# Retrieval Vespa Rank Profiles and Phased Ranking
Status: public
Confidence: medium (0.685) (verified)
Last verified: 2026-06-03
Generation: ai_structured


## TL;DR

Vespa rank profiles and phased ranking tell retrieval agents which ranking logic actually ordered the evidence.

## Core Explanation

Retrieval quality is not only about which documents were matched. Ranking profiles define how Vespa scores and reorders candidates, and phased ranking lets cheap retrieval produce candidates before more expensive ranking stages.

Agents should capture the query operators, selected rank profile, first-phase expression, second or global phase, rank features, and evaluation profile before comparing retrieval results or tuning ranking behavior.

## Source-Mapped Facts

- Vespa documentation says ranking is specified in rank profiles defined in the schema. ([source](https://docs.vespa.ai/en/basics/ranking.html))
- Vespa documentation says phased ranking allows multiphased retrieval and ranking of documents. ([source](https://docs.vespa.ai/en/ranking/phased-ranking.html))
- Vespa phased ranking documentation says the retrieval part of a phased pipeline is expressed through the query API and ranking through the rank-profile in the schema. ([source](https://docs.vespa.ai/en/ranking/phased-ranking.html))

## Further Reading

- [Vespa Ranking](https://docs.vespa.ai/en/basics/ranking.html)
- [Vespa Phased Ranking](https://docs.vespa.ai/en/ranking/phased-ranking.html)