REPL (Interactive Mode)

The REPL provides an interactive session for exploring your index without typing the full laurus command each time.

Starting the REPL

laurus --index-dir ./my_index repl

If an index already exists at the specified directory, it is opened automatically:

Laurus REPL (type 'help' for commands, 'quit' to exit)
laurus>

If no index exists yet, the REPL starts without a loaded index and guides you to create one:

Laurus REPL — no index found at ./my_index.
Use 'create index <schema_path>' to create one, or 'help' for commands.
laurus>

Available Commands

Commands follow the same <operation> <resource> ordering as the CLI.

Command	Description
`create index [schema_path]`	Create a new index (interactive wizard if no path given)
`create schema <output_path>`	Interactive schema generation wizard
`search <query>`	Search the index
`add field <name> <json>`	Add a field to the schema
`add doc <id> <json>`	Add a document (append, allows multiple chunks per ID)
`put doc <id> <json>`	Put (upsert) a document (replaces existing with same ID)
`get stats`	Show index statistics
`get schema`	Show the current schema
`get docs <id>`	Get all documents (including chunks) by ID
`delete field <name>`	Remove a field from the schema
`delete docs <id>`	Delete all documents (including chunks) by ID
`commit`	Commit pending changes
`help`	Show available commands
`quit` / `exit`	Exit the REPL

Note: Commands other than create, help, and quit require a loaded index. If no index is loaded, the REPL displays a message asking you to run create index first.

Usage Examples

Creating an Index

laurus> create index ./schema.toml
Index created at ./my_index.
laurus> add doc doc1 {"title":"Hello","body":"World"}
Document 'doc1' added.

Searching

laurus> search body:rust
╭──────┬────────┬────────────────────────────────────╮
│ ID   │ Score  │ Fields                             │
├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ doc1 │ 0.8532 │ body: Rust is a systems..., title… │
╰──────┴────────┴────────────────────────────────────╯

Managing Fields

laurus> add field category {"Text": {"indexed": true, "stored": true}}
Field 'category' added.
laurus> delete field category
Field 'category' deleted.

Adding and Committing Documents

laurus> add doc doc4 {"title":"New Document","body":"Some content here."}
Document 'doc4' added.
laurus> commit
Changes committed.

Retrieving Information

laurus> get stats
Document count: 3

laurus> get schema
{
  "fields": { ... },
  "default_fields": ["title", "body"]
}

laurus> get docs doc4
╭──────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ ID   │ Fields                                        │
├──────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ doc4 │ body: Some content here., title: New Document │
╰──────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Deleting Documents

laurus> delete docs doc4
Documents 'doc4' deleted.
laurus> commit
Changes committed.

Features

Line editing — Arrow keys, Home/End, and standard readline shortcuts
History — Use Up/Down arrows to recall previous commands
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+D — Exit the REPL gracefully

Keyboard shortcuts

Laurus Documentation