Project Title

sonic — Fast, lightweight & schema-less search backend alternative to Elasticsearch

Overview

Sonic is a Rust-based, fast, lightweight, and schema-less search backend designed as an alternative to Elasticsearch. It is capable of handling search queries in microseconds, consuming minimal RAM, and boasting a low CPU footprint. Sonic is an identifier index that returns IDs for matched documents, which can then be resolved from an external database.

Key Features

Ultra-fast search queries in microseconds
Low memory usage (~30MB RAM)
Low CPU footprint
Schema-less and identifier-based indexing
Supports natural language search queries and auto-completion

Use Cases

Use case 1: Crisp uses Sonic to index half a billion objects for searching in messages, conversations, contacts, and helpdesk articles.
Use case 2: Scrumpy utilizes Sonic for its search functionalities.
Use case 3: Ideal for applications requiring a lightweight search solution with minimal resource consumption.

Advantages

Advantage 1: High performance with quick response times.
Advantage 2: Minimal resource usage, making it suitable for resource-constrained environments.
Advantage 3: Easy integration with external databases for document retrieval.

Limitations / Considerations

Limitation 1: As an identifier index, it requires an external database for document storage and retrieval.
Limitation 2: May not be suitable for use cases that require full-text search capabilities similar to Elasticsearch.

Elasticsearch: A full-featured search backend that Sonic aims to provide an alternative to, with a focus on heavy-duty search capabilities.
MeiliSearch: A RESTful search engine that is also designed to be lightweight and user-friendly, but with a different approach to indexing and search.
Typesense: A typo-tolerant, lightweight search engine that is easy to scale and integrates well with various programming languages.

Basic Information

GitHub: https://github.com/valeriansaliou/sonic
Stars: 20,971
License: Unknown
Last Commit: 2025-09-17

📊 Project Information

Project Name: sonic
GitHub URL: https://github.com/valeriansaliou/sonic
Programming Language: Rust
⭐ Stars: 20,971
🍴 Forks: 607
📅 Created: 2019-02-26
🔄 Last Updated: 2025-09-17

🏷️ Project Topics

Topics: [, ", b, a, c, k, e, n, d, ", ,, , ", d, a, t, a, b, a, s, e, ", ,, , ", g, r, a, p, h, ", ,, , ", i, n, d, e, x, ", ,, , ", i, n, f, r, a, s, t, r, u, c, t, u, r, e, ", ,, , ", r, u, s, t, ", ,, , ", s, e, a, r, c, h, ", ,, , ", s, e, a, r, c, h, -, e, n, g, i, n, e, ", ,, , ", s, e, a, r, c, h, -, s, e, r, v, e, r, ", ,, , ", s, e, r, v, e, r, ", ]