---
title: Reference
description: Detailed syntax for ParadeDB indexes, queries, aggregates, and SQL APIs
canonical: https://www.paradedb.com/docs/reference/overview
---

Reference is where the exact ParadeDB syntax lives. Use these pages when you need operators, functions, index options, configuration settings, or the rules that determine whether ParadeDB can accelerate a query.

Most ParadeDB features start with index design. Decide which columns and expressions belong in the ParadeDB index, including text fields, scalar fields used for filtering or sorting, JSON, arrays, composite fields, and vectors. Then choose the query pattern for your workload: full-text search, vector search, hybrid ranking, aggregates, facets, or joins.

If you are new to ParadeDB, start with [Getting Started](/start/install) and
[Architecture](/concepts/architecture).

## Building the Index

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card
    title="Create an Index"
    icon="database"
    href="/reference/indexing/create-index"
  >
    Create a ParadeDB index and choose the fields it should cover.
  </Card>
  <Card
    title="How the Index Works"
    icon="diagram-project"
    href="/concepts/architecture#data-model"
  >
    Understand the inverted, columnar, vector, and segment structures inside the
    ParadeDB index.
  </Card>
  <Card
    title="Columnar Storage"
    icon="table-columns"
    href="/reference/indexing/columnar"
  >
    Make fields available for filtering, sorting, grouping, and aggregates.
  </Card>
  <Card
    title="Specialized Indexing"
    icon="boxes-stacked"
    href="/reference/indexing/indexing-expressions"
  >
    Index expressions, JSON, arrays, composite fields, and vectors.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Querying the Index

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card
    title="Full-Text / Lexical Search"
    icon="magnifying-glass"
    href="/reference/full-text/overview"
  >
    Query text with match, term, phrase, proximity, fuzzy matching, regex,
    filters, sorting, relevance scores, and highlighting.
  </Card>
  <Card
    title="Vector / Semantic Search"
    icon="vector-square"
    href="/reference/vector/overview"
  >
    Search `vector` values by semantic similarity and tune nearest-neighbor
    retrieval for larger datasets.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Hybrid Search" icon="shuffle" href="/reference/hybrid/overview">
    Combine BM25 and vector rankings into a single result set with reciprocal
    rank fusion.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Composing Results

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card
    title="Filtering and Sorting"
    icon="filter"
    href="/reference/filtering/overview"
  >
    Push filters and Top K ordering into the same index-backed query.
  </Card>
  <Card
    title="Aggregates and Facets"
    icon="chart-column"
    href="/reference/aggregates/overview"
  >
    Compute SQL aggregates, buckets, histograms, metrics, and facets from the
    index.
  </Card>
  <Card
    title="Supported Join Types"
    icon="diagram-project"
    href="/reference/joins/overview"
  >
    Join search results with relational tables while keeping application data in
    Postgres.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## API Surface

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card
    title="Operators and Functions"
    icon="code"
    href="/reference/operators-and-functions"
  >
    Look up query operators, vector operators, filter syntax, and aggregate
    helpers.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Configuration" icon="sliders" href="/reference/configuration">
    Review the settings that control scans, aggregates, vectors, parallelism,
    and diagnostics.
  </Card>
  <Card title="SQL Functions" icon="terminal" href="/reference/sql-functions">
    Look up callable SQL functions, signatures, compatibility names, and
    lower-level helpers.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>