---
title: About multi-index organizations
slug: '2877'
canonical_url: https://docs.coveo.com/en/2877/
collection: index-content
source_format: adoc
---
# About multi-index organizations
--
![Coveo search](index-content/index.png)
A multi-index organization is a special type of Coveo organization that allows you to have more than one index.
In this context, your indexes are also called {logical indexes}.

An index stores a copy of the content you want to make searchable, such as your product catalog, videos, and blog posts.
When you make a query on a Coveo search interface, Coveo looks for matching entries in your index, and then returns them as search results.

Typically, one index per organization is enough, even if you have millions of content items in it.
When creating a search interface, you can have it target some specific sources of content, so that only a subset of your index items can be returned as search results.
--

However, there are some rare, specific use cases where a multi-index organization could be beneficial.
One of these scenarios is when you use your Coveo organization for two completely unrelated and separate implementations of Coveo.

For example, you may want to have a Coveo search page on your intranet, as well as on your commerce website.
However, your employees and your customers have different needs and expectations when they use your search pages.
Your employees need to access internal documents and data, while your customers are looking for your products and services.

These two use cases are completely independent, as your customers can't log in to your intranet, and your commerce website doesn't display any additional content to your employees.
So, in this case, having an index for each use case makes sense, especially if your intranet holds a lot of content, which leads to slightly slower responses.
In such a case, dedicating an index to your retail website may boost Coveo's performance, making your commerce search page extra fast.

Multi-index organizations are provided on demand, after Coveo has validated that such an organization would be beneficial to your situation.
If you're interested in this option, please contact your [Coveo Sales](https://www.coveo.com/en/contact) representative.
They will help you evaluate your needs and guide you through the process of setting up a multi-index organization.

## Implementing a multi-index scenario

This section explains how to add items and forward [queries](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) to a specific Coveo index.

### Step 1: Get the index ID


Use the `+GET /rest/organizations/{organizationId}/logicalindexes+` Index API call to list the indexes in your Coveo organization.

To authenticate your request, use an [access token](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1718/) granting the **View** access level on the **Logical indexes** domain in the target organization.

In the body of a successful response, each object represents an index.
Locate the `id` of the desired index.

**Example**

[,http]
```
GET https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/rest/organizations/mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3/logicalindexes HTTP/1.1

Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer **********-****-****-****-************
```

**Successful response body (200 OK)**

```json
[
  {
    "id": "default",
    "name": "default",
    "organizationId": "mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3"
  },
  {
    "id": "mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3-3m577icm",
    "name": "Acme Catalog Index",
    "organizationId": "mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3"
  }
]
```

> **Note**
>
> From a Coveo API point of view, Coveo indexes are referred to as _logical indexes._
> 
> This is because an index usually has one or more _mirrors_ for load balancing and scalability.
> Therefore, a given logical index actually represents a group of identical Coveo indexes (that is, a Coveo index and its mirrors).
> 
> However, for the sake of simplicity, this nuance is generally omitted in Coveo's product documentation.
> Therefore, _index_ and _logical index_ should be considered synonyms.

### Step 2: Index some content

. Use the [Coveo Administration Console](https://docs.coveo.com/en/183/) to configure a [source](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3390#add-a-source) that should contribute content to a specific, non-default Coveo index.
Store the unique identifier of the newly created source (for example, `mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3-s2etiqjxk2qjwu7ozdymiscp6y`).

> **Tips**
>
> * Use a temporary name when creating the source (for example, `temp_catalog`).
> This way, you can use a truly meaningful name when duplicating the source in the next sub-step.
> 
> * Click **Add Source** (not **Add and build source**) to create the source.
> This way, no content will be needlessly crawled and pulled into the default Coveo index.
. Use the [`+POST rest/organizations/{organizationId}/sources/{sourceId}/duplicate+`](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/docs?urls.primaryName=Source#/Sources/rest_organizations_paramId_sources_paramId_duplicate_post) Source API operation to duplicate the previously created source, setting the `logicalIndex` query parameter to the `id` of the Coveo index to which the source should contribute content (for example, the `id` retrieved and stored in [step 1](#step-1-get-the-index-id)).

Authenticate the request using an [access token](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1718/) granting the **Edit** access level on the **Sources** domain in the target organization.

**Example**

[,http]
```
POST https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/rest/organizations/mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3/sources/mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3-s2etiqjxk2qjwu7ozdymiscp6y/duplicate?newSourceName=catalog&logicalIndex=mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3-3m577icm HTTP/1.1

Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer **********-****-****-****-************
```

**Successful response body excerpt (201 Created)**

```json
 {
   ...
   "id": "mycoveoorganization8tp8wu3-rg7paembd5ss7tvnhkv2k4soqa",
   ...
   "logicalIndex": "mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3-3m577icm",
   ...
 }
```

> **Notes**
>
> * The `logicalIndex` property of a source can't be modified after that source has been created.
> 
> * Duplicating a non-Push source automatically triggers a build on the duplicate.

. Optionally, use the Administration Console to [delete the original source](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3390#delete-a-source).

. Repeat sub-steps 1, 2, and 3 as needed.

### Step 3: Send queries to the index

In the [query pipeline](https://docs.coveo.com/en/180/) to which are routed queries that should target a specific, non-default Coveo index (for example, the one whose `id` you retrieved and stored in [step 1](#step-1-get-the-index-id)), create a [query parameter rule](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3411/) that sets the `logicalIndex` parameter to the desired value.

**Example**

**Query pipeline condition:**

```text
when $searchHub is "StoreSearch"
```

**Query parameter rule definition:**

```text
override query logicalIndex: mycoveoorganizationg8tp8wu3-3m577icm
```

> **Notes**
>
> * By default, the `logicalIndex` query parameter targets the `default` Coveo index.
> 
> * The body of a successful query response (200 OK) contains a `logicalIndex` property whose value indicates the `id` of the index against which the query was executed.
> You may want to [leverage this property](https://docs.coveo.com/en/365#modify-the-metadata-to-send-with-coveo-analytics-events) when sending [events](https://docs.coveo.com/en/260/).