feat: add create_index to HotdataClient

Bring the framework client to parity with `hotdata indexes create`, which
already creates BM25 and vector indexes from the CLI. Previously callers
had to drop to the raw `hotdata.IndexesApi`, leaving a managed database's
data loaded but not searchable.

Covers both vector-index modes: a plain index over an existing vector
column, and a provider-backed index over a source text column that the
server embeds. The returned `source_column` names the column to pass to
`vector_distance` in the latter.

The build runs as a background job whose submit call reports success even
when the build later fails, so the method polls the job to a terminal
state and raises RuntimeError with the job's error_message. `wait=False`
mirrors the CLI's `--async`.

`index_name` derives from `{table}_{columns}_{index_type}` when omitted,
matching the CLI so both surfaces name the same index identically.
`index_type` is required rather than inheriting the API's "sorted"
default. Combinations the server would silently ignore — a multi-column
vector index, or vector-only options on a non-vector index — raise
ValueError, since each otherwise surfaces only as an unaccelerated query.

Release 0.10.0.

Author: rohan-hotdata

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -8,6 +8,53 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 
+## [0.10.0] - 2026-08-06
+
+### Added
+
+- `create_index(database, table, columns=..., index_type=...)` builds an index on a
+  managed table, bringing the framework client to parity with `hotdata indexes
+  create` in the CLI. It covers all three index kinds the API accepts: `"bm25"` for
+  full-text search, `"vector"` for nearest-neighbour search, and `"sorted"`.
+  Previously the framework had no index API at all and callers had to drop to the raw
+  `hotdata.IndexesApi`, which left a managed database's data loaded but not
+  searchable: full-text queries error without an index, and vector queries run at
+  full-scan speed. Like the other managed-table operations, `database` accepts a
+  name/id or an already-resolved `ManagedDatabase`. Indexing a table on a plain
+  (non-managed) connection is not covered — the CLI's `--catalog` handles that.
+
+  `index_name` is optional and defaults to `{table}_{columns}_{index_type}`, the same
+  derivation the CLI uses when `--name` is omitted, so both surfaces name the same
+  index identically. `index_type` is required, unlike the API's `"sorted"` default,
+  because the wrong kind only fails at query time.
+
+  The server builds the index as a background job whose submit call reports success
+  even when the build later fails, so `create_index` polls the job to a terminal
+  state and raises `RuntimeError` carrying the job's `error_message`. Pass
+  `wait=False` to return once the job is accepted (`status="pending"` plus a
+  `job_id`) and own the outcome check yourself, as the CLI's `--async` does;
+  `timeout_s` and `poll_interval_s` tune the wait.
+
+  Both vector-index modes are supported. Omitting `embedding_provider_id` indexes an
+  existing vector column, queried with a literal vector — and there `metric` must
+  match the distance function the query uses (`cosine`→`cosine_distance`,
+  `l2`→`l2_distance`, `dot`→`negative_dot_product`), since a mismatch silently
+  reverts to a full table scan rather than erroring. Setting
+  `embedding_provider_id` indexes a *text* column instead: the provider embeds it
+  into `output_column`, queries pass text via `vector_distance(source_col, 'query')`,
+  and the server resolves the distance function itself.
+
+  Argument combinations that the server would silently ignore raise `ValueError`
+  before any request is sent: an unknown `index_type` or `metric`, a vector index
+  with more than one column (the engine indexes only the first), and
+  `metric`/`dimensions`/`embedding_provider_id`/`output_column`/`description` on a
+  non-vector index.
+
+- `CreateIndexResult`, the frozen dataclass `create_index` returns, is exported from
+  `hotdata_framework` and added to the public contract surface. Its `source_column`
+  names the text column to query for a provider-backed vector index, and is `None`
+  for BM25, sorted, and plain vector indexes.
+
 ## [0.9.0] - 2026-07-23
 
 ### Added

CONTRACT.md

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ The supported import surface is:
 - `ManagedDatabase`
 - `ManagedTable`
 - `LoadManagedTableResult`
+- `CreateIndexResult`
 - `DEFAULT_SCHEMA`
 - `is_parquet_path`
 
@@ -63,7 +64,8 @@ Adapters should import from `hotdata_framework` and treat this surface as the st
 - `upload_parquet(path)` uploads a local parquet file and returns an upload id.
 - `load_managed_table(database, table, schema=..., upload_id=..., file=...)` publishes parquet data into a declared managed table.
 - `delete_managed_table(database, table, schema=...)` deletes a managed table.
-- The `database` argument of `list_managed_tables`, `load_managed_table`, `add_managed_table`, `delete_managed_table`, `delete_managed_database`, and `execute_sql` accepts a name/id **or** an already-resolved `ManagedDatabase`. Passing a `ManagedDatabase` skips the name/id read probe, so a create-scoped key that cannot read `/databases` can load into a database it just created.
+- `create_index(database, table, schema=..., columns=..., index_type=..., index_name=...)` builds a `"sorted"`, `"bm25"`, or `"vector"` index on a managed table and returns a `CreateIndexResult`. It is the framework-side equivalent of the CLI's `hotdata indexes create`; indexing a table on a plain (non-managed) connection is out of scope. `index_name` defaults to `{table}_{columns}_{index_type}`, matching the CLI's derivation when `--name` is omitted. `index_type` is required rather than defaulting to the API's `"sorted"`. The build runs as a background job; the call polls it to a terminal state and raises `RuntimeError` with the job's `error_message` when it fails, because the submit call reports success regardless. `wait=False` returns as soon as the job is accepted, with `status="pending"` and a `job_id` for the caller to poll. For `index_type="vector"`, omitting `embedding_provider_id` indexes an existing vector column and `metric` (`"l2"`, `"cosine"`, `"dot"`) selects the distance function the index accelerates — a query using a different function silently falls back to a full scan; setting `embedding_provider_id` indexes a source *text* column instead, and the returned `source_column` names the column to pass to `vector_distance`. Argument combinations the server would silently ignore raise `ValueError` before any request is sent.
+- The `database` argument of `list_managed_tables`, `load_managed_table`, `add_managed_table`, `delete_managed_table`, `delete_managed_database`, `create_index`, and `execute_sql` accepts a name/id **or** an already-resolved `ManagedDatabase`. Passing a `ManagedDatabase` skips the name/id read probe, so a create-scoped key that cannot read `/databases` can load into a database it just created.
 
 ### `QueryResult`
 

README.md

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Runtime boundary and guarantees are defined in `CONTRACT.md`.
 - **Result utilities** — convert query results to records, pandas DataFrames, or metadata dictionaries for adapter display layers.
 - **History helpers** — list recent results and query run history with normalized dataclasses.
 - **Managed databases** — create Hotdata-owned catalogs, declare tables, upload parquet, and load managed tables (mirrors `hotdata databases` in the CLI).
+- **Indexes** — build BM25, vector, or sorted indexes on managed tables (parity with `hotdata indexes create`), waiting on the background build and surfacing its failure instead of reporting a phantom success.
 - **Health helpers** — build compact API/workspace health summaries for UI integrations.
 
 Install:

hotdata_framework/__init__.py

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 )
 from hotdata_framework.databases import (
     DEFAULT_SCHEMA,
+    CreateIndexResult,
     LoadManagedTableResult,
     ManagedDatabase,
     ManagedTable,
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@
 
 __all__ = [
     "DEFAULT_SCHEMA",
+    "CreateIndexResult",
     "HotdataClient",
     "HotdataError",
     "HotdataTerminalError",