> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/algolia/docsearch/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Apply to DocSearch

> Get free DocSearch crawler hosting for your open source project or technical blog

## Overview

DocSearch offers **free crawler hosting** for open source projects and technical documentation. Algolia maintains and runs the crawler infrastructure, so you only need to implement the search UI on your site.

<Note>
  DocSearch is completely free. In exchange, we ask that you keep the "Search by Algolia" logo displayed next to search results.
</Note>

## Eligibility Requirements

DocSearch is available for:

✅ **Open source project documentation**
✅ **Technical blogs with programming content**
✅ **Public documentation sites** (not behind authentication)
✅ **Production-ready websites** (not staging or development sites)

<Warning>
  We typically decline applications for:

  * Marketing or commercial content
  * Non-technical documentation
  * Private/internal documentation
  * Sites under development
</Warning>

## What's Included

When accepted to the DocSearch program, you receive:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Free Algolia Application" icon="database">
    A dedicated Algolia app with your documentation index
  </Card>

  <Card title="Crawler Hosting" icon="spider">
    Automated weekly crawls of your documentation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Dashboard Access" icon="chart-line">
    Monitor crawls, view analytics, and manage your index
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Keys" icon="key">
    Search-only API keys for your frontend integration
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Application Process

Applying to DocSearch is streamlined with automated validation:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Submit Your Domain">
    Go to the [DocSearch application page](https://dashboard.algolia.com/users/sign_up?selected_plan=docsearch\&utm_source=docsearch.algolia.com\&utm_medium=referral\&utm_campaign=docsearch\&utm_content=apply) and sign up.

    Submit your documentation domain for automated validation against our requirements.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Automated Validation">
    Our system checks your site against eligibility criteria:

    * Is the content technical?
    * Is it publicly accessible?
    * Is it production-ready?

    **Fast track**: If you meet all criteria, you'll be approved immediately.

    **Manual review**: If automated validation is inconclusive, we'll manually review within 1-2 business days.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create Your Crawler">
    Once approved, continue the onboarding process in the Algolia dashboard:

    * Configure your crawler settings
    * Define URL patterns
    * Set up content selectors
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify Domain Ownership">
    You must verify domain ownership within **7 days** of approval to continue using the crawler.

    Follow the verification instructions provided in the dashboard.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Data Ingestion">
    The crawler runs and indexes your documentation. This may take from a few minutes to several hours depending on your site's size.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Implement Search UI">
    Once data is ingested, implement DocSearch on your site using:

    * The provided code snippet, or
    * One of our [framework integrations](/integrations/docusaurus)
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Timeline

### Automated Approval

If your site meets all criteria: **Immediate approval** → proceed to crawler setup

### Manual Review

If automated validation is inconclusive: **1-2 business days** for manual review

### First Crawl

After approval and configuration: **Minutes to hours** depending on site size

### Ongoing Crawls

Default schedule: **Once per week** (can trigger manually anytime)

## Before You Apply

Make sure your documentation site is ready:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="✅ Content is public and accessible">
    The crawler must be able to access your documentation without authentication. If your docs require login, DocSearch won't work.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="✅ Server-side rendering is enabled">
    Your content should be present in the HTML source (not loaded entirely via JavaScript). View your page source to confirm.

    If you must use client-side rendering, the crawler can use a headless browser, but this significantly slows down crawling.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="✅ Semantic HTML structure">
    Use proper heading tags (h1, h2, h3) to structure your content. This helps the crawler build a meaningful hierarchy.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="✅ Internal linking">
    All documentation pages should be reachable by following links from your main docs page.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="✅ Production ready">
    Your site should be stable and ready for users. We don't index staging or development environments.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Using Official Integrations

We recommend using one of our official integrations for easier implementation:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Docusaurus" icon="book" href="/integrations/docusaurus">
    Built-in DocSearch integration
  </Card>

  <Card title="VitePress" icon="bolt" href="/integrations/vitepress">
    First-class DocSearch support
  </Card>

  <Card title="React" icon="react" href="/installation/react">
    @docsearch/react component
  </Card>

  <Card title="JavaScript" icon="js" href="/installation/javascript">
    Vanilla JS implementation
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## After Acceptance

### What You'll Receive

You'll get an email with:

1. **Application ID**: Your Algolia app identifier
2. **API Key**: A search-only key (safe to commit to your repo)
3. **Index Name**: The name of your documentation index
4. **Dashboard Access**: Credentials to access your Algolia dashboard

### Implementation

Add DocSearch to your site:

```javascript theme={null}
import docsearch from '@docsearch/js';
import '@docsearch/css';

docsearch({
  container: '#docsearch',
  appId: 'YOUR_APP_ID',
  indexName: 'YOUR_INDEX_NAME',
  apiKey: 'YOUR_SEARCH_API_KEY',
});
```

<Note>
  The API key provided is search-only and can be safely committed to version control.
</Note>

### Managing Your Crawler

Access the [Crawler Dashboard](https://dashboard.algolia.com/crawler) to:

* **Trigger crawls manually** when you update docs
* **Edit your configuration** in the live editor
* **Monitor crawl statistics** and errors
* **View indexed content** and record structure
* **Adjust crawl frequency** (within limits)

## Multiple Projects

<Warning>
  We recommend **one Algolia application per project**.
</Warning>

If you have multiple documentation sites, please submit separate applications. This ensures:

* Proper API key scoping
* Clear application naming
* Correct index generation
* Proper domain restrictions
* Easier support and troubleshooting

[Apply for additional projects](https://dashboard.algolia.com/users/sign_up?selected_plan=docsearch\&utm_source=docsearch.algolia.com\&utm_medium=referral\&utm_campaign=docsearch\&utm_content=apply) using the same process.

## Cost and Limitations

### Free Forever

DocSearch is **completely free** for eligible sites, including:

* Crawler hosting and maintenance
* Algolia search infrastructure
* Weekly automated crawls
* Dashboard access
* Analytics and monitoring

### Requirements

In exchange for free hosting:

✅ Keep the "Search by Algolia" logo visible
✅ Use it only for technical documentation or blogs
✅ Keep your documentation publicly accessible

### Removing the Logo

If you cannot display the Algolia logo, you have two options:

1. **Self-host the crawler**: Use the open source [docsearch-scraper](https://github.com/algolia/docsearch-scraper) with your own Algolia account
2. **Paid Algolia plan**: Contact [Algolia sales](https://www.algolia.com/contactus/) for a commercial plan

## Alternative Options

### Run Your Own Crawler

If you're not eligible or need more control:

<Card title="Self-Hosted Crawler" icon="server" href="/crawler/configuration">
  Run the open source DocSearch crawler yourself
</Card>

You'll need:

* Your own Algolia account (free tier supports up to 10k records)
* Docker to run the crawler
* A way to schedule regular crawls

### Use Algolia Directly

For non-documentation use cases:

<Card title="Algolia API" icon="code" href="https://www.algolia.com/doc/api-client/getting-started/install/javascript/">
  Use Algolia's API clients directly
</Card>

## Frequently Asked Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I use DocSearch for non-documentation pages?">
    The free DocSearch program only covers technical documentation and blogs. For other content, you'll need to run your own crawler or use Algolia's commercial plans.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I share my API key publicly?">
    Yes! The API key provided is search-only and restricted to your specific index. It's safe to commit to public repositories.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How often does the crawler run?">
    By default, once per week. You can trigger manual crawls anytime from the Crawler Dashboard.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I crawl localhost or staging sites?">
    No. The crawler can only access publicly available URLs. For local development, run the crawler yourself.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if my documentation has authentication?">
    The free DocSearch program requires public documentation. For private docs, you'll need to self-host the crawler with authentication credentials.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I update my crawler configuration?">
    Edit your configuration in the [Crawler Dashboard](https://dashboard.algolia.com/crawler) live editor. Changes take effect on the next crawl.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I index code examples?">
    While possible, we don't recommend it. Code samples often contain repetitive boilerplate that adds noise to search results. Focus on prose documentation.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if I exceed free tier limits?">
    DocSearch applications have generous limits for documentation use cases. If you need more, contact [Algolia support](https://algolia.com/support).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Terms and Conditions

<Note>
  Please review the [DocSearch Plan Terms and Conditions](https://www.algolia.com/policies/docsearch-plan-specific-terms) before applying.
</Note>

## Get Help

### Before Applying

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Join Discord" icon="discord" href="https://alg.li/discord">
    Ask questions and get help from the community
  </Card>

  <Card title="Read the Docs" icon="book" href="/introduction">
    Learn about DocSearch features and integration
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### After Acceptance

* **Crawler issues**: [Algolia Support](https://algolia.com/support)
* **UI library issues**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/algolia/docsearch/issues)
* **General questions**: [Discord community](https://alg.li/discord)

## Ready to Apply?

<Card title="Apply to DocSearch" icon="rocket" href="https://dashboard.algolia.com/users/sign_up?selected_plan=docsearch&utm_source=docsearch.algolia.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=docsearch&utm_content=apply">
  Submit your documentation site for free DocSearch hosting
</Card>

<Note>
  Make sure you've reviewed the eligibility requirements and prepared your site before applying!
</Note>