Sanity.io Search Integration — GROQ-Based Export with AACsearch

Sanity.io is the programmable CMS — built for structured content, real-time collaboration, and custom editing experiences. With GROQ (GROQ Query Language), Sanity gives you SQL-like querying over your content. But like any CMS, Sanity is a content management platform, not a search engine. For customer-facing search with typo tolerance, faceting, and relevance ranking, you need AACsearch.

Why Sanity Needs a Search Layer

Sanity's GROQ is excellent for content queries, but it has limitations for search:

• No fuzzy matching: Exact queries only
• No relevance ranking: Results are ordered by GROQ expressions, not search relevance
• No typo tolerance: User typos = zero results
• Query performance: GROQ queries scan the dataset — slow at scale for search use cases
• API rate limits: Sanity's API isn't designed for high-frequency public queries

AACsearch adds a search layer that stays synchronized with Sanity's GROQ-queried content.

How the Sanity Connector Works

GROQ-Based Export

The connector uses GROQ queries to extract content from Sanity:

// Example GROQ query for product search indexing
*[_type == "product" && defined(slug.current)] {
  _id,
  title,
  slug,
  "description": pt::text(body),
  price,
  categories[]->{ title },
  "tags": tags[],
  "mainImage": mainImage.asset->url,
  "gallery": gallery[].asset->url,
  _updatedAt
}

Real-Time Listener

Beyond periodic exports, the connector uses Sanity's real-time listener API for instant updates:

import sanityClient from "@sanity/client";

const client = sanityClient({
	projectId: "your-project",
	dataset: "production",
	apiVersion: "2024-01-01",
	useCdn: false,
});

// Listen for mutations on products
const subscription = client
	.listen(
		'*[_type == "product"]',
		{},
		{ includeResult: true, events: ["create", "update", "delete"] },
	)
	.subscribe((event) => {
		if (event.type === "mutation") {
			// Handle document creation
			if (event.result) {
				AACSearch.index({
					collection: "products",
					document: mapSanityDoc(event.result),
				});
			}
		}
	});

Image Asset Handling

Sanity's image pipeline is powerful but complex. The connector automatically:

1. Extracts image asset URLs from image.asset->url references
2. Optionally applies Sanity's image transformations (w=600&h=600&fit=crop)
3. Includes alt text from image metadata
4. Handles SVG, WebP, and responsive image sets

Configuration

{
	"projectId": "your-sanity-project",
	"dataset": "production",
	"queries": [
		{
			"name": "products",
			"groq": "*[_type == 'product' && defined(slug.current)]",
			"collection": "products",
			"schedule": "*/5 * * * *",
			"realtime": true
		},
		{
			"name": "articles",
			"groq": "*[_type == 'article' && defined(slug.current) && publishAt < now()]",
			"collection": "articles",
			"schedule": "*/15 * * * *",
			"realtime": true
		}
	],
	"imageOptions": {
		"width": 800,
		"quality": 80,
		"format": "auto"
	}
}

Setting Up the Connector

1. Generate a Sanity API token with read access to your dataset
2. Configure GROQ queries in the AACsearch dashboard for each content type
3. Map fields to AACsearch schema (string, number, facet, geo, etc.)
4. Start the sync — initial bulk import runs immediately
5. Enable real-time for instant updates on content changes

Unique Advantages

Sanity's structured content model pairs exceptionally well with AACsearch:

• Blocks and Portable Text: Convert rich text to searchable plain text
• References: Automatically resolve -> references to nested objects
• Arrays: Flatten array fields into facet-compatible formats
• Internationalization: Each language field becomes searchable independently
• Drafts: Only published documents are indexed (configurable)

Use Cases

• Content-rich sites — search across articles, guides, and documentation
• Product catalogs — faceted search with Sanity's structured product data
• Multi-language sites — locale-aware search with Sanity's field-level i18n
• Real-time collaboration — search reflects changes as editors publish

---

AACsearch Sanity.io connector is in development. Get early access to be notified when it launches.