Rebuild the affected vibeship-derived skills from the pinned upstream snapshot instead of leaving the truncated imported bodies on main. Refresh the derived catalog and plugin mirrors so the canonical skills, compatibility data, and generated artifacts stay in sync. Refs #473
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name, description, risk, source, date_added
| name | description | risk | source | date_added |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| algolia-search | Expert patterns for Algolia search implementation, indexing strategies, React InstantSearch, and relevance tuning | unknown | vibeship-spawner-skills (Apache 2.0) | 2026-02-27 |
Algolia Search Integration
Expert patterns for Algolia search implementation, indexing strategies, React InstantSearch, and relevance tuning
Patterns
React InstantSearch with Hooks
Modern React InstantSearch setup using hooks for type-ahead search.
Uses react-instantsearch-hooks-web package with algoliasearch client. Widgets are components that can be customized with classnames.
Key hooks:
- useSearchBox: Search input handling
- useHits: Access search results
- useRefinementList: Facet filtering
- usePagination: Result pagination
- useInstantSearch: Full state access
Code_example
// lib/algolia.ts import algoliasearch from 'algoliasearch/lite';
export const searchClient = algoliasearch( process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_ALGOLIA_APP_ID!, process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_ALGOLIA_SEARCH_KEY! // Search-only key! );
export const INDEX_NAME = 'products';
// components/Search.tsx 'use client'; import { InstantSearch, SearchBox, Hits, Configure } from 'react-instantsearch'; import { searchClient, INDEX_NAME } from '@/lib/algolia';
function Hit({ hit }: { hit: ProductHit }) { return (
{hit.name}
{hit.description}
${hit.price}export function ProductSearch() { return ( <SearchBox placeholder="Search products..." classNames={{ root: 'relative', input: 'w-full px-4 py-2 border rounded', }} /> ); }
// Custom hook usage import { useSearchBox, useHits, useInstantSearch } from 'react-instantsearch';
function CustomSearch() { const { query, refine } = useSearchBox(); const { hits } = useHits(); const { status } = useInstantSearch();
return (
Loading...
}-
{hits.map((hit) => (
- {hit.name} ))}
Anti_patterns
- Pattern: Using Admin API key in frontend code | Why: Admin key exposes full index control including deletion | Fix: Use search-only API key with restrictions
- Pattern: Not using /lite client for frontend | Why: Full client includes unnecessary code for search | Fix: Import from algoliasearch/lite for smaller bundle
References
- https://www.algolia.com/doc/api-reference/widgets/react
- https://www.algolia.com/doc/libraries/javascript/v5/methods/search/
Next.js Server-Side Rendering
SSR integration for Next.js with react-instantsearch-nextjs package.
Use instead of for SSR. Supports both Pages Router and App Router (experimental).
Key considerations:
- Set dynamic = 'force-dynamic' for fresh results
- Handle URL synchronization with routing prop
- Use getServerState for initial state
Code_example
// app/search/page.tsx import { InstantSearchNext } from 'react-instantsearch-nextjs'; import { searchClient, INDEX_NAME } from '@/lib/algolia'; import { SearchBox, Hits, RefinementList } from 'react-instantsearch';
// Force dynamic rendering for fresh search results export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic';
export default function SearchPage() { return ( <InstantSearchNext searchClient={searchClient} indexName={INDEX_NAME} routing={{ router: { cleanUrlOnDispose: false, }, }} >
// For custom routing (URL synchronization) import { history } from 'instantsearch.js/es/lib/routers'; import { simple } from 'instantsearch.js/es/lib/stateMappings';
<InstantSearchNext searchClient={searchClient} indexName={INDEX_NAME} routing={{ router: history({ getLocation: () => typeof window === 'undefined' ? new URL(url) as unknown as Location : window.location, }), stateMapping: simple(), }}
{/* widgets */}
Anti_patterns
- Pattern: Using InstantSearch component for Next.js SSR | Why: Regular component doesn't support server-side rendering | Fix: Use InstantSearchNext from react-instantsearch-nextjs
- Pattern: Static rendering for search pages | Why: Search results must be fresh for each request | Fix: Set export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'
References
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/react-instantsearch-nextjs
- https://www.algolia.com/developers/code-exchange/instantsearch-and-next-js-starter
Data Synchronization and Indexing
Indexing strategies for keeping Algolia in sync with your data.
Three main approaches:
- Full Reindexing - Replace entire index (expensive)
- Full Record Updates - Replace individual records
- Partial Updates - Update specific attributes only
Best practices:
- Batch records (ideal: 10MB, 1K-10K records per batch)
- Use incremental updates when possible
- partialUpdateObjects for attribute-only changes
- Avoid deleteBy (computationally expensive)
Code_example
// lib/algolia-admin.ts (SERVER ONLY) import algoliasearch from 'algoliasearch';
// Admin client - NEVER expose to frontend const adminClient = algoliasearch( process.env.ALGOLIA_APP_ID!, process.env.ALGOLIA_ADMIN_KEY! // Admin key for indexing );
const index = adminClient.initIndex('products');
// Batch indexing (recommended approach) export async function indexProducts(products: Product[]) { const records = products.map((p) => ({ objectID: p.id, // Required unique identifier name: p.name, description: p.description, price: p.price, category: p.category, inStock: p.inventory > 0, createdAt: p.createdAt.getTime(), // Use timestamps for sorting }));
// Batch in chunks of ~1000-5000 records const BATCH_SIZE = 1000; for (let i = 0; i < records.length; i += BATCH_SIZE) { const batch = records.slice(i, i + BATCH_SIZE); await index.saveObjects(batch); } }
// Partial update - update only specific fields export async function updateProductPrice(productId: string, price: number) { await index.partialUpdateObject({ objectID: productId, price, updatedAt: Date.now(), }); }
// Partial update with operations export async function incrementViewCount(productId: string) { await index.partialUpdateObject({ objectID: productId, viewCount: { _operation: 'Increment', value: 1, }, }); }
// Delete records (prefer this over deleteBy) export async function deleteProducts(productIds: string[]) { await index.deleteObjects(productIds); }
// Full reindex with zero-downtime (atomic swap) export async function fullReindex(products: Product[]) { const tempIndex = adminClient.initIndex('products_temp');
// Index to temp index await tempIndex.saveObjects( products.map((p) => ({ objectID: p.id, ...p, })) );
// Copy settings from main index await adminClient.copyIndex('products', 'products_temp', { scope: ['settings', 'synonyms', 'rules'], });
// Atomic swap await adminClient.moveIndex('products_temp', 'products'); }
Anti_patterns
- Pattern: Using deleteBy for bulk deletions | Why: deleteBy is computationally expensive and rate limited | Fix: Use deleteObjects with array of objectIDs
- Pattern: Indexing one record at a time | Why: Creates indexing queue, slows down process | Fix: Batch records in groups of 1K-10K
- Pattern: Full reindex for small changes | Why: Wastes operations, slower than incremental | Fix: Use partialUpdateObject for attribute changes
References
- https://www.algolia.com/doc/guides/sending-and-managing-data/send-and-update-your-data/in-depth/the-different-synchronization-strategies
- https://www.algolia.com/blog/engineering/search-indexing-best-practices-for-top-performance-with-code-samples
API Key Security and Restrictions
Secure API key configuration for Algolia.
Key types:
- Admin API Key: Full control (indexing, settings, deletion)
- Search-Only API Key: Safe for frontend
- Secured API Keys: Generated from base key with restrictions
Restrictions available:
- Indices: Limit accessible indices
- Rate limit: Limit API calls per hour per IP
- Validity: Set expiration time
- HTTP referrers: Restrict to specific URLs
- Query parameters: Enforce search parameters
Code_example
// NEVER do this - admin key in frontend // const client = algoliasearch(appId, ADMIN_KEY); // WRONG!
// Correct: Use search-only key in frontend const searchClient = algoliasearch( process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_ALGOLIA_APP_ID!, process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_ALGOLIA_SEARCH_KEY! );
// Server-side: Generate secured API key // lib/algolia-secured-key.ts import algoliasearch from 'algoliasearch';
const adminClient = algoliasearch( process.env.ALGOLIA_APP_ID!, process.env.ALGOLIA_ADMIN_KEY! );
// Generate user-specific secured key export function generateSecuredKey(userId: string) { const searchKey = process.env.ALGOLIA_SEARCH_KEY!;
return adminClient.generateSecuredApiKey(searchKey, {
// User can only see their own data
filters: userId:${userId},
// Key expires in 1 hour
validUntil: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600,
// Restrict to specific index
restrictIndices: ['user_documents'],
});
}
// Rate-limited key for public APIs export async function createRateLimitedKey() { const { key } = await adminClient.addApiKey({ acl: ['search'], indexes: ['products'], description: 'Public search with rate limit', maxQueriesPerIPPerHour: 1000, referers: ['https://mysite.com/*'], validity: 0, // Never expires });
return key; }
// API endpoint to get user's secured key // app/api/search-key/route.ts import { auth } from '@/lib/auth'; import { generateSecuredKey } from '@/lib/algolia-secured-key';
export async function GET() { const session = await auth(); if (!session?.user) { return Response.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 }); }
const securedKey = generateSecuredKey(session.user.id);
return Response.json({ key: securedKey }); }
Anti_patterns
- Pattern: Hardcoding Admin API key in client code | Why: Exposes full index control to attackers | Fix: Use search-only key with restrictions
- Pattern: Using same key for all users | Why: Can't restrict data access per user | Fix: Generate secured API keys with user filters
- Pattern: No rate limiting on public search | Why: Bots can exhaust your search quota | Fix: Set maxQueriesPerIPPerHour on API key
References
- https://www.algolia.com/doc/guides/security/api-keys
- https://support.algolia.com/hc/en-us/articles/14339249272977-What-are-the-best-practices-to-manage-Algolia-API-keys-in-my-code-and-protect-them
Custom Ranking and Relevance Tuning
Configure searchable attributes and custom ranking for relevance.
Searchable attributes (order matters):
- Most important fields first (title, name)
- Secondary fields next (description, tags)
- Exclude non-searchable fields (image_url, id)
Custom ranking:
- Add business metrics (popularity, rating, date)
- Use desc() for descending, asc() for ascending
Code_example
// scripts/configure-index.ts import algoliasearch from 'algoliasearch';
const adminClient = algoliasearch( process.env.ALGOLIA_APP_ID!, process.env.ALGOLIA_ADMIN_KEY! );
const index = adminClient.initIndex('products');
async function configureIndex() { await index.setSettings({ // Searchable attributes in order of importance searchableAttributes: [ 'name', // Most important 'brand', 'category', 'description', // Least important ],
// Attributes for faceting/filtering
attributesForFaceting: [
'category',
'brand',
'filterOnly(inStock)', // Filter only, not displayed
'searchable(tags)', // Searchable facet
],
// Custom ranking (after text relevance)
customRanking: [
'desc(popularity)', // Most popular first
'desc(rating)', // Then by rating
'desc(createdAt)', // Then by recency
],
// Typo tolerance
typoTolerance: true,
minWordSizefor1Typo: 4,
minWordSizefor2Typos: 8,
// Query settings
queryLanguages: ['en'],
removeStopWords: ['en'],
// Highlighting
attributesToHighlight: ['name', 'description'],
highlightPreTag: '<mark>',
highlightPostTag: '</mark>',
// Pagination
hitsPerPage: 20,
paginationLimitedTo: 1000,
// Distinct (deduplication)
attributeForDistinct: 'productFamily',
distinct: true,
});
// Add synonyms await index.saveSynonyms([ { objectID: 'phone-mobile', type: 'synonym', synonyms: ['phone', 'mobile', 'cell', 'smartphone'], }, { objectID: 'laptop-notebook', type: 'oneWaySynonym', input: 'laptop', synonyms: ['notebook', 'portable computer'], }, ]);
// Add rules (query-based customization) await index.saveRules([ { objectID: 'boost-sale-items', condition: { anchoring: 'contains', pattern: 'sale', }, consequence: { params: { filters: 'onSale:true', optionalFilters: ['featured:true'], }, }, }, ]);
console.log('Index configured successfully'); }
configureIndex();
Anti_patterns
- Pattern: Searching all attributes equally | Why: Reduces relevance, matches in descriptions rank same as titles | Fix: Order searchableAttributes by importance
- Pattern: No custom ranking | Why: Relies only on text matching, ignores business value | Fix: Add popularity, rating, or recency to customRanking
- Pattern: Indexing raw dates as strings | Why: Can't sort by date correctly | Fix: Use timestamps (getTime()) for date sorting
References
- https://www.algolia.com/doc/guides/managing-results/relevance-overview
- https://www.algolia.com/doc/guides/managing-results/must-do/custom-ranking
Faceted Search and Filtering
Implement faceted navigation with refinement lists, range sliders, and hierarchical menus.
Widget types:
- RefinementList: Multi-select checkboxes
- Menu: Single-select list
- HierarchicalMenu: Nested categories
- RangeInput/RangeSlider: Numeric ranges
- ToggleRefinement: Boolean filters
Code_example
'use client'; import { InstantSearch, SearchBox, Hits, RefinementList, HierarchicalMenu, RangeInput, ToggleRefinement, ClearRefinements, CurrentRefinements, Stats, SortBy, } from 'react-instantsearch'; import { searchClient, INDEX_NAME } from '@/lib/algolia';
export function ProductSearch() { return (