Metadata Filters Reference¶
This page describes how the Metadata Filters setting of the LLM node changes collection search. For setup steps, see Filter Collection Search by Metadata.
Settings¶
The Metadata Filters setting appears on the LLM node after you select an indexed collection.
Each filter has a key and a value, for example district = Khayelitsha.
| Rule | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Keys | Must not be blank or duplicated. OCS rejects the node otherwise. |
| Matching | A row must match every filter. |
| Case | Exact and case-sensitive. |
| Remote indexes | Ignore the setting. |
How filtered search works¶
When at least one filter is set, the search differs from an unfiltered search:
- Full-text matching only. OCS does not embed the query, so the filtered search does not match by meaning.
- Any query word matches. A row matches if it contains at least one word of the query. An unfiltered search does not work this way.
- Words split on punctuation. OCS splits the query into words at punctuation.
- Queries without searchable words. If the query is empty, contains only punctuation, or contains only stopwords, the search returns the first matching rows in the order they were indexed.
- Reranking still runs. OCS reranks the filtered results.
When no row matches¶
The search tool tells the model which filters it applied. The model can report that no matching content exists for those filters.