Scry Search: Meilisearch for WordPress

Scry Search wires Meilisearch into WordPress the way you’d want it on a client project: fast keyword search, optional AI/semantic (hybrid) search, and a big extension surface — without ripping out your theme.

Docs (start here): DOCS.md on GitHub — every filter/action, args, return values, when it fires, plus the window.scrySearch JS API. Same file ships in the plugin zip.

You get over 40 PHP hooks (scry_ms_*) covering indexing, documents, index settings, federated search, autosuggest, analytics, logs, and the front-end runtime. Call sites are marked in source. If you can install a plugin and paste API keys, you can run it without writing code. If you ship WordPress for a living, you can bend it without forking.

No theme changes. Not glued to a results UI.

This is the important bit:

• We do not replace your search results template. search.php (or whatever your theme / builder uses) still renders the results.
• We do not require a shortcode, block, or widget. Autosuggest and highlighting are optional and off unless you turn them on.
• Existing search forms keep working. Gutenberg Search block, classic searchform.php, Elementor/Divi/Beaver search widgets — they still POST to WordPress; we intercept the query.

Admin-side tuning is a different story: ranking, searchable/filterable fields, synonyms, typo tolerance, hybrid embedders, federated weights, etc. are all in wp-admin (see below). You’re not stuck editing Meilisearch JSON by hand — you’re just not locked into a plugin-owned results page.

Under the hood we hook posts_pre_query, run the search in Meilisearch, and hand WordPress normal WP_Post objects. Same loop, same template tags, same pagination assumptions your theme already has.

Need native WP search for one query? scry_ms_should_search.

Built-in semantic / hybrid search

Keyword search is the baseline. Hybrid search is built into the core plugin (not a separate SKU): Meilisearch blends full-text ranking with vector similarity so “fuzzy intent” queries still hit the right posts/products.

Per index, under Index Settings → Configure Index → Hybrid Search:

• Add embedders (OpenAI, Hugging Face, Ollama, user-provided vectors, other Meilisearch-supported sources)
• Pick which embedder to use and the semantic vs keyword ratio
• Enable hybrid per post type — products can differ from posts

Same WP_Query path as keyword search. No second endpoint, no alternate results page. Reindex after embedder changes so vectors exist. Analytics can record hybrid usage in search_metadata.

What you configure in wp-admin

Most of Meilisearch’s knobs are in WordPress — you don’t need to curl the instance for day-to-day tuning.

Connection — URL, admin key, optional search-only key, connection test.

Index Settings (tabbed dialog per post type):

• Searchable fields — titles, content, excerpts, taxonomies, author, custom meta (ACF, Meta Box, etc.); drag to set relevancy order
• Filterable fields — post type/status/author, post_date_unix, taxonomy IDs (taxonomies.<name>.id), and more for facets / advanced filters
• Ranking rules — reorder words / typo / proximity / attribute / sort / exactness; add custom attribute:asc / attribute:desc
• Synonyms, stop words, dictionary — nicknames, brand aliases, noise terms, multi-word tokens
• Typo tolerance — enable/disable, min word sizes, disable on numbers / words / attributes
• Hybrid Search — embedders and semantic ratio (see above)
• View Raw JSON on each group when something looks off
• Bulk index / wipe, plus a live search preview before you ship ranking changes

Search Settings — federated post-type weights (e.g. products above blog posts), optional AJAX autosuggest (with optional form class targeting), optional matched-term highlighting (.scry-ms-highlight).

Ops — task pane, Logs, Search Analytics (see For developers).

You can go live from these screens alone. Hooks kick in when a project needs something the UI doesn’t cover.

Autosuggest + highlighting (optional front-end extras)

These are the only front-end UI pieces the plugin ships, and both are off by default. Your theme’s results page stays yours either way.

Autosuggest — Search Settings toggle. The front-end runtime finds forms via CSS selectors (defaults: #adminbarsearch, form[role="search"], including the core Search block). Debounced AJAX, same indexes as full search. Optional form class if you only want typeahead on specific forms. Thumbnails when a featured image exists. Extend discovery selectors with scry_ms_window_localized — details in DOCS.md. Shape data with scry_ms_autosuggest_results or markup with scry_ms_autosuggest_results_rendered.

Highlighting — optional matched-term markup in results / autosuggest (class .scry-ms-highlight). Style it in your theme; we don’t force a look.

Indexes and federation

Each registered post type can get its own Meilisearch index (posts, pages, product, CPTs). Federated multi-search merges them with your Search Settings weights — not a home-rolled PHP merge.

WooCommerce: select product, pick product fields/meta, set weights if you also search posts/pages. Catalog search upgrades; theme and checkout stay as they are.

Ops: indexing

• Auto-index on save; remove on trash/delete; re-index on untrash. Bulk index / wipe from Index Settings.
• Task pane, Logs, and Search Analytics are covered under For developers below (they’re useful for site owners too, but they’re built as day-to-day ops tooling).

For developers

Full hook reference + JS API: DOCS.md on GitHub

45 PHP hooks documented there (filters + actions). Names below; args/returns/timing in the docs. Call sites tagged //@HOOK: scry_ms_… in source.

Task pane — drawer on plugin admin screens for Meilisearch tasks on indexes this plugin owns: status, duration, errors, paginated history. Shared Meilisearch instances won’t dump unrelated tasks. Useful when bulk indexing stalls or a settings update fails silently.

Error / debug logs — Scry Search → Logs. Debug and Error levels, filterable viewer, DB-backed newest-first with load-more, API keys/tokens redacted before storage, retention + daily cleanup (or clean on demand). Hook scry_ms_log_message if you need to divert or annotate lines.

Search analytics — Scry Search → Search Analytics. Dashboard with summary metrics, charts, and recent searches; optional IP anonymization / omit identifying fields; retention with WP-Cron cleanup; CSV export (admin-only, nonce-protected). Extend rows with scry_ms_analytics_event_to_insert (non-column keys go into search_metadata, including hybrid usage when enabled).

Filters — indexing / documents:

• scry_ms_should_index, scry_ms_should_delete, scry_ms_index_prepare_document
• scry_ms_index_names, scry_ms_index_searchable_attributes, scry_ms_index_filterable_attributes, scry_ms_index_filterable_fields
• scry_ms_index_typo_tolerance, scry_ms_index_ranking_rules, scry_ms_index_fields, scry_ms_index_meta_keys
• scry_ms_bulk_index_query_args, scry_ms_bulk_index_batch_size

Filters — settings:

• scry_ms_index_settings_ajax, scry_ms_index_settings_backup
• scry_ms_index_ranking_rules_before_update, scry_ms_index_searchable_attributes_before_update
• scry_ms_index_synonyms_before_update, scry_ms_index_stop_words_before_update
• scry_ms_index_filterable_attributes_before_update, scry_ms_index_dictionary_before_update, scry_ms_index_typo_tolerance_before_update

Filters — search / client:

• scry_ms_should_search, scry_ms_meilisearch_client
• scry_ms_multi_search_index_names, scry_ms_multi_search_query_params, scry_ms_multi_search_query, scry_ms_multi_search_queries
• scry_ms_multi_search_federation, scry_ms_multi_search_raw_results, scry_ms_multi_search_final_results

Filters — autosuggest / admin / analytics / logs / window:

• scry_ms_autosuggest_query, scry_ms_autosuggest_results, scry_ms_autosuggest_results_rendered, scry_ms_autosuggest_localized
• scry_ms_admin_pages, scry_ms_analytics_event_to_insert, scry_ms_analytics_recent_searches_columns, scry_ms_analytics_recent_searches_column, scry_ms_log_message, scry_ms_window_localized

Actions:

• scry_ms_after_index_document, scry_ms_after_delete_document, scry_ms_after_bulk_index, scry_ms_after_create_index
• scry_ms_index_settings_restore, scry_ms_index_update_settings, scry_ms_index_settings_sections_ui

JS: window.scrySearch (handle scry_ms_window-script). Wait for scrySearchReady. Forms from windowLocalized.searchFormSelectors; filter scry_ms_window_localized to add selectors (e.g. form.my-search). Per-form pre/post submit + AJAX hooks for custom front-end behavior.

Code lives under features/<name>/. Prefer a search-only key on the front; the client factory supports admin vs search.

Managed hosting (ScryWP)

Self-hosting is first-class. Paste any Meilisearch URL and keys into Connection Settings — Docker, bare metal, VPS, or local dev all work the same way. Pick post types, index, ship.

When you’d rather not run the search engine itself, ScryWP is managed hosting built for WordPress. What you get upfront:

• Engine upkeep — Meilisearch stays current; you’re not tracking release notes or patching prod yourself.
• Monitoring & ops — health and capacity on the hosting side, so search failures aren’t a surprise SSH session.
• Same plugin, same hooks — identical integration. No forked workflow; federation, hybrid, analytics, and scry_ms_* hooks behave the same as self-host.

That’s the managed value: less infrastructure to operate, not a different product. Choose ScryWP when ops time or handoff complexity isn’t where you want to spend budget. Choose self-host or local when you need full control, compliance boundaries, or an offline sandbox.

Hosting options

1. ScryWP — managed: patched engine, monitoring, ops handled for you
2. Self-hosted — your infrastructure, full control
3. Local (dev) — same plugin path, offline or sandbox

Paste URL + keys, pick post types, index. Done.

Fits what you already have

• Your theme’s search.php / results markup — unchanged
• searchform.php, core search block/widget, page-builder search boxes
• WooCommerce products
• Custom post types + meta
• Headless / custom front via WP_Query or REST if you build one

Get Managed Hosting from ScryWP

Don’t want to operate Meilisearch yourself? ScryWP Search runs the engine for you — kept patched, monitored, and maintained — so search isn’t another server to babysit. Self-hosting and local dev stay fully supported; see Managed hosting (ScryWP) below.

Requirements

• WordPress 5.2 or higher
• PHP 8.1 or higher
• A Meilisearch instance (ScryWP or self-hosted)

Support

Hooks/docs: DOCS.md or GitHub. Issues and questions: same repo or JG Web Development.