Create a collection

How do you create collections in Tallyfy Answers?

Before adding objects to Tallyfy Answers, you must first create a collection.

Each collection requires a unique name, and Tallyfy automatically detects the data types of your objects as you index them.

API endpoint

POST /v1/collections

Request body

The request body should contain a JSON object with the following collection properties:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Unique name for the collection (can include letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores)
description	string	No	Optional description explaining the collection’s purpose

Example request body:

{
  "name": "products",
  "description": "Collection of product information including names, descriptions, and pricing"
}

Response

A successful collection creation request returns a 201 Created status code and a JSON response containing:

{
  "name": "products",
  "description": "Collection of product information including names, descriptions, and pricing",
  "created_at": "2023-08-15T14:32:21Z"
}

Error scenarios

Status	Description
400	Invalid request format or collection name
409	Collection name already exists

Example request

curl -X POST https://go.tallyfy.com/api/v1/collections \
  -H "X-Answers-API-Key: <your_api_key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "products",
    "description": "Collection of product information"
  }'

What data types does Tallyfy Answers support?

Tallyfy Answers automatically detects these data types when you index objects:

Data Type	Example	Description
string	”Wireless Headphones”	Text values that can be searched and filtered
list of strings	[“electronics”, “audio”]	Arrays of text values for multi-value fields

What are collection naming best practices?

• Use lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores
• Choose descriptive names that reflect the content (e.g., “products”, “users”, “articles”)
• Avoid spaces and special characters
• Keep collection names concise but meaningful
• Use consistent naming conventions across all collections

Related articles

Answers > Collections

Collections in Tallyfy Answers are organizational structures that function like database tables to group similar objects together with features for dynamic schema detection efficient organization searchability scalability and comprehensive management operations.

Objects > Index a single object

A POST API endpoint that enables adding individual objects to collections with JSON formatting while handling errors and providing status responses through Tallyfy Answers platform.

Collections > Delete a collection

The DELETE endpoint permanently removes collections and their objects through a straightforward API call while offering best practices and alternatives to mitigate risks of irreversible data loss.

Collections > Get a collection

The GET endpoint retrieves detailed collection information including metadata schema and object counts by using a unique collection name while returning a JSON response with appropriate status codes and error handling.