> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://nikita-shkoda.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Installation
> Add the gem, create an initializer, verify requirements, and set ENV variables.
Related: Quickstart, Configuration, CLI
## Install
Add the gem to your host app:
```ruby theme={null}
gem "search-engine-for-typesense"
```
Create an initializer `config/initializers/search_engine.rb`:
```ruby theme={null}
SearchEngine.configure do |c|
c.host = ENV.fetch("TYPESENSE_HOST", "localhost")
c.port = ENV.fetch("TYPESENSE_PORT", 8108).to_i
c.protocol = ENV.fetch("TYPESENSE_PROTOCOL", "http")
c.api_key = ENV.fetch("TYPESENSE_API_KEY")
# ...
end
```
It is recommended to add:
```ruby theme={null}
Rails.application.config.to_prepare do
Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('app', 'search_engine', '**', '*.rb')).sort.each do |file_path|
load file_path
end
end
```
…in the initializer if you want to store your Typesense collections models in a non‑autoloaded directory. This snippet ensures that Typesense collection models load after the Rails application is ready (models are available).
See Configuration for available knobs and ENV fallbacks.
## Requirements
* Ruby >= 3.1, Rails >= 6.1
* Dependency: `typesense >= 4.1.0` (pulled automatically, but may conflict with `base64` gem — requires v0.2.0)
* A running Typesense server reachable at `host:port` over `protocol` with a valid API key
## Environment variables
* `TYPESENSE_HOST` (e.g., `localhost`)
* `TYPESENSE_PORT` (e.g., `8108`)
* `TYPESENSE_PROTOCOL` (`http` or `https`)
* `TYPESENSE_API_KEY` (never commit to source control)
## Post‑install checklist
1. Bundle and boot your app.
2. Verify configuration without leaking secrets:
```bash theme={null}
ruby script/dev/check_config.rb
```
3. Run a smoke search against your Typesense server:
```bash theme={null}
ruby script/dev/smoke_client.rb
```
Next: tune defaults in Configuration and explore the Client.