Set up the Algolia cartridge

Install using the command line

1. Download the cartridge source from the Algolia Code Exchange.

2. Extract the directory.

3. Install the dependencies from the extracted directory:

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    cd /path/to/unzipped/folder
    npm install
   

4. Create a dw.json file in the same directory with the following content:

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   {
     "hostname": "...",
     "username": "...",
     "password": "...",
     "code-version": "..."
   }
   

   • hostname the hostname of your sandbox—for example: "zzgk-001.sandbox.us01.dx.commercecloud.salesforce.com"
   • username and password are your account manager credentials
   • code-version is the active code version listed in Administration > Code Deployment—for example, "SFRA_AP_05_15_2020"

5. Upload the cartridges:

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   npm run uploadCartridge
   

6. Go to Administration > Development Setup > Folder Browser > Cartridges and verify that the Algolia cartridges are uploaded.

Install via Salesforce UX Studio

1. Download the cartridge source from the Algolia Code Exchange.

2. Establish a new digital server connection with your Salesforce B2C Commerce instance.

3. Import the cartridges to a workspace in Salesforce UX Studio.

   

4. Select the cartridges you want to add and click Finish.

   

5. Wait until Salesforce UX Studio uploads the cartridge to your B2C Commerce instance.

Enable the cartridges on your site

Algolia provides the following cartridges to integrate with your Salesforce B2C Commerce storefronts:

Add the Algolia cartridges to your site

1. Go to Administration > Sites > Manage Sites.

   Select your site from the Storefront Sites list:

   

2. In Settings, add the cartridges that match your site’s architecture:

   SFRA

   Add int_algolia_sfra:int_algolia to the beginning of your cartridge path.

   

   SiteGenesis

   1. Add algolia_sg_changes:int_algolia_controllers to the beginning of your cartridge path.
   2. Add int_algolia to the end of your cartridge path.

   Headless

   Add int_algolia to the beginning of your cartridge path.

   

Add the Algolia cartridges to the Business Manager

1. Go to Administration > Sites > Manage Sites and select Business Manager.

   

2. In Settings, add bm_algolia:int_algolia at the end of your cartridge path.

   

Import metadata

1. Go to Administration > Site Development > Site Import & Export and upload the algolia.zip archive from the metadata folder.

2. Select algolia.zip and click Import.

   

3. Confirm that the import is successful.

   

Set Algolia custom preferences for your site

1. Go to Merchant Tools > Site Preferences > Custom Preferences.

   

2. In Custom Site Preferences Groups, select Algolia.

   

3. In the Enable Algolia option, select Yes.

4. Enter your Application ID, Search API Key and Admin API Key. You can find them in the Algolia dashboard

5. Set the Read Host Base Url to https://sfcc-stream.algolia.com.

6. Set up your custom fields—or attributes—from the list of attributes. You should start with the following attributes: name,short_description, long_description, price, brand, color, size and image_groups.

7. Enter your OCAPI credentials:

   • OCAPI client ID: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa,
   • OCAPI client password: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

   These are placeholder credentials. For the Algolia cartridges, it’s important that you declare these credentials, but the values themselves aren’t important. You can enter any string.

Add service credentials

1. Go to Administration > Operations > Services > Service Credentials > algolia.http.api.cred.

2. In the URL field, add https://sfcc-stream.algolia.com. You can leave the User and Password fields empty.

   

To prevent your logs from overflowing, only turn on communication logs when you need them.

Enable Algolia in the Business Manager

1. Go to Administration > Organization > Roles & Permissions.

2. Select the role for which you’d like to enable access, such as, Administrator.

   

3. Go to Business Manager Modules.

   

4. Select Algolia and click Update.

Update your templates

You need to update your templates, if your site uses a SiteGenesis or SFRA architecture AND you haven’t enabled the Algolia cartridge. The Algolia cartridges already include these updates. If you are using a headless architecture, see Headless storefronts.

1. In app_storefront_base/cartridge/templates/default/common/htmlHead.isml, add the following code on line 32:

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   <isinclude template="algolia/headerScripts" />
   

2. In app_storefront_base/cartridge/templates/default/components/header/search.isml, add the following code at the start of the file, and move existing the code to an <iselse> section:

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   <isset name="algoliaData" value="${require('*/cartridge/scripts/algolia/lib/algoliaData')}" scope="page" />
   <isif condition="${algoliaData.getPreference('Enable')}">
     <div class="site-search">
       <div id="suggestions-wrapper"
            data-category="${pdict.cgid}"
            data-category-display-name-path="${pdict.categoryDisplayNamePath}"
            data-category-display-name-path-separator="${pdict.categoryDisplayNamePathSeparator}"
            data-q="${pdict.q}"
            data-search-page-root="${URLUtils.http('Search-Show')}"></div>
   
       <input
         type="search"
         id="aa-search-input"
         class="aa-input-search form-control"
         placeholder="${Resource.msg('label.header.searchwatermark', 'common', null)}"
         name="search"
         autocomplete="off"
       />
   
     </div>
   <iselse/>
       <!-- existing code from the template -->
   </isif>
   

3. In app_storefront_base/cartridge/templates/default/search/searchResult.isml, replace this line:

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   <isinclude template="search/searchResultsNoDecorator" />
   

   with the following code:

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   <isif condition="${pdict.algoliaEnable}">
     <isinclude template="algolia/search/searchResultsNoDecorator" />
   <iselse/>
     <isinclude template="search/searchResultsNoDecorator" />
   </isif>