--- title: "Adding Algolia DocSearch to Netlify CMS | Netlify" description: "Realize the speed, agility and performance of a scalable, composable web architecture with Netlify. Explore the composable web platform now!" source: "https://www.netlify.com/blog/2017/04/25/adding-algolia-docsearch-to-netlify-cms/" last_updated: "2026-07-11T01:37:46.000Z" --- The [netlifycms.org](https://netlifycms.org) page has been live for about a month now and launched with a missing feature, the ability to search. !\[netlifycms\](/v3/img/blog/Screenshot 2017-04-24 15.24.52.png) Adding search to JAMstack sites is a new thing for me but not a new thing for Algolia. Algolia is a hosted search tool that provides lightning fast search results. I decided to give Algolia a try for our new Netlify CMS documentation and discovered their DocSearch solution. !\[how-do-i-docsearch\](/v3/img/blog/Screenshot 2017-04-24 15.28.06.png) DocSearch started as a way for the Algolia Search team to scratch their own itch, which is providing a truly easy way to add search to documentation. Learning new tools and frameworks can be a challenge when it is unclear how to find what you are looking for. Getting started with DocSearch simply requires you to fill out the two fields on the [community DocSearch](https://community.algolia.com/docsearch/) page. Algolia will do the scraping of your documentation data for you and provide a [script tag](https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms-www/blob/master/site/layouts/partials/footer.html#L12-L19) that wraps the returned content in a JSON. Once submitted, it took less than 12 hours to complete and return (most of that time, I was sleeping). !\[docsearch-form\](/v3/img/blog/Screenshot 2017-04-24 15.40.15.png) I had a great experience integrating the return search script and spent minimal time with my designer to make sure it integrated with our existing design as well. I did have two small issues but got resolutions rather quickly thanks to DocSearch being an open source project supported by Algolia engineers and the community. I was able to get resolutions for issues [#175](https://github.com/algolia/docsearch/issues/175) & [#178](https://github.com/algolia/docsearch/issues/178) in record time. There are other options for implementing search solutions, but I have found none are as simple as the Algolia’s hosted solutions, including our implementation on [netlify.com](https://www.netlify.com/blog/2016/09/22/making-netlifys-website-fully-searchable/) which uses [gulp](http://gulpjs.com/) and [lunar](https://lunrjs.com/). I hope to provide a follow-up post on how we upgraded that to Algolia’s [Instant Search](https://community.algolia.com/instantsearch.js/). I’m proud to say Netlify CMS is onboard with other open-source projects like React, Babel, and Stripe who all use DocSearch as their search solution. I recommend Algolia for all search needs and encourage you to try it out in our new [Netlify CMS](https://www.netlifycms.org) documentation page. ### Share - [X (fka Twitter)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Adding Algolia DocSearch to Netlify CMS&url=https://www.netlify.com/blog/2017/04/25/adding-algolia-docsearch-to-netlify-cms//) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.netlify.com%2Fblog%2F2017%2F04%2F25%2Fadding-algolia-docsearch-to-netlify-cms%2F%2F) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.netlify.com/blog/2017/04/25/adding-algolia-docsearch-to-netlify-cms//) - [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=Adding Algolia DocSearch to Netlify CMS+https://www.netlify.com/blog/2017/04/25/adding-algolia-docsearch-to-netlify-cms//) * * * ### Tags - [Search](/blog/tags/search/) ## Keep reading ![](/_astro/bbe3cfe0b5d5228f5d0a66e26ce057de315c7712-1200x675_ZQfk21.webp) Tools & Services December 3, 2025 [ ### Vibe coding to production with Kiro powers ](/blog/vibe-coding-production-kiro-powers) - ![Profile picture of Gehrig Kunz](/_astro/b4e9f58d914d1334ea70d53ea55a1f26b26f1445-512x512_17SwOI.webp) Gehrig Kunz ![](/_astro/b596a7453ede5fe6739bd12506636fe522828198-2400x1351_1ANtEG.webp) Tools & Services February 21, 2025 [ ### Secure local development with Codezero for Netlify ](/blog/secure-local-development-codezero) - Kathleen Randall ## Recent posts News & Announcements June 25, 2026 [ ### Netlify Functions, designed for Agent Experience ](/blog/netlify-functions-designed-for-agent-experience) - ![Profile picture of Eduardo Bouças](/_astro/52958f21e8450baf6d8e60302341a984e220c0cd-512x512_13VDlu.webp) Eduardo Bouças News & Announcements June 24, 2026 [ ### How we measure Netlify’s Agent Experience ](/blog/how-we-measure-netlify-agent-experience) - ![Profile picture of Sean Roberts](/_astro/bbf2243f8171dbddd80ab2103622106cef84d125-512x512_Z1d2LKE.webp) Sean Roberts Guides & Tutorials May 15, 2026 [ ### How to build a real-time AI chatbot in minutes with Netlify Agent Runners (no backend) ](/blog/how-to-build-a-real-time-ai-chatbot-in-minutes-with-netlify-agent-runners-no-backend) - ![Profile picture of Nahrin Jalal](/_astro/f0e7c8f227a03fe58340c99ef5439d5a896c0733-272x272_Z23kDpD.webp) Nahrin Jalal ![](/_astro/3f255b372fa958df35802666ee33b4609b2d71bd-1200x1586_1VtE2D.webp) ### How do the best dev and marketing teams work together? 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