Description

# Azure AI Search client library for Python [Azure AI Search](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/search/) (formerly known as "Azure Cognitive Search") is an AI-powered information retrieval platform that helps developers build rich search experiences and generative AI apps that combine large language models with enterprise data. Azure AI Search is well suited for the following application scenarios: * Consolidate varied content types into a single searchable index. To populate an index, you can push JSON documents that contain your content, or if your data is already in Azure, create an indexer to pull in data automatically. * Attach skillsets to an indexer to create searchable content from images and unstructured documents. A skillset leverages APIs from Azure AI Services for built-in OCR, entity recognition, key phrase extraction, language detection, text translation, and sentiment analysis. You can also add custom skills to integrate external processing of your content during data ingestion. * In a search client application, implement query logic and user experiences similar to commercial web search engines and chat-style apps. Use the Azure.Search.Documents client library to: * Submit queries using vector, keyword, and hybrid query forms. * Implement filtered queries for metadata, geospatial search, faceted navigation, or to narrow results based on filter criteria. * Create and manage search indexes. * Upload and update documents in the search index. * Create and manage indexers that pull data from Azure into an index. * Create and manage skillsets that add AI enrichment to data ingestion. * Create and manage analyzers for advanced text analysis or multi-lingual content. * Optimize results through semantic ranking and scoring profiles to factor in business logic or freshness. [Source code](https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-python/tree/main/sdk/search/azure-search-documents) | [Package (PyPI)](https://pypi.org/project/azure-search-documents/) | [Package (Conda)](https://anaconda.org/microsoft/azure-search-documents/) | [API reference documentation](https://azuresdkdocs.z19.web.core.windows.net/python/azure-search-documents/latest/index.html) | [Product documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/search/search-what-is-azure-search) | [Samples](https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-python/blob/main/sdk/search/azure-search-documents/samples) ## Getting started ### Install the package Install the Azure AI Search client library for Python with [pip](https://pypi.org/project/pip/): ```bash pip install azure-search-documents ``` ### Prerequisites * Python 3.8 or later is required to use this package. * You need an [Azure subscription][azure_sub] and an [Azure AI Search service][search_resource] to use this package. To create a new search service, you can use the [Azure portal][create_search_service_docs], [Azure PowerShell][create_search_service_ps], or the [Azure CLI][create_search_service_cli]. ```Powershell az search service create --name <mysearch> --resource-group <mysearch-rg> --sku free --location westus ``` See [choosing a pricing tier](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/search/search-sku-tier) for more information about available options. ### Authenticate the client To interact with the search service, you'll need to create an instance of the appropriate client class: `SearchClient` for searching indexed documents, `SearchIndexClient` for managing indexes, or `SearchIndexerClient` for crawling data sources and loading search documents into an index. To instantiate a client object, you'll need an **endpoint** and **Azure roles** or an **API key**. You can refer to the documentation for more information on [supported authenticating approaches](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/search/search-security-overview#authentication) with the search service. #### Get an API Key An API key can be an easier approach to start with because it doesn't require pre-existing role assignments. You can get the **endpoint** and an **API key** from the Search service in the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com/). Please refer the [documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/search/search-security-api-keys) for instructions on how to get an API key. Alternatively, you can use the following [Azure CLI](https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/) command to retrieve the API key from the Search service: ```Powershell az search admin-key show --service-name <mysearch> --resource-group <mysearch-rg> ``` There are two types of keys used to access your search service: **admin** *(read-write)* and **query** *(read-only)* keys. Restricting access and operations in client apps is essential to safeguarding the search assets on your service. Always use a query key rather than an admin key for any query originating from a client app. *Note: The example Azure CLI snippet above retrieves an admin key so it's easier to get started exploring APIs, but it should be managed carefully.* ##