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DEV: add new autocomplete page (#1244)
* Initial commit of autocomplete page * Additional commit of autocomplete page * Correct command list layout
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‎content/develop/interact/search-and-query/advanced-concepts/autocomplete.md

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---
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categories:
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- docs
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- develop
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- stack
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- oss
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- rs
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- rc
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- oss
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- kubernetes
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- clients
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description: Learn how to use the autocomplete feature of Redis for efficient prefix-based suggestion retrieval.
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linkTitle: Autocomplete
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title: Autocomplete with Redis
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weight: 1
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---
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## Overview
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Redis Query Engine provides an autocomplete feature using suggestions that are stored in a [trie-based](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trie) data structure.
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This feature allows you to store and retrieve ranked suggestions based on user input prefixes, making it useful for applications like search boxes, command completion, and chatbot responses.
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This guide covers how to use the [`FT.SUGADD`]({{< baseurl >}}/commands/ft.sugadd), [`FT.SUGGET`]({{< baseurl >}}/commands/ft.sugget), [`FT.SUGDEL`]({{< baseurl >}}/commands/ft.sugdel), and [`FT.SUGLEN`]({{< baseurl >}}/commands/ft.suglen) commands to implement autocomplete, and some examples of how you can use these commands with [`FT.SEARCH`]({{< baseurl >}}/commands/ft.search).
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## Add autocomplete suggestions
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To add phrases or words to a suggestions dictionary, use the [`FT.SUGADD`]({{< baseurl >}}/commands/ft.sugadd) command.
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You will assign a score to each entry, which determines its ranking in the results.
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```
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FT.SUGADD autocomplete "hello world" 100
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FT.SUGADD autocomplete "hello there" 90
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FT.SUGADD autocomplete "help me" 80
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FT.SUGADD autocomplete "hero" 70
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```
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Integer scores were used in the above examples, but the scores argument is described as being floating point.
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Integer scores are converted to floating point internally.
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Also, "`autocomplete`" in the above examples is just the name of the key; you can use any key name you wish.
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### Optional arguments
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The `FT.SUGADD` command can take two optional arguments:
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* `INCR`: increments the existing entry of the suggestion by the given score instead of replacing the score. This is useful for updating the dictionary based on user queries in real time.
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* `PAYLOAD`: saves a string with the suggestion, which can be fetched by adding the `WITHPAYLOADS` argument to `FT.SUGGET`.
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## Retrieve suggestions
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To get autocomplete suggestions for a given prefix, use the [`FT.SUGGET`]({{< baseurl >}}/commands/ft.sugget) command.
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```
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redis> FT.SUGGET autocomplete "he"
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1) "hero"
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2) "help me"
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3) "hello world"
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4) "hello there"
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```
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If you wish to see the scores, use the `WITHSCORES` option:
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```
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redis> FT.SUGGET autocomplete "he" WITHSCORES
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1) "hero"
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2) "40.414520263671875"
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3) "help me"
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4) "32.65986251831055"
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5) "hello world"
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6) "31.62277603149414"
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7) "hello there"
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8) "28.460498809814453"
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```
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### Enable fuzzy matching
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If you want to allow for small spelling mistakes or typos, use the `FUZZY` option. This option performs a fuzzy prefix search, including prefixes at a [Levenshtein distance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levenshtein_distance) of 1 from the provided prefix.
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```
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redis> FT.SUGGET autocomplete hell FUZZY
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1) "hello world"
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2) "hello there"
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3) "help me"
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```
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### Optional arguments
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There are three additional arguments you can use wit `FT.SUGGET`:
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* `MAX num`: limits the results to a maximum of `num`. The default for `MAX` is 5.
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* `WITHSCORES`: returns the score of each suggestion.
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* `WITHPAYLOADS`: returns optional payloads saved with the suggestions. If no payload is present for an entry, a `nil` reply is returned.
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```
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redis> FT.SUGADD autocomplete hero 70 PAYLOAD "you're no hero"
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(integer) 4
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redis> FT.SUGGET autocomplete "hr" FUZZY WITHPAYLOADS
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1) "hero"
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2) "you're no hero"
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3) "help me"
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4) (nil)
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5) "hello world"
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6) (nil)
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7) "hello there"
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8) (nil)
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```
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## Delete suggestions
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To remove a specific suggestion from the dictionary, use the `FT.SUGDEL` command.
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```
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redis> FT.SUGDEL autocomplete "help me"
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(integer 1)
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```
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After deletion, running `FT.SUGGET autocomplete hell FUZZY` will no longer return "help me".
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## Check the number of suggestions
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To get a count of the number of entries in a given suggestions dictionary, use the `FT.SUGLEN` command.
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```
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redis> FT.SUGLEN autocomplete
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(integer) 3
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```
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## Use autocomplete with search
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A common approach is to:
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1. Use FT.SUGGET to suggest query completions as users type in a text field.
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1. Once the user selects a suggestion, run FT.SEARCH using the selected term to get full search results.
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Example workflow
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1. Get suggestions for a given user input.
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```
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FT.SUGGET autocomplete "hel"
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```
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1. Capture the user's selection.
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1. Use the selected suggestion in a full-text search.
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```
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FT.SEARCH index "hello world"
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```
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### When to use autocomplete versus full-text search
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* Use `FT.SUGGET` when you need fast, real-time prefix-based suggestion retrieval.
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* Use `FT.SEARCH` when you need document retrieval, filtering, and ranking based on relevance.
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## Autocomplete use cases
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The autocomplete feature in Redis Query Engine is useful for:
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- **Search box suggestions**: providing live suggestions as users type.
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- **Command completion**: offering autocompletion for CLI tools.
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- **Product search**: suggesting product names in e-commerce applications.
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- **Chatbot responses**: recommending common phrases dynamically.

‎layouts/commands/list.html

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<option value="cms" data-kind="stack">Count-min sketch</option>
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<option value="json" data-kind="stack">JSON</option>
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<option value="search" data-kind="stack">Redis Query Engine</option>
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<option value="suggestion" data-kind="stack">Auto-suggest</option>
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<option value="suggestion" data-kind="stack">Autocomplete</option>
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<option value="tdigest" data-kind="stack">T-digest</option>
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<option value="timeseries" data-kind="stack">Time series</option>
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<option value="topk" data-kind="stack">Top-k</option>

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