Alter Collection Field

You can alter the properties of a collection field to change column constraints or enforce stricter data integrity rules.

Alter VarChar field

A VarChar field has a property named max_length, which constrains the maximum number of characters the field values can contain. You can change the max_length property.

The following example assumes the collection has a VarChar field named varchar and sets its max_length property.

from pymilvus import MilvusClient

client = MilvusClient(
    uri="http://localhost:19530",
    token="root:Milvus"
)

client.alter_collection_field(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    field_name="varchar",
    field_params={
        "max_length": 1024
    }
)

import io.milvus.v2.client.MilvusClientV2;
import io.milvus.v2.client.ConnectConfig;
import io.milvus.v2.service.collection.request.*;

ConnectConfig config = ConnectConfig.builder()
        .uri("http://localhost:19530")
        .token("root:Milvus")
        .build();
MilvusClientV2 client = new MilvusClientV2(config);

client.alterCollectionField(AlterCollectionFieldReq.builder()
        .collectionName("my_collection")
        .fieldName("varchar")
        .property("max_length", "1024")
        .build());

await client.alterCollectionFieldProperties({
  collection_name: LOAD_COLLECTION_NAME,
  field_name: 'varchar',
  properties: { max_length: 1024 },
});

import (
    "context"
    "fmt"

    "github.com/milvus-io/milvus/client/v2/entity"
    "github.com/milvus-io/milvus/client/v2/milvusclient"
    "github.com/milvus-io/milvus/pkg/v2/common"
)

ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
defer cancel()

milvusAddr := "localhost:19530"

client, err := milvusclient.New(ctx, &milvusclient.ClientConfig{
    Address: milvusAddr,
})
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println(err.Error())
    // handle error
}
defer client.Close(ctx)

err = client.AlterCollectionFieldProperty(ctx, milvusclient.NewAlterCollectionFieldPropertiesOption(
    "my_collection", "varchar").WithProperty(common.MaxLengthKey, 1024))
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println(err.Error())
    // handle error
}

# restful
curl --request POST \
--url "${CLUSTER_ENDPOINT}/v2/collections/fields/alter_properties" \
--header "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data "{
    "collectionName": "my_collection",
    "field_name": "varchar",
    "properties": {
        "max_length": "1024"
    }
}"

Alter ARRAY field

An array field has two properties, namely element_type and max_capacity. The former determines the data type of the elements in an array, while the latter constrains the maximum number of elements in the array. You can change the max_capacity property only.

The following example assumes the collection has an array field named array and sets its max_capacity property.

client.alter_collection_field(
    collection_name="my_collection",
    field_name="array",
    field_params={
        "max_capacity": 64
    }
)

client.alterCollectionField(AlterCollectionFieldReq.builder()
        .collectionName("my_collection")
        .fieldName("array")
        .property("max_capacity", "64")
        .build());

await client.alterCollectionFieldProperties({
  collection_name: "my_collection",
  field_name: 'array',
  properties: { 
      max_capacity: 64 
  }
});

err = client.AlterCollectionFieldProperty(ctx, milvusclient.NewAlterCollectionFieldPropertiesOption(
    "my_collection", "array").WithProperty(common.MaxCapacityKey, 64))
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println(err.Error())
    // handle error
}

# restful
curl --request POST \
--url "${CLUSTER_ENDPOINT}/v2/collections/fields/alter_properties" \
--header "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data "{
    "collectionName": "my_collection",
    "field_name": "array",
    "properties": {
        "max_capacity": "64"
    }
}"

Alter field-level mmap settings

Memory mapping (Mmap) enables direct memory access to large files on disk, allowing Milvus to store indexes and data in both memory and hard drives. This approach helps optimize data placement policy based on access frequency, expanding storage capacity for collections without impacting search performance.

The following example assumes the collection has a field named doc_chunk and sets its mmap_enabled property.

client.alter_collection_field(
    collection="my_collection",
    field_name="doc_chunk",
    properties={"mmap.enabled": True}
)

client.alterCollectionField(AlterCollectionFieldReq.builder()
        .collectionName("my_collection")
        .fieldName("doc_chunk")
        .property("mmap.enabled", "True")
        .build());

await client.alterCollectionProperties({
  collection_name: "my_collection",
  field_name: 'doc_chunk',
  properties: { 
      'mmap.enabled': true, 
  }
});

err = client.AlterCollectionFieldProperty(ctx, milvusclient.NewAlterCollectionFieldPropertiesOption(
    "my_collection", "doc_chunk").WithProperty(common.MmapEnabledKey, true))
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println(err.Error())
    // handle error
}

# restful
curl --request POST \
--url "${CLUSTER_ENDPOINT}/v2/collections/fields/alter_properties" \
--header "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data "{
    "collectionName": "my_collection",
    "field_name": "doc_chunk",
    "properties": {
        "mmap.enabled": True
    }
}"