> ## 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.

# Java quick start

> Get started with Meilisearch using the Java SDK in 5 minutes.

This guide walks you through setting up Meilisearch with Java.

## Prerequisites

* Java 17 or higher
* Maven or Gradle
* A Meilisearch instance ([Cloud](https://cloud.meilisearch.com) or [self-hosted](/resources/self_hosting/getting_started/quick_start))

## 1. Install the SDK

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Maven">
    ```xml theme={null}
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.meilisearch.sdk</groupId>
      <artifactId>meilisearch-java</artifactId>
      <version>0.17.1</version>
    </dependency>
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Gradle">
    ```groovy theme={null}
    implementation 'com.meilisearch.sdk:meilisearch-java:0.17.1'
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## 2. Connect to Meilisearch

```java theme={null}
import com.meilisearch.sdk.Client;
import com.meilisearch.sdk.Config;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Client client = new Client(new Config(
            System.getenv("MEILISEARCH_URL"),
            System.getenv("MEILISEARCH_KEY")
        ));
    }
}
```

<Note>
  **Set your environment variables:**

  ```bash theme={null}
  export MEILISEARCH_URL="https://your-instance.meilisearch.io"  # or http://localhost:7700
  export MEILISEARCH_KEY="your_api_key"
  ```

  [Get a free Cloud instance →](https://cloud.meilisearch.com)
</Note>

## 3. Add documents

```java theme={null}
import com.meilisearch.sdk.Index;
import com.meilisearch.sdk.model.TaskInfo;

// Define your document class
class Movie {
    public int id;
    public String title;
    public String[] genres;
    public int year;

    public Movie(int id, String title, String[] genres, int year) {
        this.id = id;
        this.title = title;
        this.genres = genres;
        this.year = year;
    }
}

// Add documents
Movie[] movies = {
    new Movie(1, "The Matrix", new String[]{"Action", "Sci-Fi"}, 1999),
    new Movie(2, "Inception", new String[]{"Action", "Thriller"}, 2010),
    new Movie(3, "Interstellar", new String[]{"Drama", "Sci-Fi"}, 2014)
};

Index index = client.index("movies");
TaskInfo task = index.addDocuments(new Gson().toJson(movies));

// Wait for indexing to complete
client.waitForTask(task.getTaskUid());
```

## 4. Search

```java theme={null}
import com.meilisearch.sdk.SearchRequest;
import com.meilisearch.sdk.model.SearchResult;

SearchResult results = index.search("matrix");

System.out.println(results.getHits());
// [{id=1, title=The Matrix, genres=[Action, Sci-Fi], year=1999}]
```

## 5. Search with filters

First, configure filterable attributes:

```java theme={null}
index.updateFilterableAttributesSettings(new String[]{"genres", "year"});
```

Then search with filters:

```java theme={null}
SearchRequest searchRequest = new SearchRequest("matrix")
    .setFilter(new String[]{"genres = \"Sci-Fi\"", "year > 2000"});

SearchResult results = index.search(searchRequest);
```

## Full example

```java theme={null}
import com.meilisearch.sdk.*;
import com.meilisearch.sdk.model.*;
import com.google.gson.Gson;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        // Connect
        Client client = new Client(new Config(
            System.getenv("MEILISEARCH_URL"),
            System.getenv("MEILISEARCH_KEY")
        ));

        // Add documents
        String documents = "[" +
            "{\"id\": 1, \"title\": \"The Matrix\", \"year\": 1999}," +
            "{\"id\": 2, \"title\": \"Inception\", \"year\": 2010}," +
            "{\"id\": 3, \"title\": \"Interstellar\", \"year\": 2014}" +
        "]";

        Index index = client.index("movies");
        TaskInfo task = index.addDocuments(documents);
        client.waitForTask(task.getTaskUid());

        // Search
        SearchResult results = index.search("inter");
        System.out.println(results.getHits());
    }
}
```

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Full-text search" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/capabilities/full_text_search/relevancy/relevancy">
    Configure ranking and relevancy
  </Card>

  <Card title="Filtering" icon="filter" href="/capabilities/filtering_sorting_faceting/getting_started">
    Add filters and facets
  </Card>

  <Card title="AI-powered search" icon="brain" href="/capabilities/hybrid_search/getting_started">
    Add semantic search
  </Card>

  <Card title="API reference" icon="code" href="/reference/api/search/search-with-post">
    Explore all search parameters
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Resources

* [meilisearch-java on GitHub](https://github.com/meilisearch/meilisearch-java)
* [SDK documentation](https://github.com/meilisearch/meilisearch-java#readme)