Marketplace Search with PostgreSQL + MeiliSearch

This repository contains a minimal example of a marketplace-style search architecture using:

• PostgreSQL as the source of truth
• MeiliSearch as the search engine
• Node.js (Express) as the API layer
• A background worker to keep the search index in sync using Postgres LISTEN/NOTIFY

It accompanies the article: "How to Design a Scalable Marketplace Search Architecture Using MeiliSearch and PostgreSQL"

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+ recommended)
• Docker and docker-compose

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/marketplace-search-meilisearch-postgres.git
   cd marketplace-search-meilisearch-postgres

2. Copy the environment file:

   cp .env.example .env

3. Start Postgres and MeiliSearch:

   docker-compose up -d

4. Initialize the database:

   cat sql/schema.sql | docker exec -i marketplace_postgres psql -U postgres -d marketplace
   cat sql/seed.sql   | docker exec -i marketplace_postgres psql -U postgres -d marketplace

5. Install dependencies:

   npm install

6. Start the worker in one terminal:

   npm run worker

7. Start the API server in another terminal:

   npm run dev

8. Test the API:

   • Health check:

     curl http://localhost:3000/health

   • Search (example):

     curl "http://localhost:3000/search?q=saree&city=Hyderabad"

Notes

• All writes go to PostgreSQL. The worker listens for changes and updates MeiliSearch.
• MeiliSearch is treated purely as a search index, not a primary store.
• This is a minimal example intended for learning and demonstration; in production, you would add authentication, stricter validation, logging, metrics, and better error handling.

Maintained by: Nivedha Palani GitHub: https://github.com/nivedhapalani96