For example,
this record includes different data types and the
_tags reserved attribute:
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Although integer and boolean values are treated as strings by
searchable attributes,
they’re interpreted as numbers for numerical facets.
For example,
Algolia treats
like_count as a number.Unique record identifiers
TheobjectID attribute is a unique identifier for each record.
Set object IDs yourself, based on your data.
If you don’t set object IDs, Algolia assigns them automatically:
you can check their values by browsing the .
When you retrieve records,
object IDs are in string format,
even if you set them as integers.
If you want to use integers in your app,
convert object IDs to integers after retrieving the records but
make sure that all your object IDs contain integer values.
Since objectID uniquely identifies your objects, the following applies:
- You can search for it by declaring it as a
searchableAttributes. - You can’t highlight or snippet it.
If you declare
objectIDinattributesToHighlightorattributesToSnippet, Algolia ignores it. - You can’t exclude it from results.
If you declare
objectIDinunretrievableAttributesor omit it fromattributesToRetrieve, Algolia still returns it. For this reason, object IDs mustn’t contain any sensitive data. - You can use it as a facet filter, but you can’t facet it.
If you declare
objectIDinattributesForFaceting, Algolia ignores it. Faceting on a unique identifier makes little sense since every facet count would equal one.
Keep object IDs stable
Derive eachobjectID from the unique identifier of the record’s source, such as a database primary key or a product SKU.
Don’t derive it from the record’s content, for example by hashing the attributes you send.
An object ID must identify the same item for as long as that item exists:
- Updates and deletions target an object ID. If the ID changes when the content changes, an update creates a second record instead of replacing the first, and the original stays in the index until you delete it.
- Click and conversion events reference an object ID. If the ID changes, the record’s event history splits across two IDs, and features that build on that history, such as Dynamic Re-Ranking, Recommend, and Personalization, lose the earlier signals.
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Acceptable characters for object IDs
objectID strings can:
- Contain any character.
- Be of any length as long as the record fits within your plan’s size limit.
Dates
Date attributes must be formatted as Unix timestamps (for example,1435735848).
To convert dates to Unix timestamps,
use an appropriate function for your programming language,
for example:
- Android:
Date() - Go:
time.Unix - Java and Scala (from the
java.timepackage):getTime() - JavaScript:
getTime() - Kotlin:
kotlinx-datetime - C#/.Net:
ToUnixTimeSeconds - PHP:
strtotime - Python:
datetime - Ruby:
date.to_time - Swift:
NSDate(withTimeIntervalSince1970:)
Depending on the language,
the output might require conversion from milliseconds to seconds.
Reserved attribute names
The following attribute names are reserved by Algolia._geoloc_highlightResult_rankingInfo_snippetResult_tagsdistinctSeqId
The
_collections attribute is reserved only if you’re using InstantSearch to implement a collections page.
If you’re not using InstantSearch, _collections behaves like any other attribute.In your records
In a record, you can use the_tags or _geoloc attribute names but they have an imposed schema.
Other attribute names are schema-agnostic.
Algolia doesn’t search reserved attribute names unless you explicitly include them in searchableAttributes.
In the search response
Algolia returns_highlightResult, _snippetResult, _rankingInfo, and _distinctSeqID in the search response.
They’re reserved Algolia attributes tied to specific features.
To avoid conflicts, don’t specify these attribute names in your records.