---
title: Create a custom file index
description: Use the influxdb3 create file_index command to create a custom file indexing strategy for a database or a table.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/file-index/create/
estimated_tokens: 988
product: InfluxDB 3 Enterprise
version: enterprise
---

# Create a custom file index

Use the [`influxdb3 create file_index` command](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/create/file_index/) to create a custom file indexing strategy for a database or table.

Provide the following:

-   **Token** (`--token`): *(Required)* Your [admin token](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/tokens/) . You can also use the `INFLUXDB3_AUTH_TOKEN` environment variable to specify the token.
-   **Database** (`-d`, `--database`): *(Required)* The name of the database to apply the index to. You can also use the `INFLUXDB3_DATABASE_NAME` environment variable to specify the database.
-   **Table** (`-t`, `--table`): The name of the table to apply the index to. If no table is specified, the indexing strategy applies to all tables in the specified database.
-   **Columns**: *(Required)* A comma-separated list of string columns to index on. These are typically tag columns but can also be string fields.

```bash
influxdb3 create file_index \
  --token AUTH_TOKEN \
  --database DATABASE_NAME \
  --table TABLE_NAME \
  COLUMNS
```

Replace the following placeholders with your values:

-   `AUTH_TOKEN`: your [admin token](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/tokens/)
    
-   `DATABASE_NAME`: the name of the database to create the file index in
    
-   `TABLE_NAME`: the name of the table to create the file index in
    
-   `COLUMNS`: a comma-separated list of columns to index on–for example: `host,application`
    

#### Related

-   [influxdb3 create file\_index](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/create/file_index/)

[indexing](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/indexing/)