Search VFB terms (Solr). USE filter_types BY DEFAULT — unfiltered searches return deprecated terms, scRNAseq artifacts, and developmental stages mixed in with the entity the user wants.
Common filter_types recipes:
- Neuron classes: ["neuron", "class"]
- Individual neurons with images: ["neuron", "has_image"]
- Neurons with connectome data: ["neuron", "has_neuron_connectivity"]
- Brain regions / neuropils: ["anatomy"]
- Genes: ["gene"]
- Driver lines / expression patterns: ["expression_pattern"]
- Datasets: ["dataset"]
Add exclude_types: ["deprecated"] to almost any search to remove obsolete entities.
Stage filtering: VFB covers adult, larval, and embryonic data, and many anatomical FBbt classes are stage-agnostic. Do NOT add "adult" or "larva" to filter_types by default — only add them when the user is explicit about a stage (e.g. "adult Kenyon cells", "larval mushroom body"). Default searches should leave stage out so stage-agnostic classes and all life stages are visible.
Useful flags:
- minimize_results=true → top 10 + truncation metadata, for exploratory searches.
- auto_fetch_term_info=true → if an exact label match is found, returns get_term_info in the same response.
- boost_types=["has_image", "has_neuron_connectivity"] → soft-rank data-rich entities first without excluding others.
If the search returns no good matches, do NOT fall back to training-data answers — try alternative spellings, synonyms, broader terms, or different filter_types.
Multiple filter_types are ANDed (results must match ALL). Multiple exclude_types are ORed (any match excludes). boost_types soft-rank without excluding.
Available filter types: entity, anatomy, nervous_system, individual, has_image, adult, cell, neuron, vfb, has_neuron_connectivity, nblast, visual_system, cholinergic, class, secondary_neuron, expression_pattern, gabaergic, expression_pattern_fragment, glutamatergic, feature, sensory_neuron, neuronbridge, deprecated, larva, has_region_connectivity, nblastexp, gene, primary_neuron, flycircuit, mechanosensory_system, histaminergic, lineage_mbp, peptidergic, hasscrnaseq, chemosensory_system, split, has_subclass, olfactory_system, dopaminergic, fafb, l1em, pub, enzyme, motor_neuron, cluster, lineage_6, lineage_3, serotonergic, lineage_19, lineage_cm3, lineage_dm6, proprioceptive_system, gustatory_system, sense_organ, lineage_mbp4, lineage_mbp1, lineage_1, lineage_mbp2, lineage_all1, lineage_balc, lineage_cm4, lineage_dm4, muscle, lineage_13, lineage_8, lineage_mbp3, lineage_12, lineage_dm1, lineage_dpmm1, lineage_9, lineage_cp2, lineage_dl1, fanc, lineage_7, lineage_vpnd2, lineage_dm3, lineage_dpmpm2, lineage_14, lineage_4, lineage_blp1, lineage_dalv2, lineage_eba1, lineage_dm2, lineage_dpmpm1, auditory_system, lineage_16, lineage_blvp1, lineage_blav2, lineage_vlpl2, lineage_alad1, lineage_bamv3, lineage_bld6, lineage_vpnd1, synaptic_neuropil, lineage_23, lineage_17, lineage_10, lineage_dplpv, lineage_21, lineage_alv1
Multiple filter_types are ANDed (results must match ALL). Multiple exclude_types are ORed (any match excludes). boost_types soft-rank matching results higher without excluding others.
Connector