Laravel Scout

• Introduction
• Installation
  • Queueing
• Driver Prerequisites
  • Algolia
  • Meilisearch
  • Typesense
• Configuration
  • Configuring Model Indexes
  • Configuring Searchable Data
  • Configuring the Model ID
  • Configuring Search Engines per Model
  • Identifying Users
• Database / Collection Engines
  • Database Engine
  • Collection Engine
• Indexing
  • Batch Import
  • Adding Records
  • Updating Records
  • Removing Records
  • Pausing Indexing
  • Conditionally Searchable Model Instances
• Searching
  • Where Clauses
  • Pagination
  • Soft Deleting
  • Customizing Engine Searches
• Custom Engines

Introduction

Laravel Scout provides a simple, driver based solution for adding full-text search to your Eloquent models. Using model observers, Scout will automatically keep your search indexes in sync with your Eloquent records.

Currently, Scout ships with Algolia, Meilisearch, Typesense, and MySQL / PostgreSQL (database) drivers. In addition, Scout includes a "collection" driver that is designed for local development usage and does not require any external dependencies or third-party services. Furthermore, writing custom drivers is simple and you are free to extend Scout with your own search implementations.

Installation

First, install Scout via the Composer package manager:

composer require laravel/scout

After installing Scout, you should publish the Scout configuration file using the vendor:publish Artisan command. This command will publish the scout.php configuration file to your application's config directory:

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Laravel\Scout\ScoutServiceProvider"

Finally, add the Laravel\Scout\Searchable trait to the model you would like to make searchable. This trait will register a model observer that will automatically keep the model in sync with your search driver:

<?php
 
namespace App\Models;
 
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Laravel\Scout\Searchable;
 
class Post extends Model
{
    use Searchable;
}

Queueing

While not strictly required to use Scout, you should strongly consider configuring a queue driver before using the library. Running a queue worker will allow Scout to queue all operations that sync your model information to your search indexes, providing much better response times for your application's web interface.

Once you have configured a queue driver, set the value of the queue option in your config/scout.php configuration file to true:

'queue' => true,

Even when the queue option is set to false, it's important to remember that some Scout drivers like Algolia and Meilisearch always index records asynchronously. Meaning, even though the index operation has completed within your Laravel application, the search engine itself may not reflect the new and updated records immediately.

To specify the connection and queue that your Scout jobs utilize, you may define the queue configuration option as an array:

'queue' => [
    'connection' => 'redis',
    'queue' => 'scout'
],

Of course, if you customize the connection and queue that Scout jobs utilize, you should run a queue worker to process jobs on that connection and queue:

php artisan queue:work redis --queue=scout

Driver Prerequisites

Algolia

When using the Algolia driver, you should configure your Algolia id and secret credentials in your config/scout.php configuration file. Once your credentials have been configured, you will also need to install the Algolia PHP SDK via the Composer package manager:

composer require algolia/algoliasearch-client-php

Meilisearch

Meilisearch is a blazingly fast and open source search engine. If you aren't sure how to install Meilisearch on your local machine, you may use Laravel Sail, Laravel's officially supported Docker development environment.

When using the Meilisearch driver you will need to install the Meilisearch PHP SDK via the Composer package manager:

composer require meilisearch/meilisearch-php http-interop/http-factory-guzzle

Then, set the SCOUT_DRIVER environment variable as well as your Meilisearch host and key credentials within your application's .env file:

SCOUT_DRIVER=meilisearch
MEILISEARCH_HOST=http://127.0.0.1:7700
MEILISEARCH_KEY=masterKey

For more information regarding Meilisearch, please consult the Meilisearch documentation.

In addition, you should ensure that you install a version of meilisearch/meilisearch-php that is compatible with your Meilisearch binary version by reviewing Meilisearch's documentation regarding binary compatibility.

Typesense

Typesense is a lightning-fast, open source search engine and supports keyword search, semantic search, geo search, and vector search.

You can self-host Typesense or use Typesense Cloud.

To get started using Typesense with Scout, install the Typesense PHP SDK via the Composer package manager:

composer require typesense/typesense-php

Then, set the SCOUT_DRIVER environment variable as well as your Typesense host and API key credentials within your application's .env file:

SCOUT_DRIVER=typesense
TYPESENSE_API_KEY=masterKey
TYPESENSE_HOST=localhost

If needed, you may also specify your installation's port, path, and protocol:

TYPESENSE_PORT=8108
TYPESENSE_PATH=
TYPESENSE_PROTOCOL=http

Additional settings and schema definitions for your Typesense collections can be found within your application's config/scout.php configuration file. For more information regarding Typesense, please consult the Typesense documentation.

Preparing Data for Storage in Typesense

When utilizing Typesense, your searchable model's must define a toSearchableArray method that casts your model's primary key to a string and creation date to a UNIX timestamp:

/**
 * Get the indexable data array for the model.
 *
 * @return array<string, mixed>
 */
public function toSearchableArray()
{
    return array_merge($this->toArray(),[
        'id' => (string) $this->id,
        'created_at' => $this->created_at->timestamp,
    ]);
}

You should also define your Typesense collection schemas in your application's config/scout.php file. A collection schema describes the data types of each field that is searchable via Typesense. For more information on all available schema options, please consult the Typesense documentation.

If you need to change your Typesense collection's schema after it has been defined, you may either run scout:flush and scout:import, which will delete all existing indexed data and recreate the schema. Or, you may use Typesense's API to modify the collection's schema without removing any indexed data.

If your searchable model is soft deletable, you should define a __soft_deleted field in the model's corresponding Typesense schema within your application's config/scout.php configuration file:

User::class => [
    'collection-schema' => [
        'fields' => [
            // ...
            [
                'name' => '__soft_deleted',
                'type' => 'int32',
                'optional' => true,
            ],
        ],
    ],
],

Dynamic Search Parameters

Typesense allows you to modify your search parameters dynamically when performing a search operation via the options method:

use App\Models\Todo;
 
Todo::search('Groceries')->options([
    'query_by' => 'title, description'
])->get();

Configuration

Configuring Model Indexes

Each Eloquent model is synced with a given search "index", which contains all of the searchable records for that model. In other words, you can think of each index like a MySQL table. By default, each model will be persisted to an index matching the model's typical "table" name. Typically, this is the plural form of the model name; however, you are free to customize the model's index by overriding the searchableAs method on the model:

<?php
 
namespace App\Models;
 
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Laravel\Scout\Searchable;
 
class Post extends Model
{
    use Searchable;
 
    /**
     * Get the name of the index associated with the model.
     */
    public function searchableAs(): string
    {
        return 'posts_index';
    }
}

Configuring Searchable Data

By default, the entire toArray form of a given model will be persisted to its search index. If you would like to customize the data that is synchronized to the search index, you may override the toSearchableArray method on the model:

<?php
 
namespace App\Models;
 
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Laravel\Scout\Searchable;
 
class Post extends Model
{
    use Searchable;
 
    /**
     * Get the indexable data array for the model.
     *
     * @return array<string, mixed>
     */
    public function toSearchableArray(): array
    {
        $array = $this->toArray();
 
        // Customize the data array...
 
        return $array;
    }
}

Some search engines such as Meilisearch will only perform filter operations (>, <, etc.) on data of the correct type. So, when using these search engines and customizing your searchable data, you should ensure that numeric values are cast to their correct type:

public function toSearchableArray()
{
    return [
        'id' => (int) $this->id,
        'name' => $this->name,
        'price' => (float) $this->price,
    ];
}

Configuring Filterable Data and Index Settings (Meilisearch)

Unlike Scout's other drivers, Meilisearch requires you to pre-define index search settings such as filterable attributes, sortable attributes, and other supported settings fields.

Filterable attributes are any attributes you plan to filter on when invoking Scout's where method, while sortable attributes are any attributes you plan to sort by when invoking Scout's orderBy method. To define your index settings, adjust the index-settings portion of your meilisearch configuration entry in your application's scout configuration file:

use App\Models\User;
use App\Models\Flight;
 
'meilisearch' => [
    'host' => env('MEILISEARCH_HOST', 'http://localhost:7700'),
    'key' => env('MEILISEARCH_KEY', null),
    'index-settings' => [
        User::class => [
            'filterableAttributes'=> ['id', 'name', 'email'],
            'sortableAttributes' => ['created_at'],
            // Other settings fields...
        ],
        Flight::class => [
            'filterableAttributes'=> ['id', 'destination'],
            'sortableAttributes' => ['updated_at'],
        ],
    ],
],

If the model underlying a given index is soft deletable and is included in the index-settings array, Scout will automatically include support for filtering on soft deleted models on that index. If you have no other filterable or sortable attributes to define for a soft deletable model index, you may simply add an empty entry to the index-settings array for that model:

'index-settings' => [
    Flight::class => []
],

After configuring your application's index settings, you must invoke the scout:sync-index-settings Artisan command. This command will inform Meilisearch of your currently configured index settings. For convenience, you may wish to make this command part of your deployment process:

php artisan scout:sync-index-settings

Configuring the Model ID

By default, Scout will use the primary key of the model as the model's unique ID / key that is stored in the search index. If you need to customize this behavior, you may override the getScoutKey and the getScoutKeyName methods on the model:

<?php
 
namespace App\Models;
 
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Laravel\Scout\Searchable;
 
class User extends Model
{
    use Searchable;
 
    /**
     * Get the value used to index the model.
     */
    public function getScoutKey(): mixed
    {
        return $this->email;
    }
 
    /**
     * Get the key name used to index the model.
     */
    public function getScoutKeyName(): mixed
    {
        return 'email';
    }
}

Configuring Search Engines per Model

When searching, Scout will typically use the default search engine specified in your application's scout configuration file. However, the search engine for a particular model can be changed by overriding the searchableUsing method on the model:

<?php
 
namespace App\Models;
 
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Laravel\Scout\Engines\Engine;
use Laravel\Scout\EngineManager;
use Laravel\Scout\Searchable;
 
class User extends Model
{
    use Searchable;
 
    /**
     * Get the engine used to index the model.
     */
    public function searchableUsing(): Engine
    {
        return app(EngineManager::class)->engine('meilisearch');
    }
}

Identifying Users

Scout also allows you to auto identify users when using Algolia. Associating the authenticated user with search operations may be helpful when viewing your search analytics within Algolia's dashboard. You can enable user identification by defining a SCOUT_IDENTIFY environment variable as true in your application's .env file:

SCOUT_IDENTIFY=true

Enabling this feature will also pass the request's IP address and your authenticated user's primary identifier to Algolia so this data is associated with any search request that is made by the user.

Database / Collection Engines

Database Engine

If your application interacts with small to medium sized databases or has a light workload, you may find it more convenient to get started with Scout's "database" engine. The database engine will use "where like" clauses and full text indexes when filtering results from your existing database to determine the applicable search results for your query.

To use the database engine, you may simply set the value of the SCOUT_DRIVER environment variable to database, or specify the database driver directly in your application's scout configuration file:

SCOUT_DRIVER=database

Once you have specified the database engine as your preferred driver, you must configure your searchable data. Then, you may start executing search queries against your models. Search engine indexing, such as the indexing needed to seed Algolia, Meilisearch or Typesense indexes, is unnecessary when using the database engine.

Customizing Database Searching Strategies

By default, the database engine will execute a "where like" query against every model attribute that you have configured as searchable. However, in some situations, this may result in poor performance. Therefore, the database engine's search strategy can be configured so that some specified columns utilize full text search queries or only use "where like" constraints to search the prefixes of strings (example%) instead of searching within the entire string (%example%).

To define this behavior, you may assign PHP attributes to your model's toSearchableArray method. Any columns that are not assigned additional search strategy behavior will continue to use the default "where like" strategy:

use Laravel\Scout\Attributes\SearchUsingFullText;
use Laravel\Scout\Attributes\SearchUsingPrefix;
 
/**
 * Get the indexable data array for the model.
 *
 * @return array<string, mixed>
 */
#[SearchUsingPrefix(['id', 'email'])]
#[SearchUsingFullText(['bio'])]
public function toSearchableArray(): array
{
    return [
        'id' => $this->id,
        'name' => $this->name,
        'email' => $this->email,
        'bio' => $this->bio,
    ];
}

Collection Engine

While you are free to use the Algolia, Meilisearch, or Typesense search engines during local development, you may find it more convenient to get started with the "collection" engine. The collection engine will use "where" clauses and collection filtering on results from your existing database to determine the applicable search results for your query. When using this engine, it is not necessary to "index" your searchable models, as they will simply be retrieved from your local database.

To use the collection engine, you may simply set the value of the SCOUT_DRIVER environment variable to collection, or specify the collection driver directly in your application's scout configuration file:

SCOUT_DRIVER=collection

Once you have specified the collection driver as your preferred driver, you may start executing search queries against your models. Search engine indexing, such as the indexing needed to seed Algolia, Meilisearch, or Typesense indexes, is unnecessary when using the collection engine.

Differences From Database Engine

On first glance, the "database" and "collections" engines are fairly similar. They both interact directly with your database to retrieve search results. However, the collection engine does not utilize full text indexes or LIKE clauses to find matching records. Instead, it pulls all possible records and uses Laravel's Str::is helper to determine if the search string exists within the model attribute values.

The collection engine is the most portable search engine as it works across all relational databases supported by Laravel (including SQLite and SQL Server); however, it is less efficient than Scout's database engine.

Indexing

Batch Import

If you are installing Scout into an existing project, you may already have database records you need to import into your indexes. Scout provides a scout:import Artisan command that you may use to import all of your existing records into your search indexes:

php artisan scout:import "App\Models\Post"

The flush command may be used to remove all of a model's records from your search indexes:

php artisan scout:flush "App\Models\Post"

Modifying the Import Query

If you would like to modify the query that is used to retrieve all of your models for batch importing, you may define a makeAllSearchableUsing method on your model. This is a great place to add any eager relationship loading that may be necessary before importing your models:

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;
 
/**
 * Modify the query used to retrieve models when making all of the models searchable.
 */
protected function makeAllSearchableUsing(Builder $query): Builder
{
    return $query->with('author');
}

Adding Records

Once you have added the Laravel\Scout\Searchable trait to a model, all you need to do is save or create a model instance and it will automatically be added to your search index. If you have configured Scout to use queues this operation will be performed in the background by your queue worker:

use App\Models\Order;
 
$order = new Order;
 
// ...
 
$order->save();

Adding Records via Query

If you would like to add a collection of models to your search index via an Eloquent query, you may chain the searchable method onto the Eloquent query. The searchable method will chunk the results of the query and add the records to your search index. Again, if you have configured Scout to use queues, all of the chunks will be imported in the background by your queue workers:

use App\Models\Order;
 
Order::where('price', '>', 100)->searchable();

You may also call the searchable method on an Eloquent relationship instance:

$user->orders()->searchable();

Or, if you already have a collection of Eloquent models in memory, you may call the searchable method on the collection instance to add the model instances to their corresponding index:

$orders->searchable();

Updating Records

To update a searchable model, you only need to update the model instance's properties and save the model to your database. Scout will automatically persist the changes to your search index:

use App\Models\Order;
 
$order = Order::find(1);
 
// Update the order...
 
$order->save();

You may also invoke the searchable method on an Eloquent query instance to update a collection of models. If the models do not exist in your search index, they will be created:

Order::where('price', '>', 100)->searchable();

If you would like to update the search index records for all of the models in a relationship, you may invoke the searchable on the relationship instance:

$user->orders()->searchable();

Or, if you already have a collection of Eloquent models in memory, you may call the searchable method on the collection instance to update the model instances in their corresponding index:

$orders->searchable();

Modifying Records Before Importing

Sometimes you may need to prepare the collection of models before they are made searchable. For instance, you may want to eager load a relationship so that the relationship data can be efficiently added to your search index. To accomplish this, define a makeSearchableUsing method on the corresponding model:

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection;
 
/**
 * Modify the collection of models being made searchable.
 */
public function makeSearchableUsing(Collection $models): Collection
{
    return $models->load('author');
}

Removing Records

To remove a record from your index you may simply delete the model from the database. This may be done even if you are using soft deleted models:

use App\Models\Order;
 
$order = Order::find(1);
 
$order->delete();

If you do not want to retrieve the model before deleting the record, you may use the unsearchable method on an Eloquent query instance:

Order::where('price', '>', 100)->unsearchable();

If you would like to remove the search index records for all of the models in a relationship, you may invoke the unsearchable on the relationship instance:

$user->orders()->unsearchable();

Or, if you already have a collection of Eloquent models in memory, you may call the unsearchable method on the collection instance to remove the model instances from their corresponding index:

$orders->unsearchable();

Pausing Indexing

Sometimes you may need to perform a batch of Eloquent operations on a model without syncing the model data to your search index. You may do this using the withoutSyncingToSearch method. This method accepts a single closure which will be immediately executed. Any model operations that occur within the closure will not be synced to the model's index:

use App\Models\Order;
 
Order::withoutSyncingToSearch(function () {
    // Perform model actions...
});

Conditionally Searchable Model Instances

Sometimes you may need to only make a model searchable under certain conditions. For example, imagine you have App\Models\Post model that may be in one of two states: "draft" and "published". You may only want to allow "published" posts to be searchable. To accomplish this, you may define a shouldBeSearchable method on your model:

/**
 * Determine if the model should be searchable.
 */
public function shouldBeSearchable(): bool
{
    return $this->isPublished();
}

The shouldBeSearchable method is only applied when manipulating models through the save and create methods, queries, or relationships. Directly making models or collections searchable using the searchable method will override the result of the shouldBeSearchable method.

Searching

You may begin searching a model using the search method. The search method accepts a single string that will be used to search your models. You should then chain the get method onto the search query to retrieve the Eloquent models that match the given search query:

use App\Models\Order;
 
$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->get();

Since Scout searches return a collection of Eloquent models, you may even return the results directly from a route or controller and they will automatically be converted to JSON:

use App\Models\Order;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
 
Route::get('/search', function (Request $request) {
    return Order::search($request->search)->get();
});

If you would like to get the raw search results before they are converted to Eloquent models, you may use the raw method:

$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->raw();

Custom Indexes

Search queries will typically be performed on the index specified by the model's searchableAs method. However, you may use the within method to specify a custom index that should be searched instead:

$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')
    ->within('tv_shows_popularity_desc')
    ->get();

Where Clauses

Scout allows you to add simple "where" clauses to your search queries. Currently, these clauses only support basic numeric equality checks and are primarily useful for scoping search queries by an owner ID:

use App\Models\Order;
 
$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->where('user_id', 1)->get();

In addition, the whereIn method may be used to verify that a given column's value is contained within the given array:

$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->whereIn(
    'status', ['open', 'paid']
)->get();

The whereNotIn method verifies that the given column's value is not contained in the given array:

$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->whereNotIn(
    'status', ['closed']
)->get();

Since a search index is not a relational database, more advanced "where" clauses are not currently supported.

Pagination

In addition to retrieving a collection of models, you may paginate your search results using the paginate method. This method will return an Illuminate\Pagination\LengthAwarePaginator instance just as if you had paginated a traditional Eloquent query:

use App\Models\Order;
 
$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->paginate();

You may specify how many models to retrieve per page by passing the amount as the first argument to the paginate method:

$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->paginate(15);

Once you have retrieved the results, you may display the results and render the page links using Blade just as if you had paginated a traditional Eloquent query:

<div class="container">
    @foreach ($orders as $order)
        {{ $order->price }}
    @endforeach
</div>
 
{{ $orders->links() }}

Of course, if you would like to retrieve the pagination results as JSON, you may return the paginator instance directly from a route or controller:

use App\Models\Order;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
 
Route::get('/orders', function (Request $request) {
    return Order::search($request->input('query'))->paginate(15);
});

Soft Deleting

If your indexed models are soft deleting and you need to search your soft deleted models, set the soft_delete option of the config/scout.php configuration file to true:

'soft_delete' => true,

When this configuration option is true, Scout will not remove soft deleted models from the search index. Instead, it will set a hidden __soft_deleted attribute on the indexed record. Then, you may use the withTrashed or onlyTrashed methods to retrieve the soft deleted records when searching:

use App\Models\Order;
 
// Include trashed records when retrieving results...
$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->withTrashed()->get();
 
// Only include trashed records when retrieving results...
$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')->onlyTrashed()->get();

Customizing Engine Searches

If you need to perform advanced customization of the search behavior of an engine you may pass a closure as the second argument to the search method. For example, you could use this callback to add geo-location data to your search options before the search query is passed to Algolia:

use Algolia\AlgoliaSearch\SearchIndex;
use App\Models\Order;
 
Order::search(
    'Star Trek',
    function (SearchIndex $algolia, string $query, array $options) {
        $options['body']['query']['bool']['filter']['geo_distance'] = [
            'distance' => '1000km',
            'location' => ['lat' => 36, 'lon' => 111],
        ];
 
        return $algolia->search($query, $options);
    }
)->get();

Customizing the Eloquent Results Query

After Scout retrieves a list of matching Eloquent models from your application's search engine, Eloquent is used to retrieve all of the matching models by their primary keys. You may customize this query by invoking the query method. The query method accepts a closure that will receive the Eloquent query builder instance as an argument:

use App\Models\Order;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;
 
$orders = Order::search('Star Trek')
    ->query(fn (Builder $query) => $query->with('invoices'))
    ->get();

Since this callback is invoked after the relevant models have already been retrieved from your application's search engine, the query method should not be used for "filtering" results. Instead, you should use Scout where clauses.

Custom Engines

Writing the Engine

If one of the built-in Scout search engines doesn't fit your needs, you may write your own custom engine and register it with Scout. Your engine should extend the Laravel\Scout\Engines\Engine abstract class. This abstract class contains eight methods your custom engine must implement:

use Laravel\Scout\Builder;
 
abstract public function update($models);
abstract public function delete($models);
abstract public function search(Builder $builder);
abstract public function paginate(Builder $builder, $perPage, $page);
abstract public function mapIds($results);
abstract public function map(Builder $builder, $results, $model);
abstract public function getTotalCount($results);
abstract public function flush($model);

You may find it helpful to review the implementations of these methods on the Laravel\Scout\Engines\AlgoliaEngine class. This class will provide you with a good starting point for learning how to implement each of these methods in your own engine.

Registering the Engine

Once you have written your custom engine, you may register it with Scout using the extend method of the Scout engine manager. Scout's engine manager may be resolved from the Laravel service container. You should call the extend method from the boot method of your App\Providers\AppServiceProvider class or any other service provider used by your application:

use App\ScoutExtensions\MySqlSearchEngine;
use Laravel\Scout\EngineManager;
 
/**
 * Bootstrap any application services.
 */
public function boot(): void
{
    resolve(EngineManager::class)->extend('mysql', function () {
        return new MySqlSearchEngine;
    });
}

Once your engine has been registered, you may specify it as your default Scout driver in your application's config/scout.php configuration file:

'driver' => 'mysql',