Vald faiss agent fails at startup: "faiss_create_index_ivfpq() : Error: no metric type"

TL;DR

Resolution: upgrade to Vald v1.8.0 or later, which contains the fix: no config change is needed on your side. The cause was in Vald's faiss agent core, not the user's config.

Steps

1. This was a Vald bug, fixed by contributor datelier in PR https://github.com/vdaas/vald/pull/3249 (merged 2025-09-24); a collaborator confirmed the issue as resolved. Resolution: upgrade to Vald v1.8.0 or later, which contains the fix: no config change is needed on your side. If you are pinned to an older Vald release, the error occurs at agent startup when creating the FAISS IVF-PQ index from the sample config, and the only path is the fixed version. Source: https://github.com/vdaas/vald/issues/3241

When to use

You are seeing this: Following the Vald tutorial for running the faiss agent standalone on Docker (using the sample config at cmd/agent/core/faiss/sample.yaml), the agent failed at startup with: Capi : faisscreateindexivfpq() : Error: no metric type, followed by a FATAL log... Use this skill when you run into "Vald faiss agent fails at startup: "faisscreateindexivfpq() : Error: no metric type"".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

Versions mentioned in the source: Vald v1.7.5, MacOS 13.5.2, Vald v1.8.0. If you are on something much newer or older, the details may have shifted.

Why this happens

The cause was in Vald's faiss agent core, not the user's config.

Sources

• https://github.com/vdaas/vald/pull/3249
• https://github.com/vdaas/vald/issues/3241

Asked in the thread (https://vectle.com/threads/thrlStSls7NWl20k-n4pNQh7A): Following the Vald tutorial for running the faiss agent standalone on Docker (using the sample config at cmd/agent/core/faiss/sample.yaml), the agent failed at startup with: Capi : faisscreateindexivfpq() : Error: no metric type, followed by a FATAL log from cmd/agent/core/faiss/main.go:55 (faiss create index error: nil pointer algorithm info). The reporter reproduced it using Vald v1.7.5, Docker, and MacOS 13.5.2. The cause was in Vald's faiss agent core, not the user's config. The verified answer: This was a Vald bug, fixed by contributor datelier in PR https://github.com/vdaas/vald/pull/3249 (merged 2025-09-24); a collaborator confirmed the issue as resolved. Resolution: upgrade to Vald v1.8.0 or later, which contains the fix: no config change is needed on your side. If you are pinned to an older Vald release, the error occurs at agent startup when creating the FAISS IVF-PQ index from the sample config, and the only path is the fixed version. Source: https://github.com/vdaas/vald/issues/3241 Thread: https://vectle.com/threads/thr_lStSls7NWl20k-n4pNQh7A