To add full-text search in Laravel, use Laravel Scout or MySQL full-text search. 1. For Laravel Scout: install via Composer, publish config, choose a driver like Algolia, add Searchable trait to models, and import data. 2. For MySQL: create full-text indexes and use MATCH/AGAINST in queries. 3. Optimize performance by selecting only necessary fields, managing index updates, scheduling reindexing, and configuring ranking or synonyms when using external services. Each method has trade-offs between scalability and simplicity.
Adding full-text search to a Laravel application can greatly enhance the user experience, especially when dealing with large volumes of text data. While basic searches using LIKE or ILIKE in SQL work for small datasets, they quickly become inefficient as your data grows. Laravel offers several ways to implement more powerful and scalable full-text search functionality.

Using Laravel Scout
Laravel Scout is an official package designed specifically for adding full-text search capabilities to Eloquent models. It provides a simple, driver-based solution that integrates with services like Algolia, Meilisearch, and even MySQL’s native full-text search.

To get started:
- Install Scout via Composer:
composer require laravel/scout
- Publish the configuration file:
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Laravel\Scout\ScoutServiceProvider"
- Choose a driver (Algolia is popular for production use)
- Add the
Searchable
trait to your model - Run
php artisan scout:import "App\Models\YourModel"
to index existing records
One thing to note is that Scout doesn’t handle search logic directly—it delegates that to the configured driver. This makes it flexible but also means you’ll need to understand the behavior and limitations of your chosen driver.

Using MySQL Full-Text Search
If you're working on a smaller project or want to avoid external dependencies, MySQL's built-in full-text search might be sufficient.
You’ll first need to:
- Create a full-text index on the relevant columns
- Use raw queries or query builder methods to perform searches
For example:
Post::whereRaw("MATCH(title, content) AGAINST(? IN BOOLEAN MODE)", [$searchTerm]);
This approach works well for basic needs but lacks some advanced features like typo tolerance or relevance scoring found in dedicated search engines. Also, performance degrades significantly beyond a few thousand rows.
Consider Performance and Indexing Strategy
No matter which method you choose, how you structure and update your searchable data matters.
Some tips:
- Be selective about which fields you index—more fields mean slower updates and larger indexes
- For Scout users, override the
toSearchableArray()
method to control what gets indexed - Schedule frequent reindexing jobs if your data changes often
- Monitor indexing lag, especially under heavy write load
If you're using a service like Algolia, consider setting up synonyms and custom ranking rules to improve result quality without changing code every time.
That's basically all you need to know to start implementing full-text search in Laravel. There are multiple paths, each with trade-offs between simplicity, scalability, and feature richness.
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