Algolia API Client Migration

This skill covers API client upgrades (backend and frontend search-only builds). For frontend search UI, see instantsearch. For index operations, see algolia-cli.

Supported migrations

Open the matching reference file before writing any migration code.

Universal breaking changes

Every language migration shares the same set of architectural shifts. Understand these first; the reference files add language-specific syntax on top.

1. initIndex is gone

The index object pattern is eliminated in every language. All methods moved to the client with indexName as an explicit parameter.

The fix: remove initIndex / init_index / index(withName:), call the method on the client, pass indexName.

Grep to find all affected call sites:

grep -r "initIndex\|init_index\|InitIndex\|index(withName" .

2. .wait() chaining is gone

Chained .wait() / ! bang methods on task responses are replaced by dedicated wait helpers.

Three helpers available in every language: waitForTask, waitForAppTask, waitForApiKey. The exact calling convention varies by language (e.g. JS v5 takes an options object, Python uses keyword arguments) — see the language reference for the precise signature.

3. copyIndex / moveIndex → operationIndex

All index copy and move operations, including scoped copies (copyRules, copySettings, copySynonyms), consolidate into a single operationIndex call with operation: "copy" or "move" and an optional scope array.

4. objectID is required in saveObjects

autoGenerateObjectIDIfNotExist is removed. Every object passed to saveObjects must include an explicit objectID. To let the API generate IDs, use chunkedBatch with action: addObject.

5. replaceAllObjects — scopes is optional

The safe option is removed. The scopes parameter defaults to ["settings", "rules", "synonyms"] in every language — you only need to pass it explicitly if you want a subset.

6. Browse helpers change pattern

The old iterator/chained patterns are gone. The new pattern varies by language — check the reference file:

• Aggregator callback (JS, Python, Go, Ruby, Scala, Swift): pass an aggregator function that receives each page response
• Iterable (C#, Java): the helper returns an IEnumerable<T> / Iterable<T> — iterate with foreach or .forEach()
• Iterable / foreach (PHP): the method returns ObjectIterator — iterate with a for-each loop

7. AccountClient is gone

Cross-application index copies now require composing helpers across two client instances manually: get settings from source, set on destination; browse + save for rules, synonyms, and objects.

JavaScript exception: v5 ships client.accountCopyIndex({ sourceIndexName, destinationAppID, destinationApiKey, destinationIndexName, ... }) as a built-in. No manual composition needed, but the call signature differs from v4's accountCopyIndex(srcIndex, destIndex) — see references/javascript.md.

8. Dedicated clients per API

Each API now has its own client class. If the code previously imported one monolithic client, update imports for RecommendClient, AnalyticsClient, AbtestingClient, etc.

Migration workflow

1. Detect language and version from the project's package manifest (package.json, go.mod, composer.json, pom.xml, Gemfile, etc.).
2. Open the matching reference file from the table above.
3. Grep for initIndex (and language equivalents) to enumerate all call sites.
4. Update the install / dependency first so the compiler/runtime flags all remaining issues.
5. Apply universal changes (sections above) before language-specific ones.
6. Replace wait patterns — search for .wait(), waitTask, wait_task, bang methods.
7. Verify by running the existing test suite or a minimal integration test.

Direct Invocation

If the skill doesn't trigger automatically, invoke it directly:

• /algolia-migration — Load the full skill for any Algolia client upgrade task

This is useful when the request is brief (e.g., "update my Algolia imports") and the skill might not auto-trigger.