chroma-core/chroma · error · Error

Cannot disable all indexes. Must specify either config or ke

Error message

Cannot disable all indexes. Must specify either config or key.

What it means

deleteIndex mirrors createIndex's argument contract: it needs an IndexConfig, a key, or both, because deleting every index in one call is not supported. Calling deleteIndex() with both arguments absent (undefined/null) throws immediately.

Source

Thrown at clients/new-js/packages/chromadb/src/schema.ts:589

        `Cannot enable all index types for key '${key}'. Please specify a specific index configuration.`,
      );
    }

    if (configProvided && !keyProvided) {
      this.setIndexInDefaults(config as IndexConfig, true);
    } else if (configProvided && keyProvided && key) {
      this.setIndexForKey(key, config as IndexConfig, true);
    }

    return this;
  }

  deleteIndex(config?: IndexConfig, key?: string): this {
    const configProvided = config !== undefined && config !== null;
    const keyProvided = key !== undefined && key !== null;

    if (!configProvided && !keyProvided) {
      throw new Error(
        "Cannot disable all indexes. Must specify either config or key.",
      );
    }

    // Disallow using special internal key #embedding
    if (keyProvided && key && key === EMBEDDING_KEY) {
      throw new Error("Cannot modify #embedding. Currently not supported");
    }

    // Only allow #document with FtsIndexConfig (to disable FTS)
    if (
      keyProvided &&
      key === DOCUMENT_KEY &&
      !(config instanceof FtsIndexConfig)
    ) {
      throw new Error(
        `Cannot delete index on special key '${key}' with this config. Only FtsIndexConfig is allowed for #document.`,
      );

View on GitHub (pinned to aecdd12c8a)

Solutions

Delete a specific index: deleteIndex(new FtsIndexConfig(), '#document') for full-text search.
For a full reset, recreate the collection with a fresh Schema instead of deleting every index.
Guard optional deletes: if (cfg) schema.deleteIndex(cfg, key).

Example fix

// before
schema.deleteIndex();

// after
schema.deleteIndex(new FtsIndexConfig(), '#document'); // delete FTS specifically

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

function deleteIndexSafe(schema: Schema, config?: IndexConfig | null, key?: string | null): void {
  const hasConfig = config !== undefined && config !== null;
  const hasKey = key !== undefined && key !== null;
  if (!hasConfig && !hasKey) {
    throw new Error('deleteIndex requires a config and/or a key — full teardown is not supported');
  }
  schema.deleteIndex(config ?? undefined, key ?? undefined);
}

Type guard

const hasDeleteTarget = (config?: IndexConfig | null, key?: string | null): boolean =>
  (config !== undefined && config !== null) ||
  (key !== undefined && key !== null);

Try / catch

try {
  schema.deleteIndex(config, key);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message === 'Cannot disable all indexes. Must specify either config or key.') {
    // delete indexes individually instead of all at once
  } else {
    throw e;
  }
}

Prevention

Treat teardown as per-index deletion; plan a recreate-collection path for full resets.
Wrap deleteIndex so both-optional calls fail fast with your own clearer message.

When it happens

Trigger: schema.deleteIndex(); schema.deleteIndex(undefined, undefined); teardown/reset code that calls deleteIndex unconditionally with optional variables.

Common situations: Collection reset or teardown scripts; TypeScript allowing the call because both parameters are optional; copy-pasting a createIndex call and deleting an argument.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of chroma-core/chroma@aecdd12c8a (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b66ac86c8f207120. Report an issue: GitHub.