tip #37: Fuzzy-Search for items & recipes

2026-07-17 17:48:21 +00:00
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+# Tip #37 — Fuzzy-Search for items & recipes
+
+**Date:** 2026-07-17  
+**Category:** search  
+**Source:** MC-Survival Wiki Daily Tip (cron @ 18:00 MESZ)
+
+## Fuzzy-Search for items & recipes
+
+Fuzzy search lets the wiki match items and recipes even when a player misspells the name, for example 'diamnd sword' or 'nethrite' instead of the correct spelling. It solves the very common problem that players land on a recipe URL from Google or a friend's chat message and cannot type the canonical item name. Real-world server logs show that exact-match-only search produces a high bounce rate on the first query, and the fix is a Levenshtein or trigram fallback on top of the existing Prisma query. With a small alias table, this also doubles as a hand-curated 'what players actually call things' layer.
+
+## Implementation tips
+
+1. Add a server function in functions.ts that wraps Prisma queries with a Levenshtein or trigram fallback when no exact match is found.
+2. Use fuse.js (lightweight, no deps issues) on the client for instant-as-you-type feedback before hitting the server.
+3. Index item aliases (e.g. 'netherite scrap' ↔ 'ancient debris') in a small ItemAlias table — most leverage for least code.
+4. Highlight matched characters in the result list so users see WHY a fuzzy hit scored.
+
+## Watch out
+
+- Fuzzy search is expensive — debounce input by 200ms and never run it on every keystroke without a limit.