About

About Hugo SQLite Search

Hugo SQLite Search is an open-source, self-hosted search solution specifically designed for Hugo static sites.

Our Mission

To provide a search solution that is:

• Simple to integrate into any Hugo site
• Fast enough for production use
• Powerful with advanced query features
• Self-hosted for complete data ownership

The Problem

Static sites need search functionality, but most solutions require:

• External services (privacy concerns, costs)
• Complex JavaScript libraries (large bundle sizes)
• Client-side indexing (slow initial load)
• Limited query capabilities

Our Solution

Hugo SQLite Search uses a proven tech stack:

SQLite FTS5

• Fast full-text search engine
• BM25 ranking algorithm
• Porter stemming for word variants
• Compact database format

PHP API

• Fast, efficient backend
• Advanced query parsing
• Field-specific searches
• Date range filtering
• Pagination and sorting

Simple Integration

• Builds during Hugo site generation
• Single database file to deploy
• No external dependencies
• Works with any web server supporting PHP

Technical Approach

1. Build Time: Hugo generates JSON with all searchable content
2. Index Generation: PHP script creates optimized SQLite database
3. Runtime: PHP API handles search requests
4. Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript provides search interface

Open Source

This project is open source and MIT licensed. Contributions welcome!

Use Cases

• Personal blogs: Fast search without external services
• Documentation sites: Advanced query syntax for technical docs
• Knowledge bases: Stem ming and relevance ranking
• Content-heavy sites: Efficient indexing of thousands of pages
• Privacy-focused projects: Self-hosted, no tracking

Requirements

• Hugo static site generator
• PHP 7.4+ (with SQLite3 support)
• Web server (Apache, Nginx, etc.)

License

MIT License - free for commercial and personal use.