How to build a document search engine using Algolia

Certainly! Creating a document search engine using Algolia and hosting it on Vercel requires several steps. Below is a step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Setup

• Sign up or log in to Algolia.
• Create a new index on Algolia’s dashboard.
• Get your Application ID, Search-Only API Key, and Admin API Key from the API Key section.

2. Backend Setup (Node.js API using Express.js)

1. Initialize a new Node.js project:

   mkdir algolia-doc-search && cd algolia-doc-search
   npm init -y
   

2. Install required packages:

   npm install express algoliasearch body-parser
   

3. Setup Express API:

   Create an index.js:

   const express = require('express');
   const algoliasearch = require('algoliasearch');
   const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
   
   const app = express();
   const client = algoliasearch('YOUR_APPLICATION_ID', 'YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY');
   const index = client.initIndex('YOUR_INDEX_NAME');
   
   app.use(bodyParser.json());
   
   app.post('/add-document', (req, res) => {
     const data = req.body;
     index.saveObject(data).then(() => {
       res.send('Document added to Algolia!');
     }).catch(err => {
       res.status(500).send(err.toString());
     });
   });
   
   const PORT = 3000;
   app.listen(PORT, () => {
     console.log(`Server is running on http://localhost:${PORT}`);
   });
   

3. Frontend Setup (React App)

1. Create a new React app:

   npx create-react-app algolia-search-client
   cd algolia-search-client
   

2. Install required packages:

   npm install algoliasearch react-instantsearch-dom
   

3. Setup Search Component:

   Edit src/App.js:

   import React from 'react';
   import algoliasearch from 'algoliasearch/lite';
   import { InstantSearch, SearchBox, Hits } from 'react-instantsearch-dom';
   
   const searchClient = algoliasearch('YOUR_APPLICATION_ID', 'YOUR_SEARCH_ONLY_API_KEY');
   
   function Hit(props) {
     return <div>{props.hit.name}</div>;
   }
   
   function App() {
     return (
       <InstantSearch searchClient={searchClient} indexName="YOUR_INDEX_NAME">
         <SearchBox />
         <Hits hitComponent={Hit} />
       </InstantSearch>
     );
   }
   
   export default App;
   

4. Deploy to Vercel

1. Install Vercel CLI:

   npm install -g vercel
   

2. Login to Vercel:

   vercel login
   

3. Deploy:

   # From the root of your frontend project directory
   vercel --prod
   

That’s a basic setup. Depending on your needs, you may need to expand on this, implement authentication, provide more sophisticated data structuring for Algolia, and so on.