Welcome to the Opensolr Documentation
Everything you need to build, manage, and scale search for your application — from your first index to production-ready search in minutes. For a comprehensive walkthrough of the entire platform, see The Complete Opensolr Platform Guide.
What is Opensolr?
Opensolr is a fully managed Apache Solr hosting platform. Think of it as your own private search engine, running in the cloud, ready in seconds. You do not need to install software, manage servers, or worry about uptime. You create an index, put your data in, and search it. To understand how the platform works under the hood, read How Does Opensolr Work?
Whether you are building search for a website, an e-commerce store, a mobile app, or anything else that needs fast, relevant results, Opensolr handles the infrastructure so you can focus on your product.
Managed Solr
Production-ready Apache Solr indexes with zero server management. Create, configure, and scale with clicks, not commands.
Web Crawler
Point it at a URL and it automatically crawls your entire website, indexing every page for search. No coding required.
AI Vector Search
Search by meaning, not just keywords. AI-powered semantic search understands what your users actually want.
Analytics
See what your users search for, which queries find nothing, and how your search is performing — all in real time.
Faceted Navigation
Let users filter results by category, price, date, or any field. The classic left-sidebar filter experience, built in.
Data Ingestion API
Push documents via REST API in JSON or XML. Integrate with any language or framework in minutes.
Backup & Restore
One-click backups of your entire index. Restore any backup to the same or a different index instantly.
Teams
Invite team members to manage indexes together. Grant read or write access, and collaborate securely.
Quick Start
Get from zero to search results in under five minutes. Follow these steps in order.
- Create your free account at opensolr.com/signup. No credit card required. You get a free index to experiment with immediately. Need a step-by-step walkthrough? Follow the Getting Started guide.
- Create your first index. Pick a name, choose a server region, and select an index type (Generic, Ecommerce, or Drupal). Full guide here.
- Add your data. Use the Web Crawler to automatically pull in website pages, or push documents via the Data Ingestion API.
- Run your first search. Open the Solr Query tab in your dashboard and type a keyword. You will see results instantly. If your index uses the web crawler schema (web crawler, Drupal module, or WordPress plugin indexes), you can also use the built-in hosted search page.
- Customize and go live. Configure facet filters, tweak search relevance, set up security, and embed search into your application.
Choose Your Path
Different people need different things. Pick the path that matches you best.
I am a Developer
You want to integrate Opensolr into your app with code. Start here:
- Data Ingestion API — push documents via REST
- Configuration — customize your schema
- API Reference — every endpoint explained
- Security — auth tokens, CORS, whitelisting
I am a Business Owner
You want search on your website without writing code. Start here:
- Web Crawler — auto-index your website
- Search & Embed — add search to your site
- Analytics — understand your visitors
- Dashboard — monitor everything
I am Coming from Elasticsearch
Migrating from Elasticsearch or another search platform? The concepts map closely:
- Creating Indexes — Solr index = ES index
- Configuration — schema = mapping
- Search Tuning — dismax = multi_match
- Data Ingestion — same REST JSON pattern
Key Concepts
A few terms you will see throughout this documentation, explained in plain language.
An index is where your searchable data lives. Think of it as a database table optimized for searching. You create one index per project or application. Some people call this a "collection" or "core" — in Opensolr, it is always called an index.
A document is a single record in your index. It could be a blog post, a product listing, a web page, or anything else. Each document has fields like "title", "description", "price", etc.
A query is a search request. When a user types "red shoes size 10" into a search box, that text is sent to Opensolr as a query. Opensolr finds the best matching documents and returns them ranked by relevance.
A facet is a filter category shown alongside search results. For example, on an e-commerce site, facets might include "Brand", "Price Range", and "Color". Users click facets to narrow results without typing a new query.
Using a CMS? Start with the Integration
If your site runs on Drupal or WordPress, you do not need to wire up Solr manually. Opensolr ships dedicated connectors for both — they handle credentials, config files, schema, and indexing automatically. Skip the rest of this documentation for now and go straight to the integration that matches your stack.
Drupal Integration →
Three ways to connect: the standalone Drupal Opensolr Search module (fastest, with facets and vector matching), Search API Opensolr (drop-in for existing Search API sites), or manual Search API Solr. Full guide covers credentials, the Security tab, and all pitfalls.
WordPress Opensolr Search Plugin →
One-click install from the Opensolr dashboard or the WordPress plugin directory. Replaces the default WP search with hybrid vector + keyword matching, facets, autocomplete, and spellcheck — no code, no config files.
Opensolr does not run a persistent AI model on your data, does not phone home, and does not collect telemetry from your site. The "vector search" you see across these docs is dense vector embeddings — a one-time mathematical fingerprint of each document that lets classic Solr keyword search also match by meaning. Any optional LLM add-ons (answer summaries, document readers) sit on top and can be disabled entirely.
If you get stuck at any point, email support@opensolr.com and a real person will reply. You can also check the Knowledge Base for quick answers to common questions.