FAQ

Q: What's this?
A: Dependency-free Mastodon full-text search using PostgreSQL text search

Q: Who can search what?
A: Logged-in users can search all public posts the server has seen.

Q: How do I install it?
A: $ patch -p1 < mastodon-search.patch
   $ RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails db:migrate
   $ RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails console
   > Status.reindex_all_for_search

Q: How long will reindexing take?
A: A slow server does about ten thousand statuses per minute.

Q: Does this work with Mastodon forks?
A: Probably. It was built against Glitch and appears to work fine with stock Mastodon, but verify correctness yourself before running random code from anonymous strangers on production servers.

Q: Gargon says full-text search enables negative social dynamics. Is this a good idea?
A: I think it is. Letting strangers talk to each other over the internet enables negative social dynamics, but if you're using Mastodon you've evidently decided it's a net win. Search helps people find others with common interests, and helps server admins find content/people they want to remove.

Q: Why is this anonymous?
A: A few people who don't like search get really mad about it. I don't want to deal with the drama. https://cathode.church/fedi-scraper-counter.html

--- a/app/models/status.rb
+++ b/app/models/status.rb
@@ -116,6 +116,8 @@ class Status < ApplicationRecord
 
   scope :not_local_only, -> { where(local_only: [false, nil]) }
 
+  scope :search_for, ->(q) { where("tsvector @@ websearch_to_tsquery(?)", q) }
+
   cache_associated :application,
                    :media_attachments,
                    :conversation,
@@ -147,6 +149,8 @@ class Status < ApplicationRecord
 
     ids << account_id if local?
 
+    ids << Account.local.pluck(:id) if visibility == "public"
+
     if preloaded.nil?
       ids += mentions.joins(:account).merge(Account.local).active.pluck(:account_id)
       ids += favourites.joins(:account).merge(Account.local).pluck(:account_id)
@@ -324,6 +328,8 @@ class Status < ApplicationRecord
 
   around_create Mastodon::Snowflake::Callbacks
 
+  before_save :index_for_search
+
   after_create :set_poll_id
 
   class << self
@@ -503,6 +509,28 @@ class Status < ApplicationRecord
     update_attribute(:deleted_at, discard_time)
   end
 
+
+  def index_for_search
+    search_string = self.searchable_text.downcase
+    search_string.gsub!(/[^\w]/, ' ')
+    tsv = ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute("select to_tsvector('#{search_string}')").first['to_tsvector']
+    self.tsvector = tsv
+  end
+
+  def reindex_for_search
+    begin
+      self.update_attribute(:tsvector, self.index_for_search)
+    rescue StandardError
+      nil
+    end
+  end
+  
+  def self.reindex_all_for_search
+    Status.where(visibility: 'public').in_batches.each_record do |status|
+      status.reindex_for_search
+    end
+  end
+  
   def unlink_from_conversations!
     return unless direct_visibility?
 
@@ -511,6 +539,7 @@ class Status < ApplicationRecord
 
     inbox_owners.each do |inbox_owner|
       AccountConversation.remove_status(inbox_owner, self)
+
     end
   end
 

--- a/app/services/search_service.rb
+++ b/app/services/search_service.rb
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ class SearchService < BaseService
   end
 
   def perform_statuses_search!
+    return Status.where(visibility: 'public').search_for(@query).offset(@offset).limit(@limit) unless Chewy.enabled?
+
     definition = parsed_query.apply(StatusesIndex.filter(term: { searchable_by: @account.id }))
 
     definition = definition.filter(term: { account_id: @options[:account_id] }) if @options[:account_id].present?
@@ -54,6 +56,7 @@ class SearchService < BaseService
     results.reject { |status| StatusFilter.new(status, @account, preloaded_relations).filtered? }
   rescue Faraday::ConnectionFailed, Parslet::ParseFailed
     []
+
   end
 
   def perform_hashtags_search!
@@ -86,7 +89,6 @@ class SearchService < BaseService
   end
 
   def full_text_searchable?
-    return false unless Chewy.enabled?
 
     statuses_search? && !@account.nil? && !((@query.start_with?('#') || @query.include?('@')) && !@query.include?(' '))
   end

new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20230226185028_add_tsvector_to_statuses.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+class AddTsvectorToStatuses < ActiveRecord::Migration[6.1]
+disable_ddl_transaction!
+
+  def change
+    add_column :statuses, :tsvector, :tsvector
+    add_index :statuses, :tsvector, using: :gin, algorithm: :concurrently
+  end
+end