Laravel Full Text Search – Add full-text search to Laravel models

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2 months ago

To add full-text search to Laravel models, you can use the built-in capabilities of MySQL or PostgreSQL along with the Laravel Scout package, which simplifies the integration of full-text search functionality. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to implement full-text search in your Laravel application.

Step 1: Install Laravel Scout

To get started, first, you need to install Laravel Scout. Run the following command in your terminal:

bash

composer require laravel/scout

1	composer require laravel/scout

Step 2: Configure Laravel Scout

After installation, publish the Scout configuration file:

bash

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

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

This will create a config/scout.php configuration file where you can configure the search driver and other settings.

Step 3: Set Up a Search Driver

By default, Laravel Scout uses the Database driver, but you can use other services like Algolia, MeiliSearch, or TNTSearch. For this guide, we’ll stick with the default Database driver for simplicity.

Open the config/scout.php file and ensure that the driver is set to database:

php

'driver' => 'database',

1	'driver' => 'database',

Step 4: Add Full-Text Search Index to Your Database

For full-text search to work, you need to create a full-text index on the columns you want to search. For example, if you have a posts table and you want to search through the title and body columns, you can do this by creating a migration:

bash

php artisan make:migration add_fulltext_index_to_posts_table

1	php artisan make:migration add_fulltext_index_to_posts_table

In the migration file, define the full-text index:

php

<?php

use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

class AddFulltextIndexToPostsTable extends Migration
{
    public function up()
    {
        Schema::table('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {
            // Add a full-text index on title and body columns
            $table->fullText('title');
            $table->fullText('body');
        });
    }

    public function down()
    {
        Schema::table('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {
            // Drop the full-text index
            $table->dropFullText(['title', 'body']);
        });
    }
}

<?php

use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;

use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

class AddFulltextIndexToPostsTable extends Migration

{

public function up()

{

Schema::table('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {

// Add a full-text index on title and body columns

$table->fullText('title');

$table->fullText('body');

});

}

public function down()

{

Schema::table('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {

// Drop the full-text index

$table->dropFullText(['title', 'body']);

});

}

Run the migration to apply the changes:

bash

php artisan migrate

1	php artisan migrate

Step 5: Implement Searchable in Your Model

Next, make your model searchable. If you have a Post model, open app/Models/Post.php and use the Searchable trait:

php

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Laravel\Scout\Searchable;

class Post extends Model
{
    use Searchable;

    protected $fillable = ['title', 'body'];

    // Define the searchable attributes
    public function toSearchableArray()
    {
        return [
            'title' => $this->title,
            'body' => $this->body,
        ];
    }
}

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

use Laravel\Scout\Searchable;

class Post extends Model

{

use Searchable;

protected $fillable = ['title', 'body'];

// Define the searchable attributes

public function toSearchableArray()

{

return [

'title' => $this->title,

'body' => $this->body,

];

}

Step 6: Index Existing Records

To make existing records searchable, you need to index them. You can do this using the scout:import

command:

bash

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

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

Step 7: Perform a Full-Text Search

Now you can perform full-text searches using the search method provided by Laravel Scout. For example, to search for posts with the term “Laravel”:

php

$posts = Post::search('Laravel')->get();

1	$posts = Post::search('Laravel')->get();

You can also chain additional query methods:

php

$posts = Post::search('Laravel')->where('published', true)->get();

1	$posts = Post::search('Laravel')->where('published', true)->get();

Step 8: Display Search Results

In your view, you can display the search results like this:

blade

@foreach($posts as $post)
    <h2>{{ $post->title }}</h2>
    <p>{{ $post->body }}</p>
@endforeach

@foreach($posts as $post)

<h2>{{ $post->title }}</h2>

@endforeach

Step 9: Add Search Form

Create a simple search form to allow users to input their search queries:

blade

<form action="{{ route('posts.search') }}" method="GET">
    <input type="text" name="query" placeholder="Search posts..." required>
    <button type="submit">Search</button>
</form>

<button type="submit">Search</button>

</form>

Step 10: Handle Search Requests

In your controller, handle the search request and return the search results:

php

use App\Models\Post;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function search(Request $request)
    {
        $query = $request->input('query');
        $posts = Post::search($query)->get();

        return view('posts.index', compact('posts'));
    }
}

use App\Models\Post;

class PostController extends Controller

{

public function search(Request $request)

{

$query = $request->input('query');

$posts = Post::search($query)->get();

return view('posts.index', compact('posts'));

}

Step 11: Set Up Routes

Add a route for the search functionality in routes/web.php:

php

use App\Http\Controllers\PostController;

Route::get('/search', [PostController::class, 'search'])->name('posts.search');

use App\Http\Controllers\PostController;

Route::get('/search', [PostController::class, 'search'])->name('posts.search');

Optional: Use Advanced Features

Pagination

To paginate your search results, you can use the paginate method:

php

$posts = Post::search('Laravel')->paginate(10);

1	$posts = Post::search('Laravel')->paginate(10);

Customizing Search Logic

You can customize the search logic further by overriding the search method or adding filters based on your application needs.

Handling Typos

Laravel Scout automatically handles typos in search queries. You can tweak this behavior in the configuration settings or the underlying search driver (e.g., Algolia).

Summary

You’ve successfully added full-text search functionality to your Laravel models. Here’s a quick recap of the steps:

Install Laravel Scout and configure it.
Create a full-text index on the desired columns.
Use the Searchable trait in your model.
Index existing records for searching.
Perform searches using the search method.
Create a search form and handle search requests.

Step 1: Install Laravel Scout

Step 2: Configure Laravel Scout

Step 3: Set Up a Search Driver

Step 4: Add Full-Text Search Index to Your Database

Step 5: Implement Searchable in Your Model

Step 6: Index Existing Records

Step 7: Perform a Full-Text Search

Step 8: Display Search Results

Step 9: Add Search Form

Step 10: Handle Search Requests

Step 11: Set Up Routes

Optional: Use Advanced Features

Pagination

Customizing Search Logic

Handling Typos

Summary

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