> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Configure searchable attributes
> Choose which document fields Meilisearch scans during a search query by setting the searchableAttributes index setting.
By default, Meilisearch searches through all document fields. Use the `searchableAttributes` setting to limit which fields are searchable and control their relative importance in the [attribute ranking order](/capabilities/full_text_search/relevancy/attribute_ranking_order). This also affects [ranking rules](/capabilities/full_text_search/relevancy/ranking_rules) that depend on attribute order.
## Why configure searchable attributes
There are two main reasons to customize searchable attributes:
1. **Improve relevancy**: Fields listed earlier in the `searchableAttributes` array have a greater impact on relevancy. If a match is found in the first attribute, that document ranks higher than one where the match appears in a later attribute.
2. **Improve performance**: Reducing the number of searchable fields means Meilisearch has less data to scan during each query, which can speed up search on large datasets.
For example, in a movies index with fields like `id`, `title`, `overview`, `genres`, and `release_date`, you probably want `title` to carry the most weight, followed by `overview` and `genres`. The `id` and `release_date` fields are not useful for text search and can be excluded.
## Check current searchable attributes
Retrieve the current `searchableAttributes` setting for an index:
```bash cURL theme={null}
curl \
-X GET 'MEILISEARCH_URL/indexes/movies/settings/searchable-attributes'
```
```javascript JS theme={null}
client.index('movies').getSearchableAttributes()
```
```python Python theme={null}
client.index('movies').get_searchable_attributes()
```
```php PHP theme={null}
$client->index('movies')->getSearchableAttributes();
```
```java Java theme={null}
client.index("movies").getSearchableAttributesSettings();
```
```ruby Ruby theme={null}
client.index('movies').searchable_attributes
```
```go Go theme={null}
client.Index("movies").GetSearchableAttributes()
```
```csharp C# theme={null}
await client.Index("movies").GetSearchableAttributesAsync();
```
```rust Rust theme={null}
let searchable_attributes: Vec = client
.index("movies")
.get_searchable_attributes()
.await
.unwrap();
```
```swift Swift theme={null}
client.index("movies").getSearchableAttributes { (result) in
switch result {
case .success(let searchableAttributes):
print(searchableAttributes)
case .failure(let error):
print(error)
}
}
```
```dart Dart theme={null}
await client.index('movies').getSearchableAttributes();
```
By default, the response is `["*"]`, meaning all attributes are searchable in their order of appearance.
## Update searchable attributes
Set the `searchableAttributes` list to control which fields are searchable and their ranking order. Fields listed first have the highest impact on relevancy:
```bash cURL theme={null}
curl \
-X PUT 'MEILISEARCH_URL/indexes/movies/settings/searchable-attributes' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-binary '[
"title",
"overview",
"genres"
]'
```
```javascript JS theme={null}
client.index('movies').updateSearchableAttributes([
'title',
'overview',
'genres'
])
```
```python Python theme={null}
client.index('movies').update_searchable_attributes([
'title',
'overview',
'genres'
])
```
```php PHP theme={null}
$client->index('movies')->updateSearchableAttributes([
'title',
'overview',
'genres'
]);
```
```java Java theme={null}
client.index("movies").updateSearchableAttributesSettings(new String[]
{
"title",
"overview",
"genres"
});
```
```ruby Ruby theme={null}
client.index('movies').update_searchable_attributes([
'title',
'overview',
'genres'
])
```
```go Go theme={null}
searchableAttributes := []string{
"title",
"overview",
"genres",
}
client.Index("movies").UpdateSearchableAttributes(&searchableAttributes)
```
```csharp C# theme={null}
await client.Index("movies").UpdateSearchableAttributesAsync(new[] {"title", "overview", "genres"});
```
```rust Rust theme={null}
let searchable_attributes = [
"title",
"overview",
"genres"
];
let task: TaskInfo = client
.index("movies")
.set_searchable_attributes(&searchable_attributes)
.await
.unwrap();
```
```swift Swift theme={null}
let searchableAttributes: [String] = ["title", "overview", "genres"]
client.index("movies").updateSearchableAttributes(searchableAttributes) { (result) in
switch result {
case .success(let task):
print(task)
case .failure(let error):
print(error)
}
}
```
```dart Dart theme={null}
await client
.index('movies')
.updateSearchableAttributes(['title', 'overview', 'genres']);
```
This configuration makes `title` the most important searchable field, followed by `overview`, then `genres`. Fields not in the list (such as `id` and `release_date`) are no longer searchable.
Updating `searchableAttributes` triggers a re-indexing of all documents in the index. This is an [asynchronous](/capabilities/indexing/tasks_and_batches/async_operations) operation. Use the [task API](/reference/api/tasks/get-all-tasks) to monitor progress.
After manually updating `searchableAttributes`, new attributes found in subsequently indexed documents will not be automatically added to the list. You must either include them manually or [reset the setting](#reset-searchable-attributes).
**Known issue**: due to an implementation bug, manually updating `searchableAttributes` will change the displayed order of document fields in the JSON response. This behavior is inconsistent and will be fixed in a future release. If your application depends on a specific field order in responses, rely on explicit key access rather than the order returned by Meilisearch.
## Reset searchable attributes
Reset `searchableAttributes` to its default value (`["*"]`), making all fields searchable again:
```bash cURL theme={null}
curl \
-X DELETE 'MEILISEARCH_URL/indexes/movies/settings/searchable-attributes'
```
```javascript JS theme={null}
client.index('movies').resetSearchableAttributes()
```
```python Python theme={null}
client.index('movies').reset_searchable_attributes()
```
```php PHP theme={null}
$client->index('movies')->resetSearchableAttributes();
```
```java Java theme={null}
client.index("movies").resetSearchableAttributesSettings();
```
```ruby Ruby theme={null}
client.index('movies').reset_searchable_attributes
```
```go Go theme={null}
client.Index("movies").ResetSearchableAttributes()
```
```csharp C# theme={null}
await client.Index("movies").ResetSearchableAttributesAsync();
```
```rust Rust theme={null}
let task: TaskInfo = client
.index("movies")
.reset_searchable_attributes()
.await
.unwrap();
```
```swift Swift theme={null}
client.index("movies").resetSearchableAttributes { (result) in
switch result {
case .success(let task):
print(task)
case .failure(let error):
print(error)
}
}
```
```dart Dart theme={null}
await client.index('movies').resetSearchableAttributes();
```
After resetting, new attributes will once again be automatically added to the searchable attributes list as documents are indexed.
## Restrict searchable attributes at query time
If you need to limit which attributes are searched for a specific query without changing the index setting, use the `attributesToSearchOn` search parameter:
```bash theme={null}
curl \
-X POST 'MEILISEARCH_URL/indexes/movies/search' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-binary '{
"q": "adventure",
"attributesToSearchOn": ["title"]
}'
```
This searches only the `title` field for this request, regardless of the index-level `searchableAttributes` setting. The attributes specified must be a subset of the configured `searchableAttributes`.
`attributesToSearchOn` narrows the search to the fields you list, so documents that only match in other searchable fields are silently excluded from the response. For example, if your index has `searchableAttributes: ["title", "overview", "genre"]` and you set `attributesToSearchOn: ["overview"]`, a document whose only match is in `title` or `genre` will not appear in the results, even though those fields are otherwise searchable. No error is raised; the results are simply narrower than you may expect.
For more details on how searchable and displayed attributes work together, see [displayed and searchable attributes](/capabilities/full_text_search/how_to/configure_displayed_attributes). For the full API reference, see [get searchable attributes](/reference/api/settings/get-searchableattributes).