Full-Text Search

Stardust includes powerful full-text search that works entirely client-side—no API keys, no external services, no tracking.

How It Works

Search is powered by Pagefind, which creates a compact search index during build time. When users search:

  1. The search UI loads instantly
  2. Only the relevant index chunks are downloaded (typically 10-50KB)
  3. Results appear as you type
  4. Everything runs in the browser
  • Click the search icon in the header
  • Press / (default hotkey)
  • Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux)

Keyboard Navigation

Key Action
↑ / ↓ Navigate through results
Enter Go to selected result
Escape Close search dialog

Search Tips

  • Simple searches: Just type keywords like configuration or dark mode
  • Multiple terms: sidebar navigation finds pages with both terms
  • Phrases: "code blocks" with quotes for exact phrases

Configuration

Search works with zero configuration, but you can customize it:

yaml 
search:
  enabled: true
  placeholder: "Search documentation..."
  hotkey: "/"

See Search Configuration for all options.

Search Quality

Stardust optimizes search results by:

  • Giving higher weight to headings and titles
  • Including page descriptions in the index
  • Preserving code block content for searchability
  • Generating contextual snippets for results

Improve Your Search Results

💡 Tip

  • Write clear, descriptive headings
  • Add page descriptions in frontmatter
  • Use consistent terminology
  • Break content into logical sections

Excluding Content

Exclude Entire Pages

markdown 
---
title: Internal Notes
search: false
---

Exclude Sections

Wrap content to exclude it from the search index:

html 
<div data-pagefind-ignore>
This content won't appear in search results.
</div>

Search Index Size

Pagefind creates an extremely efficient index:

Documentation Size Typical Index Size
10 pages 5-15 KB
50 pages 25-75 KB
200 pages 100-300 KB
1000 pages 500 KB - 1.5 MB

Users only download chunks relevant to their search query.

Algolia Alternative

For very large documentation sites (1000+ pages) or advanced features like AI search, you can use Algolia:

yaml 
search:
  provider: algolia
  algolia:
    appId: YOUR_APP_ID
    apiKey: YOUR_SEARCH_API_KEY
    indexName: YOUR_INDEX_NAME

Apply for free DocSearch for open-source projects.

Development Mode

During stardust dev, search uses a temporary index that updates as you edit. The full optimized index is generated during stardust build.

Edit this page on GitHub