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meilisearch:reindex

Reindex content in Meilisearch for maintenance (normal operations use automatic indexing).

Synopsis

php artisan meilisearch:reindex [--type=TYPE]

Description

This command performs maintenance reindexing of content in Meilisearch. It's used for:

  • Recovering from index corruption
  • Applying configuration changes
  • Periodic maintenance
  • Troubleshooting search issues

Note: Normal operations use automatic indexing via Eloquent observers. This command is only needed for maintenance and troubleshooting.

Options

--type=TYPE

Specify the type of content to reindex. Available types:

  • all (default): Reindex all content types
  • games: Reindex only games
  • dialogue: Reindex only dialogue texts
  • reviews: Reindex only reviews
  • tags: Reindex only tags
# Reindex everything
php artisan meilisearch:reindex

# Reindex only games
php artisan meilisearch:reindex --type=games

# Reindex only dialogue
php artisan meilisearch:reindex --type=dialogue

Usage Examples

Full Reindex

Reindex all content:

php artisan meilisearch:reindex

Output: 

Starting Meilisearch maintenance reindex...
Note: Normal operations use automatic indexing via Eloquent observers

Reindexing all content...
Games: 10,234 reindexed
Dialogue: 1,234,567 reindexed
Reviews: 45,678 reindexed
Tags: 456 reindexed

Reindexing completed successfully!

Partial Reindex

Reindex only games:

php artisan meilisearch:reindex --type=games

Output: 

Starting Meilisearch maintenance reindex...
Note: Normal operations use automatic indexing via Eloquent observers

Reindexing games...
Games: 10,234 reindexed

Reindexing completed successfully!

DDEV Environment

Run reindex in DDEV:

ddev artisan meilisearch:reindex

When to Use

Use meilisearch:reindex when:

  1. Search Results Outdated: Search returns stale or incorrect results
  2. After Configuration Changes: Modified searchable/filterable fields
  3. Index Corruption: Meilisearch index appears corrupted
  4. Periodic Maintenance: Monthly or quarterly maintenance
  5. After Bulk Updates: Large data migrations or bulk updates
  6. Troubleshooting: Diagnosing search issues

Not Needed For

Don't use for normal operations:

  • Creating new games (automatic)
  • Updating game information (automatic)
  • Adding dialogue (automatic)
  • Creating reviews (automatic)
  • Modifying tags (automatic)

Performance

Execution Time

Content Type Records Estimated Time
Games 10,000 2-3 minutes
Dialogue 1M+ 10-15 minutes
Reviews 50,000 3-5 minutes
Tags 500 < 1 minute
All All 15-25 min

Resource Usage

  • CPU: High during reindexing
  • Memory: Moderate (batched processing)
  • Disk I/O: Moderate
  • Network: Low (local Meilisearch)

Optimization

The command uses batched processing to minimize memory usage:

  • Games: 500 per batch
  • Dialogue: 1,000 per batch
  • Reviews: 500 per batch
  • Tags: 100 per batch

How It Works

1. Validation

Checks that Meilisearch is accessible and indexes exist.

2. Batch Processing

Processes records in batches to avoid memory issues:

Game::chunk(500, function ($games) {
    $games->searchable();
});

3. Progress Tracking

Displays progress during reindexing:

  Reindexing games...
  Processing batch 1/21 (500 records)
  Processing batch 2/21 (500 records)
  ...
  Games: 10,234 reindexed

4. Verification

Confirms successful completion and provides statistics.

Automatic Indexing

After reindexing, automatic indexing continues to work:

Model Observers

Eloquent observers handle automatic indexing:

// Creating a game
$game = Game::create([...]);
// Automatically indexed in Meilisearch

// Updating a game
$game->update(['title' => 'New Title']);
// Automatically re-indexed

// Deleting a game
$game->delete();
// Automatically removed from index

Searchable Models

The following models are automatically indexed:

  • App\Models\Game
  • App\Models\UniqueDialogueText
  • App\Models\Review
  • App\Models\Tag

Troubleshooting

Reindex Fails

Problem: Reindexing fails with errors

Solutions: 1. Check Meilisearch is running: ddev describe 2. Verify database connectivity 3. Check Meilisearch logs: ddev logs -s meilisearch 4. Try reindexing specific type: --type=games 5. Increase PHP memory limit

Slow Performance

Problem: Reindexing is very slow

Solutions: 1. Run during low-traffic periods 2. Reindex specific types instead of all 3. Increase Meilisearch memory allocation 4. Check database query performance 5. Verify network connectivity

Memory Issues

Problem: Out of memory errors

Solutions: 1. Increase PHP memory limit in php.ini 2. Reduce batch size in command code 3. Reindex one type at a time 4. Restart PHP-FPM: ddev restart

Incomplete Reindex

Problem: Some records not reindexed

Solutions: 1. Check for errors in output 2. Verify all models are searchable 3. Check database for orphaned records 4. Run again with specific type 5. Check Meilisearch index health

See Also