Developer Features

Introduction

This page is for developers who are building, integrating, or extending SearchBlox in their applications. Whether you're embedding a search box into a website, connecting SearchBlox to your existing data systems, or building a fully custom search experience using the API, this page covers the tools available to you.

What Can Developers Do?
As a developer, you can:

Connect SearchBlox to your application using the REST API
Embed a working search interface into any website or app in minutes
Index content from 329+ data sources including databases, cloud storage, and SaaS tools
Build custom search UIs using JSON responses
Add AI-powered features like conversational search, smart suggestions, and direct answers
Secure search results based on user identity and permissions
Track and debug API requests using custom headers and logs

Developer Features

APIs
What is a REST API? A REST API is a standard way for software systems to communicate over the web. It lets your application send requests to SearchBlox and receive structured data back — without needing to understand SearchBlox's internal workings.

Feature	What it does
REST-API	The core API for SearchBlox. Use it to add or remove content, create and configure data collections, manage featured results, run searches, and access features like AutoSuggest, Top Queries, and Related Queries — all programmatically from any platform or language.
Custom Header - X-Correlation-ID	Attach a unique tracking ID to any REST API request. This ID is recorded in the query log (logs/query.log), making it easier to trace, debug, and audit specific searches in your system.
Content API	Retrieve the actual content and URL of a document based on a search query. Useful for building custom result displays or extracting indexed content for other purposes.

Search Integration

Feature	What it does
Search Integration	Add search to any website or application in two ways: (1) drop in a pre-built search results plugin with minimal code, or (2) embed custom search code directly into your app for full control over the look and behavior.
Voice Search	Allow users to speak their search query instead of typing. Powered by Google Speech-to-Text technology. Works in any browser that supports the Web Speech API.

Data Ingestion & Indexing

What is data ingestion? This is the process of pulling content from your various data sources into SearchBlox so it can be searched. SearchBlox can read from websites, databases, file systems, cloud storage, and more.

Feature	What it does
Data Ingestion (329+ Sources)	Connect to over 329 data sources out of the box — including websites, databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle), cloud storage (S3, Azure Blob, Google Drive), and SaaS tools (SharePoint, Salesforce, Zendesk, and more).
Single Page Application (SPA) Crawling	Index content from modern JavaScript-heavy websites (React, Angular, Vue) that don't return full HTML on the first page load. SearchBlox's crawler handles these correctly.
AEM Integration	Integrate SearchBlox with Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) to index AEM repository content. Supports continuous background indexing via AEM agents, on-demand indexing via API, and embedding search directly into AEM pages.

Security

Feature	What it does
Data Encryption	Encrypt sensitive content at the collection, document, or individual field level so only authorized users can access it through search results.
Secure Search Integration	Restrict search results based on who is logged in. Integrates with LDAP/Active Directory or Okta so users only see content they are permitted to access.
SAML SSO for Admin Console	Enable Single Sign-On for the SearchBlox Admin Console using SAML. Allows administrators to log in with their existing company credentials instead of a separate SearchBlox password.

AI-Powered Features (SearchAI)

Feature	What it does
PreText (NLP)	Natural Language Processing that helps SearchBlox understand the intent behind a query — not just the exact words typed. For example, a search for "how do I reset my password" returns help articles, not just pages containing those exact words.
SmartSuggest	AI-powered autocomplete that suggests relevant search queries as the user types — based on content and past search patterns, not just simple text matching.
Answers	Extracts and displays a direct answer from indexed content at the top of search results — so users get the answer immediately without clicking through to a document.
Personalization	Adjusts search results based on each user's past behavior and preferences, so frequent users see more relevant results over time.
ChatBot Integration	Embed a conversational search interface into your application. Users can ask questions in natural language and receive guided answers pulled from your indexed content.

Quick Reference: Common Developer Tasks

I Want To...	Feature to Use
Run a search query from my app	REST API
Add a document to the search index	REST API
Embed search into my website	Search Integration
Connect to a database or cloud storage	Data Ingestion (329+ Sources)
Restrict results by user permissions	Secure Search Integration
Add autocomplete to my search box	SmartSuggest
Debug a specific API request	Custom Header `X-Correlation-ID`
Index a React or Angular website	Single Page Application (SPA) Crawling
Add a chatbot to my app	ChatBot Integration
Encrypt sensitive search content	Data Encryption