If Algolia doesn’t appear to be searching across every attribute in your records, the issue may be related to your Searchable Attributes configuration. This article explains how Algolia determines which attributes are searchable, and why explicitly configuring them can help ensure consistent behavior.
Default behavior: all attributes are searchable
By default, when you create an index in Algolia and don't configure Searchable Attributes, every attribute in every record is searchable. This means you can start using search right away without any manual setup.
So why might it not work as expected?
If your records don’t all share the same schema, for example, if some objects are missing certain fields, leaving Searchable Attributes empty can lead to inconsistent search behavior. Algolia may not reliably search an attribute that isn't present in every record, making it seem like some attributes are being ignored.
Recommended solution: define your searchable attributes
To avoid unpredictability, especially when your data structure varies between records, we strongly recommend configuring the Searchable Attributes explicitly in the Configuration tab of the Dashboard (or via the API). This lets you:
Control which fields are searchable
Prioritize more important attributes
Ensure consistent behavior across all queries
Summary
All attributes are searchable by default, but only when all records share the same schema.
If your records vary, leaving Searchable Attributes empty can cause unexpected results.
To ensure consistent and predictable search behavior, explicitly define your Searchable Attributes.