Typesense

beginner

Fast open-source search engine optimized for instant search experiences.

Overview

Typesense is a modern, open-source search engine built from the ground up to deliver instant, typo-tolerant search experiences. Created as a developer-friendly alternative to complex solutions like Elasticsearch and expensive services like Algolia, Typesense focuses on simplicity without sacrificing performance. It provides sub-10ms search responses while handling common search challenges like typos, synonyms, and result ranking out of the box. This Docker configuration deploys a single Typesense node that exposes a RESTful JSON API for indexing documents and performing searches. The setup includes persistent data storage and configurable API key authentication, making it suitable for both development and production environments. Typesense excels at use cases requiring real-time search with minimal operational overhead. E-commerce platforms benefit from Typesense's instant product search with faceting and filtering capabilities, while content sites can implement fast site-wide search without complex setup. Developers appreciate the straightforward API design and built-in features like geo-search and vector similarity search, making it an excellent choice for teams wanting powerful search functionality without the complexity of managing Elasticsearch clusters.

Key Features

Typo tolerance with intelligent fuzzy matching and ranking
Sub-10ms search response times with instant-as-you-type results
Built-in faceting and filtering for complex search refinement
Geo-spatial search with distance-based sorting and filtering
Vector search capabilities for semantic similarity matching
Synonym management and result curation through pinning
Multi-tenant search with collection-based data isolation
RESTful JSON API with comprehensive search parameters

Common Use Cases

1E-commerce product catalogs with instant search and filtering
2Documentation sites requiring fast full-text search
3SaaS applications needing embedded search functionality
4Content management systems with real-time article discovery
5Job boards with location-based and skill-based search
6Real estate platforms combining text and geo-spatial search
7Knowledge bases requiring typo-tolerant search across documents

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose installed on the host system
Minimum 256MB RAM available, 1GB+ recommended for production
Port 8108 available on the host for API access
Basic understanding of RESTful APIs for search integration
Valid TYPESENSE_API_KEY environment variable configured
JSON data structure knowledge for document indexing

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  typesense: 
3    image: typesense/typesense:latest
4    container_name: typesense
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    command: --data-dir /data --api-key=${TYPESENSE_API_KEY}
7    volumes: 
8      - typesense_data:/data
9    ports: 
10      - "8108:8108"
11    networks: 
12      - typesense-network
13
14volumes: 
15  typesense_data: 
16
17networks: 
18  typesense-network: 
19    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1TYPESENSE_API_KEY=changeme-api-key

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://typesense.org/docs/
2API at http://localhost:8108 - RESTful JSON API
3Health check: curl http://localhost:8108/health
4Instant typo-tolerant search with sub-10ms responses
5Built-in geo-search, faceting, and multi-tenant support
6Excellent Algolia alternative - similar DX, self-hosted

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  typesense:
5    image: typesense/typesense:latest
6    container_name: typesense
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    command: --data-dir /data --api-key=${TYPESENSE_API_KEY}
9    volumes:
10      - typesense_data:/data
11    ports:
12      - "8108:8108"
13    networks:
14      - typesense-network
15
16volumes:
17  typesense_data:
18
19networks:
20  typesense-network:
21    driver: bridge
22EOF
23
24# 2. Create the .env file
25cat > .env << 'EOF'
26TYPESENSE_API_KEY=changeme-api-key
27EOF
28
29# 3. Start the services
30docker compose up -d
31
32# 4. View logs
33docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/typesense/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Container fails to start: Ensure TYPESENSE_API_KEY environment variable is set and not empty
API returns 401 Unauthorized: Verify the X-TYPESENSE-API-KEY header matches your configured API key
Search returns no results for valid queries: Check if documents are properly indexed and collection schema matches data structure
High memory usage during indexing: Reduce batch size when importing large datasets or increase container memory limits
Connection refused on port 8108: Confirm port mapping in docker-compose and check if firewall is blocking access
Data loss after container restart: Verify typesense_data volume is properly mounted and persistent

Community Notes

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