> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cyborg.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get

Retrieves vectors from the encrypted index by their IDs, with options to specify which fields to include in the results.

```typescript theme={null}
async get({
    ids: string[],     // required
    include?: string[]  // optional, default: ["vector", "contents", "metadata"]
}): Promise<GetResultItem[]>
```

### Parameters

| Parameter | Type       | Default                              | Description                                                                                           |
| --------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `ids`     | `string[]` | -                                    | Array of vector IDs to retrieve from the index                                                        |
| `include` | `string[]` | `["vector", "contents", "metadata"]` | *(Optional)* Fields to include in the response. Valid options: `"vector"`, `"contents"`, `"metadata"` |

<Note>`include` defaults differ between endpoints: `get` returns `["vector", "contents", "metadata"]` by default, while [`query`](./query) returns `[]` (only `id`).</Note>

### Returns

`Promise<GetResultItem[]>`: A Promise that resolves to an array of retrieved vector items with type-safe access to fields. Each item contains the requested fields based on the `include` parameter. See the [GetResultItem type](../types#getresultitem) for more details.

### Exceptions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Error">
    * Throws if the API request fails due to network connectivity issues.
    * Throws if authentication fails (invalid API key).
    * Throws if the encryption key is invalid for the specified index.
    * Throws if there are internal server errors preventing the retrieval.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Validation Errors">
    * Throws if the `ids` parameter is null, undefined, or empty.
    * Throws if the `include` parameter contains invalid field names.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Example Usage

```typescript theme={null}
import { Client, GetResultItem } from 'cyborgdb';

const client = new Client({ baseUrl: 'http://localhost:8000', apiKey: 'your-api-key' });

// Load an existing index
const indexKey = new Uint8Array(Buffer.from('your-stored-hex-key', 'hex'));
const index = await client.loadIndex({ indexName: 'my-vector-index', indexKey });

// Add some vectors first
await index.upsert({
    items: [
        { 
            id: 'doc1', 
            vector: [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4], 
            contents: 'This is the first document content',
            metadata: { title: 'Document 1', category: 'research', date: '2024-01-15' }
        },
        { 
            id: 'doc2', 
            vector: [0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7], 
            contents: 'This is the second document content',
            metadata: { title: 'Document 2', category: 'tutorial', date: '2024-01-16' }
        }
    ]
});

// Retrieve vectors with all fields (default behavior)
try {
    const vectors: GetResultItem[] = await index.get({ ids: ['doc1', 'doc2'] });

    vectors.forEach(item => {
        console.log(`ID: ${item.id}`);
        console.log(`Vector dimensions: ${item.vector?.length}`);
        console.log(`Contents: ${item.contents}`);
        // Type-safe metadata access
        if (item.metadata) {
            console.log(`Title: ${item.metadata.title}`);
            console.log(`Category: ${item.metadata.category}`);
        }
        console.log('---');
    });

} catch (error: any) {
    console.error('Failed to retrieve vectors:', error.message);
}
```

### Response Format

The method returns an array of objects with the following structure:

```typescript theme={null}
// Example response with all fields
[
    {
        "id": "doc1",
        "vector": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4],
        "contents": "This is the first document content",
        "metadata": {
            "title": "Document 1",
            "category": "research",
            "date": "2024-01-15"
        }
    },
    {
        "id": "doc2",
        "vector": [0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7],
        "contents": "This is the second document content",
        "metadata": {
            "title": "Document 2",
            "category": "tutorial",
            "date": "2024-01-16"
        }
    }
]
```

<Tip>The `contents` field is returned as a decoded UTF-8 string, regardless of whether it was originally stored as a string or Buffer. The SDK automatically decodes the base64 response from the server.</Tip>

### Response Item Fields

| Field      | Type       | Description                                                                            |
| ---------- | ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `id`       | `string`   | Unique identifier of the vector (always included)                                      |
| `vector`   | `number[]` | The vector data (included if `"vector"` in include array)                              |
| `contents` | `string`   | The content data as a decoded UTF-8 string (included if `"contents"` in include array) |
| `metadata` | `any`      | Associated metadata object (included if `"metadata"` in include array)                 |