSE, FORCE, FROM, HOUR, IGNORE, IN, INTERVAL, INDEXES, INNER, IS, JOIN, KNN, LEFT, LIMIT, MINUTE, MOD, MONTH, NOT, NO_COLUMNARSCAN, NO_DOCIDINDEX, NO_SECONDARYINDEX, NULL, OFFSET, ON, OR, ORDER, QUARTER, REGEX, RELOAD, SECOND, SECONDARYINDEX, SELECT, SYSFILTERS, TRUE, WEEK, YEAR

Documentation for old Manticore versions

References

SQL commands

Schema management
Data management
Backup
  • BACKUP - Backs up your tables
SELECT
Flushing misc things
  • FLUSH ATTRIBUTES - Forces flushing updated attributes to disk
  • FLUSH HOSTNAMES - Renews IPs associates to agent host names
  • FLUSH LOGS - Initiates reopen of searchd log and query log files (similar to USR1)
Real-time table optimization
Importing to a real-time table
  • ATTACH TABLE - Moves data from a plain table to a real-time table
  • IMPORT TABLE - Imports previously created RT or PQ table into a server running in the RT mode
Replication
Plain table rotate
Transactions
  • BEGIN - Begins a transaction
  • COMMIT - Finishes a transaction
  • ROLLBACK - Rolls back a transaction
CALL
Plugins
Server status
  • SHOW STATUS - Displays a number of useful performance counters
  • SHOW THREADS - Lists all currently active client threads
  • SHOW VARIABLES - Lists server-wide variables and their values
  • SHOW VERSION - Provides detailed version information of various components of the instance.

HTTP endpoints

  • /sql - Execute an SQL statement over HTTP JSON
  • /cli - Provides an HTTP command line interface
  • /insert - Inserts a document into a real-time table
  • /pq/tbl_name/doc - Adds a PQ rule to a percolate table
  • /update - Updates a document in a real-time table
  • /replace - Replaces an existing document in a real-time table or inserts it if it doesn't exist
  • /pq/tbl_name/doc/N?refresh=1 - Replaces a PQ rule in a percolate table
  • /delete - Removes a document from a table
  • /bulk - Executes multiple insert, update, or delete operations in a single call. Learn more about bulk inserts here.
  • /search - Performs a search
  • /search -> knn - Performs a KNN vector search
  • /pq/tbl_name/search - Performs a reverse search in a percolate table
  • /tbl_name/_mapping - Creates a table schema in the Elasticsearch style

Common things

Common table settings
Plain table settings
Distributed table settings
RT table settings

Full-text search operators

Functions

Mathematical
  • ABS() - Returns absolute value
  • ATAN2() - Returns arctangent function of two arguments
  • BITDOT() - Returns sum of products of each bit of a mask multiplied with its weight
  • CEIL() - Returns smallest integer value greater or equal to the argument
  • COS() - Returns cosine of the argument
  • CRC32() - Returns CRC32 value of the argument
  • EXP() - Returns exponent of the argument
  • FIBONACCI() - Returns the N-th Fibonacci number, where N is the integer argument
  • FLOOR() - Returns the largest integer value lesser or equal to the argument
  • GREATEST() - Takes JSON/MVA array as the argument and returns the greatest value in that array
  • IDIV() - Returns result of an integer division of the first argument by the second argument
  • LEAST() - Takes JSON/MVA array as the argument, and returns the least value in that array
  • LN() - Returns natural logarithm of the argument
  • LOG10() - Returns common logarithm of the argument
  • LOG2() - Returns binary logarithm of the argument
  • MAX() - Returns the larger of two arguments
  • MIN() - Returns the smaller of two arguments
  • POW() - Returns the first argument raised to the power of the second argument
  • RAND() - Returns random float between 0 and 1
  • SIN() - Returns sine of the argument
  • SQRT() - Returns square root of the argument
Searching and ranking
  • BM25F() - Returns precise BM25F formula value
  • EXIST() - Replaces non-existing columns with default values
  • GROUP_CONCAT() - Produces a comma-separated list of the attribute values of all documents in the group
  • HIGHLIGHT() - Highlights search results
  • MIN_TOP_SORTVAL() - Returns sort key value of the worst found element in the current top-N matches
  • MIN_TOP_WEIGHT() - Returns weight of the worst found element in the current top-N matches
  • PACKEDFACTORS() - Outputs weighting factors
  • REMOVE_REPEATS() - Removes repeated adjusted rows with the same 'column' value
  • WEIGHT() - Returns fulltext match score
  • ZONESPANLIST() - Returns pairs of matched zone spans
  • QUERY() - Returns current full-text query
Type casting
  • BIGINT() - Forcibly promotes the integer argument to 64-bit type
  • DOUBLE() - Forcibly promotes given argument to floating point type
  • INTEGER() - Forcibly promotes given argument to 64-bit signed type
  • TO_STRING() - Forcibly promotes the argument to string type
  • UINT() - Converts the given argument to 32-bit unsigned integer type
  • UINT64() - Converts the given argument to 64-bit unsigned integer type
  • SINT() - Interprets 32-bit unsigned integer as signed 64-bit integer
Arrays and conditions
  • ALL() - Returns 1 if condition is true for all elements in the array
  • ANY() - Returns 1 if condition is true for any element in the array
  • CONTAINS() - Checks whether the (x,y) point is within the given polygon
  • IF() - Checks whether the 1st argument is equal to 0.0, returns the 2nd argument if it is not zero or the 3rd one when it is
  • IN() - Returns 1 if the first argument is equal to any of the other arguments, or 0 otherwise
  • INDEXOF() - Iterates through all elements in the array and returns index of the first matching element
  • INTERVAL() - Returns index of the argument that is less than the first argument
  • LENGTH() - Returns number of elements in MVA
  • REMAP() - Allows to make some exceptions of expression values depending on the condition values
Date and time
  • NOW() - Returns current timestamp as an INTEGER
  • CURTIME() - Returns current time in local timezone
  • CURDATE() - Returns current date in local timezone
  • UTC_TIME() - Returns current time in UTC timezone
  • UTC_TIMESTAMP() - Returns current date/time in UTC timezone
  • SECOND() - Returns integer second from the timestamp argument
  • MINUTE() - Returns integer minute from the timestamp argument
  • HOUR() - Returns integer hour from the timestamp argument
  • DAY() - Returns integer day from the timestamp argument
  • MONTH() - Returns integer month from the timestamp argument
  • QUARTER() - Returns the integer quarter of the year from a timestamp argument
  • YEAR() - Returns integer year from the timestamp argument
  • DAYNAME() - Returns the weekday name for a given timestamp argument
  • MONTHNAME() - Returns the name of the month for a given timestamp argument
  • DAYOFWEEK() - Returns the integer weekday index for a given timestamp argument
  • DAYOFYEAR() - Returns the integer day of the year for a given timestamp argument
  • YEARWEEK() - Returns the integer year and the day code of the first day of current week for a given timestamp argument
  • YEARMONTH() - Returns integer year and month code from the timestamp argument
  • YEARMONTHDAY() - Returns integer year, month and day code from the timestamp argument
  • TIMEDIFF() - Returns difference between the timstamps
  • DATEDIFF() - Returns the number of days between two given timestamps
  • DATE() - Formats the date part from a timestamp argument
  • TIME() - Formats the time part from a timestamp argument
  • DATE_FORMAT() - Returns a formatted string based on the provided date and format arguments
Geo-spatial
  • GEODIST() - Computes geosphere distance between two given points
  • GEOPOLY2D() - Creates a polygon that takes in account the Earth's curvature
  • POLY2D() - Creates a simple polygon in plain space
String
  • CONCAT() - Concatenates two or more strings
  • REGEX() - Returns 1 if regular expression matched to string of attribute and 0 otherwise
  • SNIPPET() - Highlights search results
  • SUBSTRING_INDEX() - Returns a substring of the string before the specified number of delimiter occurs
  • Other
  • CONNECTION_ID() - Returns the current connection ID
  • KNN_DIST() - Returns KNN vector search distance
  • LAST_INSERT_ID() - Returns ids of documents inserted or replaced by last statement in the current session

Common settings in configuration file

To be put to section common {} in configuration file:

Indexer

indexer is a tool to create plain tables

Indexer settings in configuration file

To be put to section indexer {} in configuration file:

Indexer start parameters
indexer [OPTIONS] [indexname1 [indexname2 [...]]]
  • --all - Rebuilds all tables from the config
  • --buildstops - Analyzes the table source as if indexing the data, generating a list of indexed terms
  • --buildfreqs - Adds the frequency count to the table for --buildstops
  • --config, -c - Specifies the path to the configuration file
  • --dump-rows - Dumps rows retrieved by SQL source(s) into the specified file
  • --help - Displays all available parameters
  • --keep-attrs - Allows reuse of existing attributes when reindexing
  • --keep-attrs-names - Specifies which attributes to reuse from the existing table
  • --merge-dst-range - Applies the given filter range during merging
  • --merge-killlists - Alters kill list processing when merging tables
  • --merge - Combines two plain tables into one
  • --nohup - Prevents indexer from sending SIGHUP when this option is enabled
  • --noprogress - Hides progress details
  • --print-queries - Outputs SQL queries sent by the indexer to the database
  • --print-rt - Displays data fetched from SQL source(s) as INSERTs into a real-time table
  • --quiet - Suppresses all output
  • --rotate - Initiates table rotation after all tables are built
  • --sighup-each - Triggers rotation of each table after it's built
  • -v - Displays indexer version

Table Converter for Manticore v2 / Sphinx v2

index_converter is a tool designed to convert tables created with Sphinx/Manticore Search 2.x into the Manticore Search 3.x table format.

index_converter {--config /path/to/config|--path}
Table converter start parameters
  • --config, -c - Path to table configuration file
  • --index - Specifies which table to convert
  • --path - Sets path containing table(s) instead of the configuration file
  • --strip-path - Removes path from filenames referenced by table
  • --large-docid - Allows conversion of documents with ids larger than 2^63
  • --output-dir - Writes new files in a specified folder
  • --all - Converts all tables from the configuration file / path
  • --killlist-target - Sets target tables for applying kill-lists

Searchd

searchd is the Manticore server.

Searchd settings in a configuration file

To be put in the searchd {} section of the configuration file:

Searchd start parameters
searchd [OPTIONS]
  • --config, -c - Specifies the path to the configuration file
  • --console - Forces the server to run in console mode
  • --coredump - Enables core dump saving upon crash
  • --cpustats - Enables CPU time reporting
  • --delete - Removes the Manticore service from Microsoft Management Console and other locations where services are registered
  • --force-preread - Prevents the server from serving incoming connections until table files are pre-read
  • --help, -h - Displays all available parameters
  • --table (--index) - Restricts the server to serve only the specified table
  • --install - Installs searchd as a service in Microsoft Management Console
  • --iostats - Enables input/output reporting
  • --listen, -l - Overrides listen from the configuration file
  • --logdebug, --logdebugv, --logdebugvv - Enables additional debug output in the server log
  • --logreplication - Enables extra replication debug output in the server log
  • --new-cluster - Initializes a replication cluster and sets the server as a reference node with cluster restart protection
  • --new-cluster-force - Initializes a replication cluster and sets the server as a reference node, bypassing cluster restart protection
  • --nodetach - Keeps searchd running in the foreground
  • --ntservice - Used by Microsoft Management Console to launch searchd as a service on Windows platforms
  • --pidfile - Overrides pid_file in the configuration file
  • --port, p - Specifies the port searchd should listen on, ignoring the port specified in the configuration file
  • --replay-flags - Sets additional binary log replay options
  • --servicename - Assigns the given name to searchd when installing or deleting the service, as displayed in Microsoft Management Console
  • --status - Queries the running search service to return its status
  • --stop - Stops the Manticore server
  • --stopwait - Stops the Manticore server gracefully
  • --strip-path - Removes path names from all file names referenced in the table
  • -v - Displays version information
Searchd environment variables

Indextool

Assorted table maintenance features helpful for troubleshooting.

indextool <command> [options]
Indextool Start Parameters

Utilized for dumping various debug information related to the physical table.

indextool <command> [options]
  • --config, -c - Specifies the path to the configuration file
  • --quiet, -q - Keeps indextool quiet; no banner output, etc.
  • --help, -h - Lists all available parameters
  • -v - Displays version information
  • Indextool - Verifies the configuration file
  • --buildidf - Builds an IDF file from one or more dictionary dumps
  • --build-infixes - Builds infixes for an existing dict=keywords table
  • --dumpheader - Quickly dumps the provided table header file
  • --dumpconfig - Dumps table definition from the given table header file in a nearly compliant manticore.conf format
  • --dumpheader - Dumps table header by table name while looking up the header path in the configuration file
  • --dumpdict - Dumps the table dictionary
  • --dumpdocids - Dumps document IDs by table name
  • --dumphitlist - Dumps all occurrences of the given keyword/id in the specified table
  • --docextract - Runs table check pass on entire dictionary/docs/hits and collects all words and hits belonging to the requested document
  • --fold - Tests tokenization based on table settings
  • --htmlstrip - Filters STDIN using HTML stripper settings for the specified table
  • --mergeidf - Merges multiple .idf files into a single file
  • --morph - Applies morphology to the provided STDIN and outputs the result to stdout
  • --check - Checks table data files for consistency
  • --check-id-dups - Checks for duplicate IDs
  • --check-disk-chunk - Checks a single disk chunk of an RT table
  • --strip-path - Removes path names from all file names referenced in the table
  • --rotate - Determines whether to check a table waiting for rotation when using --check
  • --apply-killlists - Applies kill-lists for all tables listed in the configuration file

Wordbreaker

Splits compound words into their components.

wordbreaker [-dict path/to/dictionary_file] {split|test|bench}
Wordbreaker start parameters
  • STDIN - Accepts a string to break into parts
  • -dict - Specifies the dictionary file to use
  • split|test|bench - Specifies the command

Spelldump

Extracts the contents of a dictionary file using ispell or MySpell format

spelldump [options] <dictionary> <affix> [result] [locale-name]
  • dictionary - Main dictionary file
  • affix - Affix file for the dictionary
  • result - Specifies the output destination for the dictionary data
  • locale-name - Specifies the locale details to use

List of reserved keywords

A comprehensive alphabetical list of keywords currently reserved in Manticore SQL syntax (thus, they cannot be used as identifiers).

AND, AS, BY, COLUMNARSCAN, DATE_ADD, DATE_SUB, DAY, DISTINCT, DIV, DOCIDINDEX, EXPLAIN, FACET, FALSE, FORCE, FROM, HOUR, IGNORE, IN, INTERVAL, INDEXES, INNER, IS, JOIN, KNN, LEFT, LIMIT, MINUTE, MOD, MONTH, NOT, NO_COLUMNARSCAN, NO_DOCIDINDEX, NO_SECONDARYINDEX, NULL, OFFSET, ON, OR, ORDER, QUARTER, REGEX, RELOAD, SECOND, SECONDARYINDEX, SELECT, SYSFILTERS, TRUE, WEEK, YEAR

Documentation for old Manticore versions