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

# insights

> Middleware for setting the user token and sending click and conversion events to the Insights API.

```js Signature theme={"system"}
import {
  createInsightsMiddleware
} from "instantsearch.js/es/middlewares";

createInsightsMiddleware({
  insightsClient: null | InsightsClient,
  insightsInitParams?: object,
  onEvent?: (event: InsightsEvent, aa: null | InsightsClient) => void,
});
```

## About this widget

<Note>
  Starting from v4.9.0, you can use the [`insights`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/instantsearch/vue#param-insights)
  option instead of setting up the Insights middleware yourself.
</Note>

The `createInsightsMiddleware` creates an insights middleware to help you achieve the following:

1. Set the `userToken` for insights purposes (Click Analytics, Personalization, etc.)
2. Automatically send events from built-in widgets. You can turn this off if needed
3. Send events from your own custom widgets

### Requirements

* [`search-insights`](https://github.com/algolia/search-insights.js) v1.6.2 or later.
* [Vue InstantSearch](https://github.com/algolia/instantsearch/tree/master/packages/vue-instantsearch) v3.7.0 or later.

See also: [Send click and conversion events with Vue InstantSearch](/doc/guides/building-search-ui/events/vue)

## Examples

```js JavaScript icon=code theme={"system"}
import { createInsightsMiddleware } from "instantsearch.js/es/middlewares";

createInsightsMiddleware({
  insightsClient,
  insightsInitParams,
  onEvent,
});
```

## Options

<ParamField body="insightsClient" type="InsightsClient | null">
  The [Insights client](/doc/libraries/search-insights?client=javascript) is used to send events.
  It synchronizes the [user token](/doc/guides/sending-events/concepts/usertoken#exclude-users-who-want-to-opt-out-of-analytics-recommend-and-personalization) between search and analytics calls.

  To disable `userToken` synchronization and automatic event sending, set this to `null`.

  <CodeGroup>
    ```vue UMD theme={"system"}
    <!-- In your HTML -->
    <script>
      /*
        A snippet to include `search-insights`
        You can find it here
        https://github.com/algolia/search-insights.js
      */
    </script>

    <!-- In your .vue file -->
    <template>
      <ais-instant-search
        :index-name="<index-name>"
        :search-client="searchClient"
        :middlewares="middlewares"
      >
        <!-- widgets -->
      </ais-instant-search>
    </template>

    <script>
      const insightsMiddleware = instantsearch.middlewares.createInsightsMiddleware({
        insightsClient: window.aa,
      });

      export default {
        data() {
          return {
            // ...
            middlewares: [insightsMiddleware]
          }
        },
        created() {
          const userToken = // Get the user token (synchronously or asynchronously).

          // The `insights` middleware receives a notification
          // and attaches the `userToken` to search calls onwards.
          window.aa('setUserToken', userToken);
        }
      }
    </script>
    ```

    ```vue ESM theme={"system"}
    <template>
      <ais-instant-search
        :index-name="<index-name>"
        :search-client="searchClient"
        :middlewares="middlewares"
      >
        <!-- widgets -->
      </ais-instant-search>
    </template>

    <script>
      import aa from 'search-insights';
      import { createInsightsMiddleware } from 'instantsearch.js/es/middlewares';

      const insightsMiddleware = createInsightsMiddleware({
        insightsClient: aa,
      });

      export default {
        data() {
          return {
            // ...
            middlewares: [insightsMiddleware]
          }
        },
        created() {
          const userToken = // Get the user token (synchronously or asynchronously).

          // The `insights` middleware receives a notification
          // and attaches the `userToken` to search calls onwards.
          aa('setUserToken', userToken);
        }
      }
    </script>
    ```
  </CodeGroup>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="insightsInitParams" type="object">
  Insights parameters to forward to the Insights client's [`init`](/doc/libraries/search-insights/init) method.

  With `search-insights >= v1.7.0 and < 2.0.0`, the Insights client accepts `useCookie` and `userToken` parameters in the [`init`](/doc/libraries/search-insights/init) method.
  You can pass `useCookie: false` to prevent the usage of cookies to store an anonymous `userToken`.
  You can also pass a custom `userToken` while creating `insights` middleware, if you have one.

  With `search-insights >= 2.0.0`, the default value of `useCookie` is `false`.

  <Note>
    You can set an authenticated user token and a user token in `insightsInitParams`.
    Both tokens are passed to the Insights API for sending events.
    If both are set, InstantSearch uses the authenticated user token for search queries.
  </Note>

  <CodeGroup>
    ```js Cookie theme={"system"}
    createInsightsMiddleware({
      insightsInitParams: {
        useCookie: true,
      },
    });
    ```

    ```js Tokens theme={"system"}
    createInsightsMiddleware({
      insightsInitParams: {
        userToken: "user-token",
        authenticatedUserToken: "auth-user-token",
      },
    });
    ```
  </CodeGroup>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="onEvent" type="(event: InsightsEvent, aa: null | InsightsClient) => void" default="undefined">
  By default, the middleware sends events to Algolia using the provided `insightsClient`.
  You can also control events and send them yourself by implementing an `onEvent` method for the middleware to call instead.
  This method lets you access data and filter or modify the payload.
  You can also use it to send events to third-party trackers.

  If you want to use `onEvent` to send events to third-party trackers,
  but don't want to send them to Algolia,
  you can set `insightsClient` to `null`,
  and you don't need the `search-insights` library in your application.

  <Expandable title="event properties">
    <ParamField body="event.insightsMethod" type="string">
      The Insights method, such as, `'viewedObjectIDs'`, `'clickedObjectIDsAfterSearch'`.
      For more information, see the [Insights API reference](/doc/libraries/search-insights).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="event.payload" type="[key: string]: any">
      Event payload.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="event.widgetType" type="string">
      Widget type given by connectors, such as `'ais.refinementList` or `'ais.hits`.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="event.eventType" type="string">
      Event type, such as `'view'`, `'click'`, `'conversion'`, or anything else if you customized it.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>

  ```js JavaScript icon=code theme={"system"}
  createInsightsMiddleware({
    insightsClient: window.aa,
    onEvent: (event, aa) => {
      const { insightsMethod, payload, widgetType, eventType } = event;

      // Send the event to Algolia
      if (insightsMethod) {
        aa(insightsMethod, payload);
      }

      // Send the event to a third-party tracker
      if (widgetType === "ais.hits" && eventType === "click") {
        thirdPartyTracker.send("Product Clicked", payload);
      }
    },
  });
  ```
</ParamField>

## Custom events

<ParamField body="Connectors">
  Many of the InstantSearch connectors expose the `sendEvent` method.
  If you use these connectors to create custom widgets,
  you can leverage the method to send custom events.

  Here's a list of connectors that expose `sendEvent` and they're exposed at the default slot of corresponding Vue InstantSearch components.

  * `connectAutocomplete`: [`ais-autocomplete`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/autocomplete/vue#param-default)
  * `connectHierarchicalMenu`: [`ais-hierarchical-menu`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/hierarchical-menu/vue#param-default)
  * `connectHits`: [`ais-hits`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/hits/vue#param-default)
  * `connectInfiniteHits`: [`ais-infinite-hits`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/infinite-hits/vue#param-default)
  * `connectMenu`: [`ais-menu`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/menu/vue#param-default) and [`ais-menu-select`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/menu-select/vue#param-default)
  * `connectNumericMenu`: [`ais-numeric-menu`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/numeric-menu/vue#param-default) \*
  * `connectRange`: [`ais-range-input`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/range-input/vue#param-default) \*
  * `connectRatingMenu`: [`ais-rating-menu`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/rating-menu/vue#param-default) \*
  * `connectRefinementList`: [`ais-refinement-list`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/refinement-list/vue#param-default)
  * `connectToggleRefinement`: [`ais-toggle-refinement`](/doc/api-reference/widgets/toggle-refinement/vue#param-default)

  <Note>
    The `sendEvent` method provided to `connectNumericMenu`, `connectRange`, and `connectRatingMenu` can't be used to send [clicked filter](/doc/libraries/sdk/v1/methods/clicked-filters) events.
  </Note>

  ```vue-html Vue theme={"system"}
  <ais-hits>
    <template v-slot="{ items, sendEvent }">
      <ul>
        <li v-for="item in items" :key="item.objectID">
          <p>{{ item.name }}</p>
          <button
            type="button"
            @click="sendEvent('click', item, 'Item Starred')"
          >
            Star
          </button>

          <button
            type="button"
            @click="sendEvent('conversion', item, 'Item Ordered')"
          >
            Order
          </button>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </template>
  </ais-hits>
  ```
</ParamField>