Configure the Sitecore Connector

Use this guide after reviewing Ingesting Data with a CMS DXP Connector. It covers the Sitecore-specific package, index, field, search-page, and verification steps.

Configure the Sitecore Connector

Use the Sitecore module to send published Sitecore content to your SearchStax Site Search app and stand up a functional search page fast. This guide walks you through installing the module, connecting it to your app, indexing content, and creating a basic search page.

Prerequisites

In addition to the prerequisites listed above, you’ll need:

• Sitecore 9.1–10.4 with admin access.
• Permission to install packages and run Control Panel tasks.
• A SearchStax Site Search app with Auto‑suggest enabled.
• One Sitecore index per Site Search app (a single Sitecore server can have multiple indexes).

Tip: You can index multiple content roots. List each root path when you configure the index.

Upgrading? If you're moving from Sitecore module 2.0.0, follow the official upgrade guide. In short: back up SearchStax.Connector.Provider.config, remove the old App_Config/Modules/SearchStax files, install 3.0.x with Overwrite selected, reapply any custom config, recreate and rebuild indexes, then republish. See Upgrade to Module 3.0.X for more information.

Using Docker/containers? If your Sitecore runs in containers, use the Docker-specific guide to layer the SearchStax module images in your cm/cd Dockerfiles, set the SEARCHSTAX_* env vars, update docker-compose.override.yml, and disable the default health check for local dev. See Sitecore Module with Docker for more information.

Multiple publishing targets? For staging vs. production or other targets, create a separate Site Search app and index core for each target and repeat the module setup per app. See Multiple Publishing Targets for more information.

1. Download the Correct Module Package

1. Identify your Sitecore version.
2. Download the Sitecore Module package for your version from the Sitecore module page. For a complete list of Sitecore versions and links to corresponding packages, see Sitecore Module 3.0.2.
3. If you use SXA, also download the SXA Module.

2. Install the Module in Sitecore

1. In Sitecore, open Desktop > Development Tools > Installation Wizard.
2. Upload the module package you downloaded.
3. Select Install and wait for completion.
4. When prompted, continue to configuration.

3. Open the Module Configuration

1. From the Launchpad, select SearchStax Site Search > SearchStax Studio Configuration.
2. Next, enter your SearchStax username and password and select Load accounts (1).
3. Choose the Site Search account (2) and then the Search app (3).
4. Select Create an index (4).

4. Set Index Properties

If your app doesn’t use Basic authentication:

1. On Index properties, set one or more Root item(s) to crawl. By default the module indexes under /sitecore/content/home/.
2. Click Save, then confirm to apply configuration files.

If your app uses Basic authentication:

1. Set Root item(s) as above.
2. Enter Read Only Solr Password and Admin Solr Password. These are your Read & Write and Read-Only tokens in SearchStax under Site Search App Settings All APIs Search & Indexing.
3. (Optional) Enable Reset index when rebuilding to clear the index before a rebuild. This causes empty results during the rebuild.
4. Click Save, then confirm.

Why this step matters: Sitecore uses the configured root paths to scope indexing. Adding multiple roots lets you include additional sites or sections.

Indexing multiple sites? See Multi-Site Search for more information.

Need to configure multiple root items in config? See Multi-Root Crawling for more information.

5. Populate the Solr Managed Schema, Then Rebuild

1. In Sitecore, go to Control Panel Indexing Populate Solr Managed Schema.
2. Select the new SearchStax index and choose Populate. Wait for success.
3. Go to Control Panel Indexing > Indexing Manager.
4. Select the same index and choose Rebuild.

6. Reload the App Schema in Site Search, Then Rebuild Again

Reloading the schema in Site Search aligns the app’s Solr collection with the Sitecore‑generated schema so queries and highlights work correctly.

1. In Site Search, open your Search App.
2. Go to App Settings All APIs and select Reload schema at the bottom of the page.
3. Back in Sitecore, open Indexing Manager and Rebuild the index again.

7. Configure Fields for Your Search Experience

In SearchStax, map Sitecore fields to your Result Card, then publish.

1. In Site Search, go to Configurations > Basic Configurations > Results Fields.
2. Add the default mapped fields and assign Sitecore fields:
   • Title: resulttitle_t, itemdisplayname_s, search_title_t, itemtitle_t, or title_s.
   • Ribbon: Sitenamelabel_s, asset_type_s, _templatename, or contenttype_sm.
   • Paths:Domainpageurl_t or _fullpath.
   • Date: Itemupdatedate_tdt, _updated, or date_tdt.
   • Description: Renderedcontent_t, metadescription_t_en, or search_description_t.
   • URL: Domainpageurl_t or resulturl_s.
3. Click Publish.
4. Open Configurations > Basic Configurations > Search Fields. Add the fields users should be able to query. Click Publish.

Personalizing search by audience or behavior? Start with the Sitecore personalization guide and Search Profiles (aka “Search Models” in Sitecore). See Sitecore Personalization for more information.

Adding facets and sorting? Configure Faceting and Sorting in Site Search. If facet values split or sorting is unavailable, use a non‑tokenized string/docValues field. See Field for Faceting/Sorting in Sitecore for more information.

8. Create a Search Page in Sitecore

1. In Sitecore Content Editor, create a page from /sitecore/templates/Feature/SearchStax/SearchPage/SearchStaxPage.
2. Set the SearchStax Index field to the index you created.
3. Publish the page to test your search.

Prefer a custom MVC search page? See How to Create a SearchStax Custom Search Page for more information.

Using Sitecore SXA? See Create an SXA Search Page for more information.

9. Computed Fields Included by the Module

The module ships with computed fields that improve relevance and default rendering. You can remove or replace them as your project matures.

• ResultTitle: Uses DisplayName, falling back to Name. Update /Views/SearchStaxPage/Index.cshtml if you change the title field.
• ResultURL: Resolves item URLs, including media via MediaManager.GetMediaUrl and content via LinkManager.GetItemUrl in the current site context. Update /Views/SearchStaxPage/Index.cshtml if you change the URL field.
• RenderedContent: Indexes text fields for the page and its rendering data sources, excluding IDs listed in <renderedContentFieldExcludedRenderings in App_Config/Modules/SearchStax/SearchStax.Cloud.config.

Note: Computed fields add CPU load. Minimize custom computed fields and add them carefully in App_Config/Modules/SearchStax/SearchStax.Connector.Provider.config.

Need to change module configs? See Modify Configs for more information.

What's next?

After you verify the Sitecore index, preview your search in SearchStax.