Query Configs and `quote_mode` Guide

This guide explains how to configure per-query behavior with Query Configs (qcfg) and how to test quote_mode correctly.

What To Know First

Exact match is done on normalized query text.
On create, send query only. The system computes normalized_query automatically.
quote_mode and query-level search_config are configured via Admin APIs (or index settings), not passed directly in the /search request body.
Do not edit Query Config records directly in DynamoDB. Use APIs so shard/artifact rebuild and KV sync are triggered.

How Exact Match Works

When a search request comes in, the Ecom API normalizes the incoming q and looks for a Query Config with the same normalized value.

Examples that normalize to the same value:

Orléans
orleans
ORLEANS

If those normalize to the same key, they will all match the same qcfg.

`quote_mode` Values

For query air jordan 1:

`quote_mode`	Output query form
`no_quotes`	`air jordan 1`
`phrase`	`"air jordan 1"`
`token`	`"air" "jordan" "1"`
`tokens_except_first`	`air "jordan" "1"`
`tokens_except_last`	`"air" "jordan" 1`

Notes:

Per-query quote_mode in qcfg overrides index-level quote_mode.
no_quotes explicitly disables quoting (useful to override index-level quoting).
quote_mode is not applied for image queries, multi-term object queries, or searchMethod = TENSOR.
For lexical false positives like air jordan 1 matching air jordan 11, start with token.

Environment Setup

export ECOM_HOST=https://staging-ecom.dev-marqo.org
export HOST=https://staging-admin.dev-marqo.org

export SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID=<system_account_id>
export INDEX_NAME=<index_name>

Query Config Admin API Workflow

1) Check index details first

cloudflared access curl "$HOST/api/v1/admin/accounts/$SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID/indexes/$INDEX_NAME" | jq

Recommended check: confirm query config overrides are enabled for the index (feature_flags.qcfg_overrides).

2) Create query configs

cloudflared access curl "$HOST/api/v1/accounts/$SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID/indexes/$INDEX_NAME/query-configs" \
  -sS -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '[
    {
      "query": "air jordan 1",
      "quote_mode": "token",
      "search_config": {
        "searchMethod": "HYBRID",
        "hybridParameters": { "alpha": 0.15 }
      },
      "updated_by": "you@marqo.ai",
      "reason_for_update": "Reduce lexical false positives for AJ1"
    }
  ]' | jq

Response shape is batch-based:

succeeded: items written
failed: item-level errors
HTTP 207 if partial success, 200 if all succeeded

3) Get one config

Use the normalized query in the path:

ENC=$(printf '%s' "air jordan 1" | jq -sRr @uri)
cloudflared access curl "$HOST/api/v1/accounts/$SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID/indexes/$INDEX_NAME/query-configs/$ENC" | jq

4) List configs

cloudflared access curl "$HOST/api/v1/accounts/$SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID/indexes/$INDEX_NAME/query-configs?limit=50" | jq
cloudflared access curl "$HOST/api/v1/accounts/$SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID/indexes/$INDEX_NAME/query-configs?limit=50&q_prefix=air%20jordan" | jq

5) Update configs

Use normalized_query for updates:

cloudflared access curl "$HOST/api/v1/accounts/$SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID/indexes/$INDEX_NAME/query-configs" \
  -sS -X PUT \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '[
    {
      "normalized_query": "air jordan 1",
      "quote_mode": "phrase",
      "updated_by": "you@marqo.ai",
      "reason_for_update": "Try phrase mode"
    }
  ]' | jq

Nullable update behavior:

Omit quote_mode to keep the current value.
Send "quote_mode": null to clear it (inherit index-level setting).

6) Delete configs

Delete by normalized query keys:

cloudflared access curl "$HOST/api/v1/accounts/$SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID/indexes/$INDEX_NAME/query-configs" \
  -sS -X DELETE \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data-binary '["air jordan 1"]' | jq

How To Test `quote_mode` Correctly

Correct test flow

Set quote_mode in qcfg (or index settings), not in /search body.
Send Ecom search request with x-marqo-search-request: true.
Inspect the response header x-marqo-search-request to verify what was sent to classic Marqo.

Example:

curl -sS -i \
  -H "x-marqo-index-id: ${SYSTEM_ACCOUNT_ID}-${INDEX_NAME}" \
  -H "x-marqo-search-request: true" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST \
  --data '{"q":"air jordan 1","limit":20}' \
  "$ECOM_HOST/api/v1/indexes/$INDEX_NAME/search"

Look for x-marqo-search-request in the response headers:

If only quoting is active, expect quoted q.
If quoting + query_lexical_expansion are active, expect:
hybridParameters.queryTensor: unquoted query
hybridParameters.queryLexical: quoted query plus unquoted expansions
q removed

Representative header examples:

x-marqo-search-request: {"q":"\"air\" \"jordan\" \"1\"","limit":20,"searchMethod":"HYBRID","hybridParameters":{"alpha":0.15}}

x-marqo-search-request: {"limit":20,"searchMethod":"HYBRID","hybridParameters":{"alpha":0.15,"queryTensor":"air jordan 1","queryLexical":"\"air\" \"jordan\" \"1\" retro sneaker"}}

Notes:

Header value is JSON serialized as a single-line string.
Exact extra fields vary by index search_config; focus on q vs queryTensor/queryLexical.

Common mistake

Do not send quote_mode in this /search payload:

{
  "q": "mens basketball shoes",
  "quote_mode": "token"
}

That does not configure qcfg behavior. Configure quote_mode through Query Config APIs or index settings.

Manual Classic API Comparison (Optional)

If you want to manually simulate quoting behavior against classic Marqo:

Quote queryLexical manually.
Keep queryTensor unquoted.
Do not send q when sending queryTensor or queryLexical.

Use this only as a behavior check. To test real qcfg-driven quote_mode, go through Ecom API.

Troubleshooting Checklist

No difference between modes:
Confirm quote_mode is stored in qcfg (GET query-config endpoint).
Confirm you are checking x-marqo-search-request response header.
Confirm search method is not tensor-only.
Config not matching:
Confirm the incoming query normalizes to your qcfg key.
Remember exact matching is normalized-string equality.
Unexpected behavior after direct table edits:
Revert to Admin API writes only; direct DDB writes bypass rebuild/sync workflows.

Query Configs and quote_mode Guide