Generate a Collection Configuration Using Instance Directories

A collection configuration is a necessary prerequisite of creating a collection. Learn how create one using instance directories.

In this case, configuration files for a collection are contained in a directory called an instance directory. An instance directory is a named set of configuration files. You can generate an instance directory template locally, edit the configuration, and then upload the directory to ZooKeeper as a named configuration set. You can then reference this named configuration set when creating a collection.

If you are using Kerberos, kinit as a user with permission to create the collection configuration:
```
kinit solradmin@EXAMPLE.COM
```
Replace EXAMPLE.COM with your Kerberos realm name.
To generate a template instance directory, run the following command:
```
solrctl instancedir --generate $HOME/solr_configs
```
Customize the collection by directly editing the solrconfig.xml and schema.xml files created in $HOME/solr_configs/conf.
After completing the configuration, make it available to Solr by running the following command, which uploads the contents of the instance directory to ZooKeeper:
```
solrctl instancedir --create <collectionName> $HOME/solr_configs
```
For example:
```
solrctl instancedir --create weblogs $HOME/solr_configs
```
Use the solrctl utility to verify that your instance directory uploaded successfully and is available to ZooKeeper. List the uploaded instance directories as follows:
```
solrctl instancedir --list
```
If you used the --create command to create a collection named weblogs, the --list command should return weblogs.