Browse documents and run search previews

Once an instance is connected, the document browser is the fastest way to verify your data is indexed and to test relevance. It works as a live search preview against the same Meilisearch endpoint your production app uses.

Before you start

• You need at least one connected Meilisearch instance with at least one index that has documents in it. If you haven't connected an instance yet, see connect your first Meilisearch instance.

Steps

1. From the dashboard, click an instance to open it.
2. You'll see a list of indexes. Click the index you want to browse.
3. The browse page loads the first 20 documents in a paginated table. Use Previous and Next at the bottom to page through more.
4. To run a search, type into the Search this index field at the top. The results update live as you type — no submit button needed.
5. Each result row shows the matched fields. Click a row to see the full document JSON.

What happens next

The search box uses the same Meilisearch HTTP search endpoint your application would call, with the same default settings. If a query returns nothing or returns the wrong results, that's a signal to edit your index settings — typically the searchable attributes, ranking rules, or synonyms.

Tips

• Searches you run from this preview are captured into your search analytics. They show up under "Test searches" — production traffic is captured separately.
• Empty queries return all documents in the order Meilisearch ships them — useful for spot-checking the index without filtering.