Algolia Upgrade & Migration (v4 to v5)

Overview

Guide for upgrading algoliasearch from v4 to v5. The v5 release is a major rewrite: initIndex() is removed, all methods move to the client, and the import style changes.

Prerequisites

• Current algoliasearch v4 installed
• Git for version control (work in a branch)
• Test suite passing on current version

Breaking Changes Summary

v4 Pattern	v5 Replacement
const client = algoliasearch(appId, key)	import { algoliasearch } from 'algoliasearch'; const client = algoliasearch(appId, key);
const index = client.initIndex('name')	Removed — pass indexName to every method
index.search('query')	client.searchSingleIndex({ indexName, searchParams: { query } })
index.saveObjects(records)	client.saveObjects({ indexName, objects })
index.saveObject(record)	client.saveObject({ indexName, body: record })
index.partialUpdateObject(data)	client.partialUpdateObject({ indexName, objectID, attributesToUpdate })
index.deleteObject('id')	client.deleteObject({ indexName, objectID })
index.setSettings(settings)	client.setSettings({ indexName, indexSettings })
index.getSettings()	client.getSettings({ indexName })
index.browse()	client.browse({ indexName, browseParams })
index.findObject(cb)	client.findObject({ indexName, ... })
index.replaceAllObjects(records)	client.replaceAllObjects({ indexName, objects })
index.saveSynonyms(syns)	client.saveSynonyms({ indexName, synonymHit })
index.saveRule(rule)	client.saveRule({ indexName, objectID, rule })
index.waitTask(taskID)	client.waitForTask({ indexName, taskID })

Instructions

Examples

The upgrade steps are concrete v4-to-v5 examples: replace client initialization and method calls, then run the search and type-check suite before widening rollout. Keep the pre-upgrade branch available until production verification succeeds.

Step 1: Create Upgrade Branch and Install v5

git checkout -b upgrade/algoliasearch-v5
npm install algoliasearch@latest
npm list algoliasearch  # Verify v5.x.x

Step 2: Update Imports

// v4
import algoliasearch from 'algoliasearch';
const client = algoliasearch('APP_ID', 'API_KEY');

// v5
import { algoliasearch } from 'algoliasearch';
const client = algoliasearch('APP_ID', 'API_KEY');

// v5 lite client (search-only, frontend)
import { liteClient } from 'algoliasearch/lite';
const searchClient = liteClient('APP_ID', 'SEARCH_KEY');

// v5 individual API client (if you only need one)
import { searchClient } from '@algolia/client-search';

Step 3: Remove initIndex and Update Method Calls

// v4: index-based API
const index = client.initIndex('products');
const { hits } = await index.search('laptop');
await index.saveObjects(records);
await index.setSettings({ searchableAttributes: ['name'] });

// v5: client-based API with indexName parameter
const { hits } = await client.searchSingleIndex({
  indexName: 'products',
  searchParams: { query: 'laptop' },
});
await client.saveObjects({ indexName: 'products', objects: records });
await client.setSettings({
  indexName: 'products',
  indexSettings: { searchableAttributes: ['name'] },
});

Step 4: Update waitTask

// v4
const { taskID } = await index.saveObjects(records);
await index.waitTask(taskID);

// v5
const { taskID } = await client.saveObjects({ indexName: 'products', objects: records });
await client.waitForTask({ indexName: 'products', taskID });

Step 5: Update Error Handling

// v4: error classes from algoliasearch
import { AlgoliaError } from 'algoliasearch';

// v5: error classes
import { ApiError } from 'algoliasearch';

try {
  await client.searchSingleIndex({ indexName: 'products', searchParams: { query: 'test' } });
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof ApiError) {
    console.error(`HTTP ${error.status}: ${error.message}`);
  }
}

Step 6: Find All Usage and Verify

# Find all files using Algolia v4 patterns
grep -rn "initIndex\|\.search(\|\.saveObjects\|\.setSettings\|\.deleteObject\|\.waitTask" \
  --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.js" --include="*.jsx" src/

# Run tests
npm test

# Type-check
npx tsc --noEmit

Rollback Procedure

# If v5 breaks things, revert to v4
npm install algoliasearch@4
git checkout -- src/  # Restore v4 code
npm test              # Verify v4 still works

Output

The codebase uses the v5 client API with verified imports, parameter shapes, and task waiting, while retaining a tested rollback procedure to the prior package version and source revision.

Error Handling

Issue	Cause	Solution
initIndex is not a function	v5 installed but v4 code	Remove initIndex, pass indexName to methods
searchSingleIndex is not a function	v4 installed but v5 code	Run npm install algoliasearch@latest
Type errors after upgrade	Changed type signatures	Update to new parameter objects
default import error	v5 uses named exports	Change import algoliasearch to import { algoliasearch }

Resources

• Official v4 to v5 Migration Guide
• v5 Method Reference
• algoliasearch npm

Next Steps

For CI integration during upgrades, see algolia-ci-integration.