Typesense Has a Free Instant Search API That Is Easier Than Algolia

Typesense is an open-source, typo-tolerant search engine built in C++ for speed. It is like Algolia but self-hosted, free, and with a simpler API.

Setup

docker run -p 8108:8108 \
  -v /tmp/typesense-data:/data \
  typesense/typesense:latest \
  --data-dir /data --api-key=xyz

Create Collection and Index

import Typesense from 'typesense';

const client = new Typesense.Client({
  nodes: [{ host: 'localhost', port: 8108, protocol: 'http' }],
  apiKey: 'xyz'
});

// Create schema
await client.collections().create({
  name: 'products',
  fields: [
    { name: 'name', type: 'string' },
    { name: 'description', type: 'string' },
    { name: 'price', type: 'float' },
    { name: 'category', type: 'string', facet: true },
    { name: 'rating', type: 'float' }
  ],
  default_sorting_field: 'rating'
});

// Index documents
await client.collections('products').documents().import([
  { name: 'Wireless Mouse', description: 'Ergonomic wireless mouse', price: 29.99, category: 'peripherals', rating: 4.5 },
  { name: 'Mechanical Keyboard', description: 'Cherry MX switches', price: 89.99, category: 'peripherals', rating: 4.8 }
]);

Search

const results = await client.collections('products').documents().search({
  q: 'wireles mous',  // typos handled automatically
  query_by: 'name,description',
  filter_by: 'price:<50 && category:peripherals',
  sort_by: 'rating:desc',
  facet_by: 'category',
  per_page: 10
});

REST API

# Search
curl "http://localhost:8108/collections/products/documents/search?q=keyboard&query_by=name" \
  -H "X-TYPESENSE-API-KEY: xyz"

# Get document
curl http://localhost:8108/collections/products/documents/1 \
  -H "X-TYPESENSE-API-KEY: xyz"

# Collection stats
curl http://localhost:8108/collections/products \
  -H "X-TYPESENSE-API-KEY: xyz"

InstantSearch.js Integration

import instantsearch from 'instantsearch.js';
import TypesenseInstantSearchAdapter from 'typesense-instantsearch-adapter';

const adapter = new TypesenseInstantSearchAdapter({
  server: { nodes: [{ host: 'localhost', port: 8108, protocol: 'http' }], apiKey: 'xyz' },
  additionalSearchParameters: { query_by: 'name,description' }
});

const search = instantsearch({
  indexName: 'products',
  searchClient: adapter.searchClient
});

Why This Matters

• Self-hosted Algolia: Same instant search UX, zero cost
• Built in C++: Sub-millisecond search latency
• Typo tolerance: Out of the box, no configuration
• InstantSearch.js: Drop-in frontend integration

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