# Search OpenSearch provides a powerful search API that allows you to search for documents in an index. The search API supports a number of parameters that allow you to customize the search operation. In this guide, we will explore the search API and its parameters. # Setup Let's start by creating an index and adding some documents to it: ```ruby require 'opensearch-ruby' client = OpenSearch::Client.new({ host: 'localhost' }) client.indices.create(index: 'movies') 10.times do |i| client.index( index: 'movies', id: i, body: { title: "The Dark Knight #{i}", director: 'Christopher Nolan', year: 2008 + i } ) end client.index( index: 'movies', body: { title: 'The Godfather', director: 'Francis Ford Coppola', year: 1972 } ) client.index( index: 'movies', body: { title: 'The Shawshank Redemption', director: 'Frank Darabont', year: 1994 } ) client.indices.refresh(index: 'movies') # refresh the index to make the documents searchable ``` ## Search API ### Basic Search The search API allows you to search for documents in an index. The following example searches for ALL documents in the `movies` index: ```ruby puts client.search(index: 'movies').dig('hits', 'count') ``` You can also search for documents that match a specific query. The following example searches for documents that match the query `dark knight`: ```ruby puts client.search( index: 'movies', body: { query: { match: { title: 'dark knight' } } } ).dig('hits', 'hits') ``` OpenSearch query DSL allows you to specify complex queries. Check out the [OpenSearch query DSL documentation](https://opensearch.org/docs/latest/query-dsl/) for more information. ### Basic Pagination The search API allows you to paginate through the search results. The following example searches for documents that match the query `dark knight`, sorted by `year` in ascending order, and returns the first 2 results after skipping the first 5 results: ```ruby search_body = { query: { match: { title: 'dark knight' } }, sort: [ { year: { order: 'asc' } } ] } puts client.search( index: 'movies', size: 2, from: 5, body: search_body ).dig('hits', 'hits') ``` With sorting, you can also use the `search_after` parameter to paginate through the search results. Let's say you have already displayed the first page of results, and you want to display the next page. You can use the `search_after` parameter to paginate through the search results. The following example will demonstrate how to get the first 3 pages of results using the search query of the previous example: ```ruby page_1 = client.search( index: 'movies', size: 2, body: search_body ).dig('hits', 'hits') page_2 = client.search( index: 'movies', size: 2, body: search_body.merge(search_after: page_1.last['sort']) ).dig('hits', 'hits') page_3 = client.search( index: 'movies', size: 2, body: search_body.merge(search_after: page_2.last['sort']) ).dig('hits', 'hits') ``` ### Pagination with scroll When retrieving large amounts of non-real-time data, you can use the `scroll` parameter to paginate through the search results. ```ruby page_1 = client.search( index: 'movies', scroll: '1m', size: 2, body: search_body ) page_2 = client.scroll( scroll_id: page_1['_scroll_id'], scroll: '1m' ) page_3 = client.scroll( scroll_id: page_2['_scroll_id'], scroll: '1m' ) ``` ### Pagination with Point in Time The scroll example above has one weakness: if the index is updated while you are scrolling through the results, they will be paginated inconsistently. To avoid this, you should use the "Point in Time" feature. The following example demonstrates how to use the `point_in_time` and `pit_id` parameters to paginate through the search results: ```ruby # create a point in time pit = client.create_pit( index: 'movies', keep_alive: '1m' ) # Include pit info in the search body pit_search_body = search_body.merge( pit: { id: pit['pit_id'], keep_alive: '1m' }) # Get the first 3 pages of results page_1 = client.search( size: 2, body: pit_search_body ).dig('hits', 'hits') page_2 = client.search( size: 2, body: pit_search_body.merge( search_after: page_1.last.dig('sort')) ).dig('hits', 'hits') page_3 = client.search( size: 2, body: pit_search_body.merge( search_after: page_2.last.dig('sort')) ).dig('hits', 'hits') # Print out the titles of the first 3 pages of results puts page_1.map { |hit| hit.dig('_source', 'title') } puts page_2.map { |hit| hit.dig('_source', 'title') } puts page_3.map { |hit| hit.dig('_source', 'title') } # delete the point in time client.delete_pit(body: { pit_id: pit['pit_id'] }) ``` Note that a point-in-time is associated with an index or a set of index. So, when performing a search with a point-in-time, you DO NOT specify the index in the search. ## Cleanup ```ruby client.indices.delete(index: 'movies') ```