Text Embeddings
Weaviate's integration with Google Gemini API and Google Vertex AI APIs allows you to access their models' capabilities directly from Weaviate.
Configure a Weaviate vector index to use a Google embedding model, and Weaviate will generate embeddings for various operations using the specified model and your Google API key. This feature is called the vectorizer.
At import time, Weaviate generates text object embeddings and saves them into the index. For vector and hybrid search operations, Weaviate converts text queries into embeddings.

Requirements
Section titled “Requirements”Weaviate configuration
Section titled “Weaviate configuration”Your Weaviate instance must be configured with the Google vectorizer integration (text2vec-google) module.
For Weaviate Cloud (WCD) users
This integration is enabled by default on Weaviate Cloud (WCD) instances.
For self-hosted users
- Check the cluster metadata to verify if the module is enabled.
- Follow the how-to configure modules guide to enable the module in Weaviate.
API credentials
Section titled “API credentials”You must provide valid API credentials to Weaviate for the appropriate integration.
Google AI Studio (Gemini API)
Section titled “Google AI Studio (Gemini API)”- Go to Google AI Studio
- In the "API Keys" section create a new API key
- Use the
X-Goog-Studio-Api-Keyheader to provide your API key to Weaviate
Vertex AI
Section titled “Vertex AI”This is called an access token in Google Cloud.
Automatic token generation
Section titled “Automatic token generation”You can save your Google Vertex AI credentials and have Weaviate generate the necessary tokens for you. This enables use of IAM service accounts in private deployments that can hold Google credentials.
To do so:
- Set
USE_GOOGLE_AUTHenvironment variable totrue. - Have the credentials available in one of the following locations.
Once appropriate credentials are found, Weaviate uses them to generate an access token and authenticates itself against Vertex AI. Upon token expiry, Weaviate generates a replacement access token.
In a containerized environment, you can mount the credentials file to the container. For example, you can mount the credentials file to the /etc/weaviate/ directory and set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to /etc/weaviate/google_credentials.json.
Search locations for Google Vertex AI credentials
Once USE_GOOGLE_AUTH is set to true, Weaviate will look for credentials in the following places, preferring the first location found:
- A JSON file whose path is specified by the
GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALSenvironment variable. For workload identity federation, refer to this link on how to generate the JSON configuration file for on-prem/non-Google cloud platforms. - A JSON file in a location known to the
gcloudcommand-line tool. On Windows, this is%APPDATA%/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json. On other systems,$HOME/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json. - On Google App Engine standard first generation runtimes (<= Go 1.9) it uses the appengine.AccessToken function.
- On Google Compute Engine, Google App Engine standard second generation runtimes (>= Go 1.11), and Google App Engine flexible environment, it fetches credentials from the metadata server.
If you have the Google Cloud CLI tool installed and set up, you can view your token by running the following command:
gcloud auth print-access-tokenToken expiry for Vertex AI users
Section titled “Token expiry for Vertex AI users”By default, Google Cloud's OAuth 2.0 access tokens have a lifetime of 1 hour. You can create tokens that last up to 12 hours. To create longer lasting tokens, follow the instructions in the Google Cloud IAM Guide.
Since the OAuth token is only valid for a limited time, you must periodically replace the token with a new one. After you generate the new token, you have to re-instantiate your Weaviate client to use it.
You can update the OAuth token manually, but manual updates may not be appropriate for your use case.
You can also automate the OAth token update. Weaviate does not control the OAth token update procedure. However, here are some automation options:
With Google Cloud CLI
If you are using the Google Cloud CLI, write a script to periodically update the token and extract the results.
Python code to extract the token looks like this:
client = re_instantiate_weaviate()This is the re_instantiate_weaviate function:
import subprocess
import weaviate
def refresh_token() -> str:
result = subprocess.run(["gcloud", "auth", "print-access-token"], capture_output=True, text=True)
if result.returncode != 0:
print(f"Error refreshing token: {result.stderr}")
return None
return result.stdout.strip()
def re_instantiate_weaviate() -> weaviate.Client:
token = refresh_token()
client = weaviate.Client(
url = "https://WEAVIATE_INSTANCE_URL", # Replace WEAVIATE_INSTANCE_URL with the URL
additional_headers = {
"X-Goog-Vertex-Api-Key": token,
}
)
return client
# Run this every ~60 minutes
client = re_instantiate_weaviate()With google-auth
Another way is through Google's own authentication library google-auth.
See the links to google-auth in Python and Node.js libraries.
You can, then, periodically the refresh function (see Python docs) to obtain a renewed token, and re-instantiate the Weaviate client.
For example, you could periodically run:
client = re_instantiate_weaviate()Where re_instantiate_weaviate is something like:
from google.auth.transport.requests import Request
from google.oauth2.service_account import Credentials
import weaviate
import os
def get_credentials() -> Credentials:
credentials = Credentials.from_service_account_file(
"path/to/your/service-account.json",
scopes=[
"https://www.googleapis.com/auth/generative-language",
"https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform",
],
)
request = Request()
credentials.refresh(request)
return credentials
def re_instantiate_weaviate() -> weaviate.Client:
from weaviate.classes.init import Auth
weaviate_api_key = os.environ["WEAVIATE_API_KEY"]
credentials = get_credentials()
token = credentials.token
client = weaviate.connect_to_weaviate_cloud( # e.g. if you use the Weaviate Cloud Service
cluster_url="https://WEAVIATE_INSTANCE_URL", # Replace WEAVIATE_INSTANCE_URL with the URL
auth_credentials=Auth.api_key(weaviate_api_key), # Replace with your Weaviate Cloud key
headers={
"X-Goog-Vertex-Api-Key": token,
},
)
return client
# Run this every ~60 minutes
client = re_instantiate_weaviate()The service account key shown above can be generated by following this guide.
Provide the API key
Section titled “Provide the API key”Provide the API key to Weaviate at runtime, as shown in the examples below.
Note the separate headers that are available for Google AI Studio (Gemini API) and Vertex AI users.
API key headers
From v1.27.7, v1.26.12 and v1.25.27, X-Goog-Vertex-Api-Key and X-Goog-Studio-Api-Key headers are supported for Vertex AI users and Gemini API respectively. We recommend these headers for highest compatibility.
Consider X-Google-Vertex-Api-Key, X-Google-Studio-Api-Key, X-Google-Api-Key and X-PaLM-Api-Key deprecated.
# Recommended: save sensitive data as environment variables
vertex_key = os.getenv("VERTEX_API_KEY")
studio_key = os.getenv("STUDIO_API_KEY")const vertexApiKey = process.env.VERTEX_API_KEY || ''; // Replace with your inference API key
const studioApiKey = process.env.STUDIO_API_KEY || ''; // Replace with your inference API key"X-Goog-Vertex-Key": os.Getenv("VERTEX_API_KEY"),
"X-Goog-Studio-Key": os.Getenv("STUDIO_API_KEY"),Configure the vectorizer
Section titled “Configure the vectorizer”Configure a Weaviate index as follows to use a Google embedding model:
You can specify one of the available models for Weaviate to use. The default model is used if no model is specified.
Google AI Studio (Gemini API)
Section titled “Google AI Studio (Gemini API)”For Google AI Studio, use the Gemini-specific vectorizer. A Google Cloud project ID is not required. The Python and TypeScript clients set the Gemini API endpoint for you.
from weaviate.classes.config import Configureclient.collections.create( "DemoCollection", vector_config=Configure.Vectors.text2vec_google_gemini( name="title_vector", source_properties=["title"], # (Optional) To manually set the model ID model="gemini-embedding-2" ), # Additional parameters not shown)await client.collections.create({ name: 'DemoCollection', properties: [ { name: 'title', dataType: 'text' as const, }, ], vectorizers: [ weaviate.configure.vectors.text2VecGoogleGemini({ name: 'title_vector', sourceProperties: ['title'], // (Optional) To manually set the model ID model: 'gemini-embedding-2' }), ], // Additional parameters not shown});// Define the collectionbasicGoogleStudioVectorizerDef := &models.Class{ Class: "DemoCollection", VectorConfig: map[string]models.VectorConfig{ "title_vector": { Vectorizer: map[string]interface{}{ "text2vec-google": map[string]interface{}{ "properties": []string{"title"}, "apiEndpoint": "generativelanguage.googleapis.com", "modelId": "gemini-embedding-001", // (Optional) To manually set the model ID }, }, }, },}// add the collectionerr = client.Schema().ClassCreator().WithClass(basicGoogleStudioVectorizerDef).Do(ctx)if err != nil { panic(err)}Vertex AI
Section titled “Vertex AI”For Vertex AI, use the text2vec_google() vectorizer. You must provide your Google Cloud project_id.
from weaviate.classes.config import Configureclient.collections.create( "DemoCollection", vector_config=Configure.Vectors.text2vec_google( name="title_vector", source_properties=["title"], project_id="<google-cloud-project-id>", # Required for Vertex AI # (Optional) To manually set the model ID model="gemini-embedding-2" ), # Additional parameters not shown)await client.collections.create({ name: 'DemoCollection', properties: [ { name: 'title', dataType: 'text' as const, }, ], vectorizers: [ weaviate.configure.vectors.text2VecGoogle({ name: 'title_vector', sourceProperties: ['title'], projectId: '<google-cloud-project-id>', // (Optional) To manually set the model ID model: 'gemini-embedding-2' }), ], // Additional parameters not shown});// Define the collectionbasicGoogleVertexVectorizerDef := &models.Class{ Class: "DemoCollection", VectorConfig: map[string]models.VectorConfig{ "title_vector": { Vectorizer: map[string]interface{}{ "text2vec-google": map[string]interface{}{ "projectId": "<google-cloud-project-id>", "modelId": "gemini-embedding-001", // (Optional) To manually set the model ID }, }, }, },}// add the collectionerr = client.Schema().ClassCreator().WithClass(basicGoogleVertexVectorizerDef).Do(ctx)if err != nil { panic(err)}Vectorization behavior
Weaviate follows the collection configuration and a set of predetermined rules to vectorize objects.
Unless specified otherwise in the collection definition, the default behavior is to:
- Only vectorize properties that use the
textortext[]data type (unless skipped) - Sort properties in alphabetical (a-z) order before concatenating values
- If
vectorizePropertyNameistrue(falseby default) prepend the property name to each property value - Join the (prepended) property values with spaces
- Prepend the class name (unless
vectorizeClassNameisfalse) - Convert the produced string to lowercase
Vectorizer parameters
Section titled “Vectorizer parameters”The following examples show how to configure Google-specific options.
Google AI Studio (Gemini API) parameters:
modelId(Optional): e.g.gemini-embedding-001
Vertex AI parameters:
projectId(Required): Your Google Cloud project ID, e.g.cloud-large-language-modelslocation(Optional): The Google Cloud region to send requests to, e.g.europe-west1.apiEndpoint(Optional): Regional endpoint, e.g.us-central1-aiplatform.googleapis.commodelId(Optional): e.g.gemini-embedding-001,text-embedding-005
Set location together with a matching apiEndpoint to keep data in a specific region.
from weaviate.classes.config import Configure# For Vertex AIclient.collections.create( "DemoCollection", vector_config=Configure.Vectors.text2vec_google_vertex( name="title_vector", source_properties=["title"], project_id="<google-cloud-project-id>", # Required for Vertex AI # Further options # model="<google-model-id>", # location="<google-cloud-region>", # api_endpoint="<google-api-endpoint>", ), # Additional parameters not shown)# clean upclient.collections.delete("DemoCollection")# For Google AI Studio (Gemini API)client.collections.create( "DemoCollection", vector_config=Configure.Vectors.text2vec_google_gemini( name="title_vector", source_properties=["title"], # Further options model="gemini-embedding-2", ), # Additional parameters not shown)await client.collections.create({ name: 'DemoCollection', properties: [ { name: 'title', dataType: 'text' as const, }, ], vectorizers: [ weaviate.configure.vectors.text2VecGoogle({ name: 'title_vector', sourceProperties: ['title'], projectId: '<google-cloud-project-id>', // Required for Vertex AI // modelId: '<google-model-id>', // apiEndpoint: '<google-api_endpoint>', // vectorizeClassName: false, }), ], // Additional parameters not shown});// Define the collectiongoogleVectorizerFullDef := &models.Class{ Class: "DemoCollection", VectorConfig: map[string]models.VectorConfig{ "title_vector": { Vectorizer: map[string]interface{}{ "text2vec-google": map[string]interface{}{ "properties": []string{"title"}, "projectId": "<google-cloud-project-id>", // Required for Vertex AI "modelId": "textembedding-gecko@latest", // (Optional) To manually set the model ID "apiEndpoint": "<google-api-endpoint>", // (Optional) To manually set the API endpoint }, }, }, },}// add the collectionerr = client.Schema().ClassCreator().WithClass(googleVectorizerFullDef).Do(ctx)if err != nil { panic(err)}Data import
Section titled “Data import”After configuring the vectorizer, import data into Weaviate. Weaviate generates embeddings for text objects using the specified model.
source_objects = [ {"title": "The Shawshank Redemption", "description": "A wrongfully imprisoned man forms an inspiring friendship while finding hope and redemption in the darkest of places."}, {"title": "The Godfather", "description": "A powerful mafia family struggles to balance loyalty, power, and betrayal in this iconic crime saga."}, {"title": "The Dark Knight", "description": "Batman faces his greatest challenge as he battles the chaos unleashed by the Joker in Gotham City."}, {"title": "Jingle All the Way", "description": "A desperate father goes to hilarious lengths to secure the season's hottest toy for his son on Christmas Eve."}, {"title": "A Christmas Carol", "description": "A miserly old man is transformed after being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve in this timeless tale of redemption."}]collection = client.collections.use("DemoCollection")with collection.batch.fixed_size(batch_size=200) as batch: for src_obj in source_objects: # The model provider integration will automatically vectorize the object batch.add_object( properties={ "title": src_obj["title"], "description": src_obj["description"], }, # vector=vector # Optionally provide a pre-obtained vector ) if batch.number_errors > 10: print("Batch import stopped due to excessive errors.") breakfailed_objects = collection.batch.failed_objectsif failed_objects: print(f"Number of failed imports: {len(failed_objects)}") print(f"First failed object: {failed_objects[0]}")let srcObjects = [
{ title: "The Shawshank Redemption", description: "A wrongfully imprisoned man forms an inspiring friendship while finding hope and redemption in the darkest of places." },
{ title: "The Godfather", description: "A powerful mafia family struggles to balance loyalty, power, and betrayal in this iconic crime saga." },
{ title: "The Dark Knight", description: "Batman faces his greatest challenge as he battles the chaos unleashed by the Joker in Gotham City." },
{ title: "Jingle All the Way", description: "A desperate father goes to hilarious lengths to secure the season's hottest toy for his son on Christmas Eve." },
{ title: "A Christmas Carol", description: "A miserly old man is transformed after being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve in this timeless tale of redemption." }
];var sourceObjects = []map[string]string{ {"title": "The Shawshank Redemption", "description": "A wrongfully imprisoned man forms an inspiring friendship while finding hope and redemption in the darkest of places."}, {"title": "The Godfather", "description": "A powerful mafia family struggles to balance loyalty, power, and betrayal in this iconic crime saga."}, {"title": "The Dark Knight", "description": "Batman faces his greatest challenge as he battles the chaos unleashed by the Joker in Gotham City."}, {"title": "Jingle All the Way", "description": "A desperate father goes to hilarious lengths to secure the season's hottest toy for his son on Christmas Eve."}, {"title": "A Christmas Carol", "description": "A miserly old man is transformed after being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve in this timeless tale of redemption."},}// Convert items into a slice of models.Objectobjects := []models.PropertySchema{}for i := range sourceObjects { objects = append(objects, map[string]interface{}{ // Populate the object with the data "title": sourceObjects[i]["title"], "description": sourceObjects[i]["description"], })}// Batch write itemsbatcher := client.Batch().ObjectsBatcher()for _, dataObj := range objects { batcher.WithObjects(&models.Object{ Class: "DemoCollection", Properties: dataObj, })}// FlushbatchRes, err := batcher.Do(ctx)// Error handlingif err != nil { panic(err)}for _, res := range batchRes { if res.Result.Errors != nil { for _, err := range res.Result.Errors.Error { if err != nil { fmt.Printf("Error details: %v\n", *err) panic(err.Message) } } }}Searches
Section titled “Searches”Once the vectorizer is configured, Weaviate will perform vector and hybrid search operations using the specified Google model.

Vector (near text) search
Section titled “Vector (near text) search”When you perform a vector search, Weaviate converts the text query into an embedding using the specified model and returns the most similar objects from the database.
The query below returns the n most similar objects from the database, set by limit.
collection = client.collections.use("DemoCollection")response = collection.query.near_text( query="A holiday film", # The model provider integration will automatically vectorize the query limit=2)for obj in response.objects: print(obj.properties["title"])const collectionName = 'DemoCollection'
const myCollection = client.collections.use(collectionName)nearTextResponse, err := client.GraphQL().Get(). WithClassName("DemoCollection"). WithFields( graphql.Field{Name: "title"}, ). WithNearText(client.GraphQL().NearTextArgBuilder(). WithConcepts([]string{"A holiday film"})). WithLimit(2). Do(ctx)if err != nil { panic(err)}fmt.Printf("%v", nearTextResponse)Hybrid search
Section titled “Hybrid search”When you perform a hybrid search, Weaviate converts the text query into an embedding using the specified model and returns the best scoring objects from the database.
The query below returns the n best scoring objects from the database, set by limit.
collection = client.collections.use("DemoCollection")response = collection.query.hybrid( query="A holiday film", # The model provider integration will automatically vectorize the query limit=2)for obj in response.objects: print(obj.properties["title"])const collectionName = 'DemoCollection'
const myCollection = client.collections.use(collectionName)hybridResponse, err := client.GraphQL().Get(). WithClassName("DemoCollection"). WithFields( graphql.Field{Name: "title"}, ). WithHybrid(client.GraphQL().HybridArgumentBuilder(). WithQuery("A holiday film")). WithLimit(2). Do(ctx)if err != nil { panic(err)}fmt.Printf("%v", hybridResponse)References
Section titled “References”Available models
Section titled “Available models”Google AI Studio (Gemini API):
gemini-embedding-2gemini-embedding-001(default)
Vertex AI:
gemini-embedding-001, text-embedding-005, and text-multilingual-embedding-002 were added in v1.31.5, and backported to v1.30.11.
gemini-embedding-2gemini-embedding-001(default)text-embedding-005text-multilingual-embedding-002
Deprecated models
The following models have been deprecated by Google and are no longer supported. They may not function as expected.
text-embedding-004embedding-001textembedding-gecko@001textembedding-gecko@002textembedding-gecko@003textembedding-gecko@latesttextembedding-gecko-multilingual@001textembedding-gecko-multilingual@latesttext-embedding-preview-0409text-multilingual-embedding-preview-0409
Further resources
Section titled “Further resources”Other integrations
Section titled “Other integrations”Code examples
Section titled “Code examples”Once the integrations are configured at the collection, the data management and search operations in Weaviate work identically to any other collection. See the following model-agnostic examples:
- The How-to: Manage collections and How-to: Manage objects guides show how to perform data operations (i.e. create, read, update, delete collections and objects within them).
- The How-to: Query & Search guides show how to perform search operations (i.e. vector, keyword, hybrid) as well as retrieval augmented generation.
External resources
Section titled “External resources”- Google Vertex AI
- Google Gemini API
Questions and feedback
Section titled “Questions and feedback”Have a question or feedback? Here's how to reach us.