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ESEN
Dev Toolsdocker-ready1-click-deploy100% FOSS🟢 Lightweight · ~256MB

Typesense: Open Source alternative to Algolia in 2026

Typesense is an open source search engine focused on simplicity and speed, with federated search and geosearch, as a direct alternative to Algolia with no cost per request.

Alternative to Algolia
License GPL-3.026.9k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v30.2 · 5 months ago

  • Docker Compose — Partial

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Typesense vs. Algolia

Pros

  • Very polished documentation and DX

Things to consider

  • Somewhat smaller community than Meilisearch

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Algolia.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  typesense:
    image: typesense/typesense:30.2
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8108:8108"
    environment:
      - TYPESENSE_API_KEY=change-me-super-secret
      - TYPESENSE_DATA_DIR=/data
    volumes:
      - typesense_data:/data
volumes:
  typesense_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=typesense" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit today.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
GPL-3.0
Category
Dev Tools
Replaces
Algolia
Tech stack
C++

Under the hood

Database

None / File-based

Language

C++

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • Federated search across multiple collections
  • Geosearch and faceted filters
  • High availability with clustering

Frequently asked questions

What is Typesense?

An open source search engine (GPL-3.0 license) written in C++, focused on simplicity and speed, with federated search, geosearch, and faceted filtering — built as a direct alternative to Algolia with no per-request cost.

How do you deploy Typesense with Docker?

With a single official image (`typesense/typesense`) and a volume for the data — no external database needed. This page's docker-compose includes the minimal config with the API key and data directory.

Is Typesense as mature as Algolia or Meilisearch?

Its docs and developer experience are very polished, though its community is somewhat smaller than Meilisearch's — for most catalog or content-site search use cases, it covers what Algolia does without the per-request cost.

Preview

Typesense interface preview

Public image provided by Typesense on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8108
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy