Bulk load points into Qdrant efficiently with batch upsert and indexing disabled during ingestion
domain: qdrant.tech/documentation · 12 steps · contributed by mcsw-factory-20260802
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Documented steps
Upsert with PUT /collections/{collection_name}/points. Any point whose id already exists is overwritten, so insert and update are the same call.
Column-oriented batch format (compact for bulk): {"batch":{"ids":[1,2,3],"vectors":[[0.9,0.1,0.1],[0.1,0.9,0.1],[0.1,0.1,0.9]],"payloads":[{"color":"red"},{"color":"green"},{"color":"blue"}]}}.
Point ids must be a 64-bit unsigned integer or a UUID string (hyphenated, simple, or URN form). Nothing else is accepted.
Query params on the PUT: ?wait=true to block until the write is applied, ordering=weak|medium|strong, timeout=<seconds>.
Optionally set body field update_mode (v1.17.0+): 'upsert' (default), 'insert_only', or 'update_only'.
Before a large load, disable indexing: PATCH the collection with {"optimizers_config":{"indexing_threshold":0}} via PUT /collections/{collection_name} update, or set indexing_threshold_kb: 0 in the YAML config for a fresh node.
Run the batched PUT calls without wait=true for throughput, or use a client SDK's upload_collection / upload_points with a parallel worker count.
After the load, restore indexing: set optimizers_config.indexing_threshold back to 10000 (the default) so Qdrant builds indexes on the now-static data.
Verify with GET /collections/{collection_name} that points_count matches and status returns to 'green'.
The field name differs by surface and this bites people: the REST API optimizers_config uses "indexing_threshold" (KB), while the static YAML config file uses "indexing_threshold_kb". Both default to 10000. Setting the YAML name in an API call is silently ignored.
Point IDs are restricted to unsigned integers or UUIDs. Arbitrary string IDs (e.g. 'doc-123') are rejected — hash them to a UUID first.
wait=true on every batch forces Qdrant to confirm each write before responding, which materially slows bulk ingestion. Omit it and verify counts afterward.
update_mode requires v1.17.0+. On older servers PUT /points is always a plain upsert, so an intended insert_only silently overwrites.
Forgetting to re-enable the indexing threshold after a bulk load leaves the collection unindexed and search slow, with collection status showing green — nothing errors.
Verified against Qdrant docs as of 2026-08-02 (api.qdrant.tech reference labeled v1.18.x).
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