--- title: Deploying Meilisearch on a Scaleway Instance description: Deploy Meilisearch on Scaleway Instances with this step-by-step guide to set up and run the Meilisearch search engine efficiently. Perfect for fast, relevant searches. tags: meilisearch search full-text instance products: - instances dates: validation: 2025-02-11 posted: 2024-07-25 validation_frequency: 12 difficulty: beginner usecase: - application-hosting ecosystem: - third-party --- import Requirements from '@macros/iam/requirements.mdx' Meilisearch is an open-source search engine that provides instant and relevant search results from large collections of data. [Meilisearch](https://www.meilisearch.com/) is particularly useful for applications that require fast and efficient search capabilities, such as e-commerce sites, documentation search, and any platform where users need to quickly find relevant information from a large dataset. This tutorial shows you how to deploy a Meilisearch search engine on a [Scaleway Instance](/instances/). - A Scaleway account logged into the [console](https://console.scaleway.com/) - [Owner](/iam/concepts/#owner) status or [IAM permissions](/iam/concepts/#permission) (specifically **InstancesFullAccess**) allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization - An [SSH key](/organizations-and-projects/how-to/create-ssh-key/) - An [Instance](/instances/how-to/create-an-instance/) with the [Docker InstantApp](/instances/reference-content/images-and-instantapps/#instantapps) or with the [Docker Engine](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/) installed ## Connecting to your Instance and starting Meilisearch 1. Open a terminal and connect to your Instance using [SSH](/instances/how-to/connect-to-instance/). Replace `` with your Instance's IP (Instances > Overview > Flexible IP > the first IP address that displays in the list). ``` ssh root@ ``` If you are using an Instance with a Docker InstantApp, run `docker -v` to make sure that the Docker engine is already installed. The current Docker engine version should display. 2. In the same terminal, generate a master key for Meilisearch. This key will secure your Meilisearch instance. ``` export MEILI_MASTER_KEY=$(openssl rand -base64 16) ``` 3. Run the following command to display the master key: ``` echo $MEILI_MASTER_KEY ``` Copy and save your master key as you will need it in the next steps. 4. Run the MeiliSearch container using Docker. This command sets up Meilisearch to store data persistently on the volume located at `$(pwd)/meili_data:/meili_data` on your Instance. ``` docker run -d -p 7700:7700 -v $(pwd)/meili_data:/meili_data -e $MEILI_MASTER_KEY getmeili/meilisearch:v1.9 ``` 5. Check that the container is running: ``` docker ps ``` You should see an output similar to the following: ``` CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES 0432254e4d64 getmeili/meilisearch:v1.9 "tini -- /bin/sh -c …" 56 minutes ago Up 56 minutes 0.0.0.0:7700->7700/tcp, :::7700->7700/tcp flamboyant_dewdney ``` You can stop the Meilisearch container using `docker container stop `. 6. Use the following command to check that Meilisearch is running. ``` curl -X GET 'http://localhost:7700/version' -H 'Authorization: Bearer '$MEILI_MASTER_KEY ``` You should see an output similar to the following: ```json { "commitSha": "0df84bbba7db46680e83843dd6454257161a282f", "commitDate": "2024-06-27T12:00:00Z", "pkgVersion": "aaaaaa" } ``` ## Accessing Meilisearch remotely 1. Open a new terminal and export your environment variables. Make sure that you replace `{INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS}` and `{MEILI_MASTER_KEY}` with your own variables. ```bash export INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS={INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS} export MEILI_MASTER_KEY={MEILI_MASTER_KEY} ``` Your command should look like the following: ``` export INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS=a3dc5b0e-5c5c-4ac4-91fb-1447b5c23b57.pub.instances.scw.cloud export MEILI_MASTER_KEY=LtRrsh68IdT2jKDH5DdXhA== ``` 2. Run the following command to access Meilisearch remotely: ```bash curl -X GET 'http://'$INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS':7700/version' -H 'Authorization: Bearer '$MEILI_MASTER_KEY ``` You can also open your browser at `http://{INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS}:7700/health` since you do not need an API key to access the `/health` endpoint. If you have created your Instance within a **Private Network** or if you are using a specific **security group** configuration, you must allow TCP traffic on port `7700` for your Instance to access your Meilisearch container remotely. See [our dedicated documentation on how to use security groups](/instances/how-to/use-security-groups/) and [how to configure a Public Gateway](/public-gateways/how-to/configure-a-public-gateway/) for more information. ## Creating an index and adding data to it 1. In the same terminal as the previous steps, paste the following command to create a new index named `movies`: ```bash curl -X POST 'http://'$INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS':7700/indexes' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer '$MEILI_MASTER_KEY \ --data-binary '{ "uid": "movies", "primaryKey": "id" }' ``` 2. Add sample data to the `movies` index. In this case, we are adding 2 movies. ```bash curl -X POST 'http://'$INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS':7700/indexes/movies/documents' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer '$MEILI_MASTER_KEY \ --data-binary '[ { "id": 1, "title": "The Enigma of Elysia", "overview": "In a world where magic and technology coexist, a mysterious artifact known as the Elysia Stone is stolen from the royal palace." }, { "id": 2, "title": "A Shattered Mirror", "overview": "In a world where dreams are reflected in a magical mirror, a young man named Orion discovers that his reflection has been shattered." } ]' ``` An output similar to the following should display: ``` {"taskUid":1,"indexUid":"movies","status":"enqueued","type":"documentAdditionOrUpdate","enqueuedAt":"2024-07-24T12:32:54.678571608Z"}root@scw-lucid-satoshi:~# ``` 3. Search for the term `mystery` in the `movies` index: ```bash curl -X POST 'http://'$INSTANCE_PUBLIC_DNS':7700/indexes/movies/search' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer '$MEILI_MASTER_KEY \ --data-binary '{ "q": "mystery" }' ``` Documents containing the term (or close semantic variations of the term) should display in the output: ```json {"hits":[{"id":1,"title":"The Enigma of Elysia","overview":"In a world where magic and technology coexist, a mysterious artifact known as the Elysia Stone is stolen from the royal palace."}],"query":"mystery","processingTimeMs":4,"limit":20,"offset":0,"estimatedTotalHits":1} ``` ### Going further - Learn more about [Meilisearch APIs and features](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/reference/api/overview#parameters) - **Secure** your deployment: - Encrypt traffic in transit to Meilisearch by [setting up SSL](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/learn/configuration/instance_options#ssl-options) - Move your Instance inside a [Private Network](/instances/how-to/use-private-networks/) if you do not want it to be exposed publicly on the internet - Configure regular data backups using [Meilisearch Snapshots](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/learn/advanced/snapshots/) or [Instances snapshots](/block-storage/how-to/create-a-snapshot/) - **Fine-tune deployment configuration** such as [Instance type or disk size](/instances/reference-content/choosing-instance-type/), from the [Scaleway console](https://console.scaleway.com/instance/servers/), [the Scaleway API](https://www.scaleway.com/en/developers/api/instances/), [CLI](/instances/api-cli/cli-cheatsheet/), [Terraform](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/scaleway/scaleway/latest/docs/resources/instance_server/), or [OpenTofu](https://search.opentofu.org/provider/opentofu/scaleway/latest). ## Troubleshooting If you encounter any issues, check that you meet all the [requirements listed at the beginning of this page](#before-you-start). Also, verify that your Instance accepts connections from your computer. To do so, you can configure [security groups](/instances/how-to/use-security-groups/) or a [Public Gateway](/public-gateways/how-to/configure-a-public-gateway/) on the [Private Network](/instances/how-to/use-private-networks/) your Instance belongs to.