Search

MeiliSearch exposes 2 routes to perform searches:

  • A POST route: this is the preferred route when using API authentication, as it allows preflight requestSearch - 图1 (opens new window) caching and better performances.
  • A GET route: the usage of this route is discouraged, unless you have good reason to do otherwise (specific caching abilities for example).

Other than the differences mentioned above, the two routes are strictly equivalent.

Search in an index with POST route

POST

1. /indexes/:index_uid/search

Search for documents matching a specific query in the given index.

This is the preferred route to perform search when an API key is required, as it allows for preflight requestsSearch - 图2 (opens new window) to be cached. Caching preflight requests improves considerably the speed of the search.

Path Variables

Variable Description
index_uid The index UID

Body

Variable Type Description Default value
q String Query string _(mandatory) “”
offset Integer Number of documents to skip 0
limit Integer Maximum number of documents returned 20
filters String Filter queries by an attribute value null
facetFilters [Strings OR [Strings]] Facet names and values to filter on null
facetsDistribution [Strings] Facets for which to retrieve the matching count null
attributesToRetrieve [Strings] Attributes to display in the returned documents [“*”]
attributesToCrop [Strings] Attributes whose values have to be cropped null
cropLength Integer Length used to crop field values 200
attributesToHighlight [Strings] Attributes whose values will contain highlighted matching terms null
matches Boolean Defines whether an object that contains information about the matches should be returned or not false

filters accept a query string. You can find more about the filter syntax on our dedicated page. cropLength is automatically rounded to match word boundaries.

Learn more about how to use the search parameters.

Response

field Description type
hits Results of the query [result]
offset Number of documents skipped number
limit Number of documents to take number
nbHits Total number of matches number
exhaustiveNbHits Whether nbHits is exhaustive boolean
facetsDistribution Distribution of the given facets object
exhaustiveFacetsCount Whether facetsDistribution is exhaustive boolean
processingTimeMs Processing time of the query number
query Query originating the response string

Example

1. curl \
2. 'http://localhost:7700/indexes/movies/search' \
3. --data '{ "q": "american ninja" }'

1. client.index('movies').search('American ninja')

1. client.index('movies').search('American ninja')

1. // Do a search
2. $searchResults = $client->index('movies')->search('american ninja');

4. // Get results in an Array using a getter
5. $hits = $searchResults->getHits();

7. // Get the decoded response of MeiliSearch, see response below
8. $response = $searchResults->getRaw();

1. index.search('american ninja')

1. client.Search("movies").Search(SearchRequest{
2. Query: "American ninja",
3. })

1. let results: SearchResults<Movie> = movies
2. .search()
3. .with_query("American ninja")
4. .execute()
5. .await
6. .unwrap();

Response: 200 Ok

1. {
2. "hits": [
3. {
4. "id": "2770",
5. "title": "American Pie 2",
6. "poster": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w1280/q4LNgUnRfltxzp3gf1MAGiK5LhV.jpg",
7. "overview": "The whole gang are back and as close as ever. They decide to
8. get even closer by spending the summer together at a beach house. They
9. decide to hold the biggest...",
10. "release_date": 997405200
11. },
12. {
13. "id": "190859",
14. "title": "American Sniper",
15. "poster": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w1280/svPHnYE7N5NAGO49dBmRhq0vDQ3.jpg",
16. "overview": "U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his
17. comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American
18. history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also
19. makes him a prime...",
20. "release_date": 1418256000
21. },
22. ...
23. ],
24. "offset": 0,
25. "limit": 20,
26. "nbHits": 976,
27. "exhaustiveNbHits": false,
28. "processingTimeMs": 35,
29. "query": "american "
30. }

Search in an index with GET route

GET

1. /indexes/:index_uid/search

Search for documents matching a specific query in the given index.

This route should only be used when no API key is required. If an API key is required, use the POST route instead.

Path Variables

Variable Description
index_uid The index UID

Query Parameters

Query Parameter Description Default Value
q Query string “”
offset Number of documents to skip 0
limit Maximum number of documents returned 20
filters Filter queries by an attribute value null
facetFilters Facet names and values to filter on null
facetsDistribution Facets for which to retrieve the matching count null
attributesToRetrieve Attributes to display in the returned documents [“*”]
attributesToCrop Attributes whose values have to be cropped null
cropLength Length used to crop field values 200
attributesToHighlight Attributes whose values will contain highlighted matching terms null
matches Defines whether an object that contains information about the matches should be returned or not false

filters accept a query string. You can find about the filter syntax on our dedicated page. cropLength is automatically rounded to match word boundaries.

Learn more about how to use the search parameters.

When the q parameter is not specified, a placeholder search is run instead.

Response

field Description type
hits Results of the query [result]
offset Number of documents skipped number
limit Number of documents to take number
nbHits Total number of matches number
exhaustiveNbHits Whether nbHits is exhaustive boolean
facetsDistribution Distribution of the given facets object
exhaustiveFacetsCount Whether facetsDistribution is exhaustive boolean
processingTimeMs Processing time of the query number
query Query originating the response string

Example

1. curl \
2. 'http://localhost:7700/indexes/movies/search' \
3. --data '{ "q": "american ninja" }'

1. client.index('movies').search('American ninja')

1. client.index('movies').search('American ninja')

1. // Do a search
2. $searchResults = $client->index('movies')->search('american ninja');

4. // Get results in an Array using a getter
5. $hits = $searchResults->getHits();

7. // Get the decoded response of MeiliSearch, see response below
8. $response = $searchResults->getRaw();

1. index.search('american ninja')

1. client.Search("movies").Search(SearchRequest{
2. Query: "American ninja",
3. })

1. let results: SearchResults<Movie> = movies
2. .search()
3. .with_query("American ninja")
4. .execute()
5. .await
6. .unwrap();

Response: 200 Ok

1. {
2. "hits": [
3. {
4. "id": "2770",
5. "title": "American Pie 2",
6. "poster": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w1280/q4LNgUnRfltxzp3gf1MAGiK5LhV.jpg",
7. "overview": "The whole gang are back and as close as ever. They decide to
8. get even closer by spending the summer together at a beach house. They
9. decide to hold the biggest...",
10. "release_date": 997405200
11. },
12. {
13. "id": "190859",
14. "title": "American Sniper",
15. "poster": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w1280/svPHnYE7N5NAGO49dBmRhq0vDQ3.jpg",
16. "overview": "U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his
17. comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American
18. history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also
19. makes him a prime...",
20. "release_date": 1418256000
21. },
22. ...
23. ],
24. "offset": 0,
25. "limit": 20,
26. "nbHits": 976,
27. "exhaustiveNbHits": false,
28. "processingTimeMs": 35,
29. "query": "american "
30. }