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Last updated: 5 Feb 2024

Content that doesn't show up correctly in search or list pages

The Elasticsearch cluster utilised by Search API can get out of sync with publishing applications. This affects any part of the site using it, including navigation pages and related links.

Check if search is the problem

A page with URL /council-tax can be queried using /api/search.json?filter_link=/council-tax. You can quickly switch between the two using the GOV.UK browser extension.

You can compare the data returned with the publishing app to check if it’s up to date. An empty response means search has never received the content.

You can also request different fields, for example /api/search.json?filter_link=/council-tax&fields=format,content_id.

If the document is missing from the search API, check the search index itself to see if it is present and has the expected fields:

  1. SSH to a search box:

    gds govuk connect ssh -e integration search

  2. Send a request to elasticsearch:

    govuk_setenv search-api \
bash -c 'curl "$ELASTICSEARCH_URI/detailed,government,govuk/_search" -H "content-type: application/json" -d "
{
  \"post_filter\": {
    \"term\": {
      \"link\": \"/the/path/to/the/page\"
    }
  }
}"' | json_pp

    To search by content ID use \"content_id\": \"...\" instead.

If the document is present and looks correct, it suggests that the problem is that the document does not match the search query. You can debug the query by adding the parameter debug=show_query to the search API URL, e.g. https://www.gov.uk/api/search.json?q=badgers&debug=show_query.

Correct the search data

Most search issues can be fixed by either republishing the content, or manually reindexing via a rake task in the publishing app.

Published content is missing from search/finders/navigation

Try republishing the content.

Unpublished, deleted, or redirected content is still showing up in search

Unpublished, deleted, or redirected content can be removed from search manually using search admin.

There’s internal guidance on working with external search engines like Bing or Google.

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