Decoupled Search

When to Use

Use this when building headless/decoupled frontends (Next.js, React, etc.) that need search functionality.

Decision

Module	Purpose	Status
jsonapi_search_api	Query Search API indexes via JSON:API	Stable — recommended
jsonapi_search_api_facets	Expose facets via JSON:API	Pairs with above
search_api_typesense	Index to Typesense, use InstantSearch.js	Stable (2025)
search_api_decoupled	Alternative display plugin	Alpha

Pattern

Next.js + JSON:API (recommended): 1. Install: search_api + backend + facets + jsonapi_search_api + jsonapi_search_api_facets 2. JSON:API exposes the index as a queryable resource 3. Next.js queries via API route (enables middleware, rate limiting) 4. Facets available via jsonapi_search_api_facets

Typesense direct — for instant search: 1. search_api_typesense indexes content to Typesense 2. Frontend uses Typesense's InstantSearch.js directly 3. No JSON:API intermediary — frontend talks to Typesense API 4. Drupal proxy recommended for access control

Common Mistakes

• Wrong: Exposing Search API directly to frontend without middleware → Right: Always use an API route in Next.js for rate limiting and filtering.
• Wrong: Using REST instead of JSON:API → Right: JSON:API is in Drupal core, more standardized, more efficient.

See Also

• Backend Comparison — Typesense and Meilisearch for decoupled
• Facets Integration
• Reference: https://www.drupal.org/project/jsonapi_search_api
• Reference: https://next-drupal.org/guides/search-api