Set displayed attributes

Set displayed attributes

By default, all fields in a document are displayed in search results. Use displayedAttributes to control which fields are returned when a document matches a query. Fields not listed in displayedAttributes are still stored in the database and remain searchable if configured. You can add them back to the displayed list at any time.

Set displayed attributes

Suppose you manage a movies database and only want search results to show the title, overview, release date, and genres:

cURL

Python

PHP

Java

Ruby

Rust

Swift

Dart

curl \
  -X PUT 'MEILISEARCH_URL/indexes/movies/settings/displayed-attributes' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-binary '[
      "title",
      "overview",
      "genres",
      "release_date"
    ]'

client.index('movies').updateDisplayedAttributes([
    'title',
    'overview',
    'genres',
    'release_date',
  ]
)

client.index('movies').update_displayed_attributes([
    'title',
    'overview',
    'genres',
    'release_date'
])

$client->index('movies')->updateDisplayedAttributes([
  'title',
  'overview',
  'genres',
  'release_date'
]);

String[] attributes = {"title", "overview", "genres", "release_date"}
client.index("movies").updateDisplayedAttributesSettings(attributes);

client.index('movies').update_settings({
  displayed_attributes: [
    'title',
    'overview',
    'genres',
    'release_date'
  ]
})

displayedAttributes := []string{
  "title",
  "overview",
  "genres",
  "release_date",
}
client.Index("movies").UpdateDisplayedAttributes(&displayedAttributes)

await client.Index("movies").UpdateDisplayedAttributesAsync(new[]
{
    "title",
    "overview",
    "genres",
    "release_date"
});

let displayed_attributes = [
  "title",
  "overview",
  "genres",
  "release_date"
];

let task: TaskInfo = client
  .index("movies")
  .set_displayed_attributes(&displayed_attributes)
  .await
  .unwrap();

let displayedAttributes: [String] = [
    "title",
    "overview",
    "genres",
    "release_date"
]
client.index("movies").updateDisplayedAttributes(displayedAttributes) { (result) in
    switch result {
    case .success(let task):
        print(task)
    case .failure(let error):
        print(error)
    }
}

await client.index('movies').updateDisplayedAttributes([
  'title',
  'overview',
  'genres',
  'release_date',
]);

With this configuration, fields like id, poster_url, or internal_rating are excluded from search results even if they exist in the document.

When to limit displayed attributes

Performance: reducing the number of displayed fields makes response payloads smaller, especially when documents contain large text fields or many attributes
Security: hide internal fields (admin notes, cost prices, internal IDs) from the search response without removing them from the index
Clarity: return only the fields your UI needs, reducing frontend parsing work

Reset displayed attributes

To restore the default behavior (all fields displayed), reset the setting:

curl \
  -X DELETE 'MEILISEARCH_URL/indexes/movies/settings/displayed-attributes' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer MEILISEARCH_KEY'

All fields are always stored in the database regardless of display settings. Making a field non-displayed does not delete it. You can also use attributesToRetrieve at search time to limit which displayed fields are returned for a specific query, without changing the index setting.

Set displayed attributes

Set displayed attributes