Aether CMS introduces intelligent search with auto-detection, instant JSON indexing, and flexible implementation for any website or theme.

Hey Aether community! I've got some incredibly exciting news to share with you. After weeks of thoughtful development and testing, I'm thrilled to announce that intelligent search functionality has landed in Aether CMS – and it's going to completely transform how your users discover and navigate your content!

The Magic of "It Just Works"

You know what I love most about this new feature? It's smart enough to get out of your way.

Picture this: You're building a documentation site for your startup. You create a simple search.html template in your theme, and boom – Aether automatically detects it, generates a comprehensive search index of all your content, and serves it up as a lightning-fast JSON file. No configuration files, no complex setup wizards, no headaches. It literally just works! 🪄

Built for Real-World Needs

After Blog-Doc's search functionality, I designed Aether search system with developers and real websites in mind. Whether you're running:

• A bustling tech blog with hundreds of posts about the latest frameworks
• A comprehensive documentation site helping users navigate complex APIs
• A creative portfolio showcasing years of projects and case studies
• An e-commerce site where customers need to find products quickly

This search functionality adapts to your needs, not the other way around.

The User Experience We've Always Wanted

Let's be honest – most CMS search features feel like afterthoughts: slow, clunky, and often returning irrelevant results. I said "No more" to that experience.

Aether search is blazingly fast because it generates a smart JSON index that lives right in your theme's assets folder. When someone types in your search box, they get instant, relevant results with intelligent scoring that prioritizes title matches, considers content relevance, and even factors in tags and categories.

And the best part? You control what appears in search results. No more mysterious content snippets that don't make sense. Use your carefully crafted excerpts or SEO descriptions – you decide what your users see.

Flexibility That Scales With You

Here's where it gets really exciting. This isn't just about search pages – it's about search everywhere.

Want a sleek search bar in your header? ✅
Need a compact search widget in your sidebar? ✅
Dreaming of a command-palette style search overlay? ✅
Building a custom search experience that integrates with your design? ✅

Since the search index is just a clean JSON file, you can build any search interface you can imagine. I've included a lot of examples to get you started, but the creative possibilities are endless.

Theme Developers, This One's for You

I know how much thought goes into crafting the perfect theme experience. That's why I made search functionality completely theme-driven.

You decide if your theme wants search capabilities. Your theme controls how search looks and feels. Your theme gets a beautifully organized search index delivered exactly where it needs it. Aether handle all the complex backend logic so you can focus on creating amazing user experiences.

The Technical Elegance You'll Appreciate

Under the hood, I've built something pretty special. The search system:

• Detects search templates automatically – supports search.html, find.html, or lookup.html
• Generates optimized indexes – only uses the data it needs for maximum performance
• Respects content structure – handles nested pages, parent-child relationships, and complex taxonomies
• Maintains clean architecture – all logic lives in a dedicated search-utils.js file
• Zero breaking changes – works seamlessly with existing Aether installations

Static Site Generation? No Problem!

Here's something that'll make you smile: if your search works in the CMS, it automatically works in your static site. No extra configuration, no additional build steps, no worries.

When you generate your static site, the search index gets copied right along with your theme assets. Your search functionality continues working perfectly in the static environment – same performance, same features, same user experience. It's the kind of seamless integration that just makes sense.

Real-World Impact

Imagine your users' delight when they can finally find that tutorial they bookmarked months ago, or when visitors to your company blog can instantly discover all your posts about a specific technology.

Great search doesn't just improve user experience – it transforms how people interact with your content. It turns casual browsers into engaged readers and helps your best content get the attention it deserves.

Ready to Dive In?

The search functionality is ready to use right now! Whether you want to start with a simple search page or jump straight into building a custom search experience, visit the search comprehensive documentation and examples to guide you every step of the way.

The header search bar on the Aether documentation site and the search box on my static blog search page are live examples of Aether's search functionality.

I can't wait to see the creative search experiences you build with this new functionality. I have a feeling that Aether search is going to unlock some truly spectacular websites.

Happy building, and even happier searching! 🔍✨

Got questions about the new search functionality? Found a creative use case I didn't think of? I'd love to hear from you in the community discussions!

Note: The background image is a photo by farny downloaded from MorgueFile.