AdditionalSearchParameters type behavior

[ValPolOff]

Hi
I recently upgraded the following packages in my project:

"typesense": "^2.0.3",
"typesense-instantsearch-adapter": "^2.9.0"

Previously, I was using:

"typesense": "^1.4.4",
"typesense-instantsearch-adapter": "^2.8.0"

In version 2.8.0, when passing invalid values to additionalSearchParameters, TypeScript would throw type errors — for example, if I did:

additionalSearchParameters: {
  group_limit: 'lol', // ❌ TS error
}

This was helpful for catching mistakes early.

However, in 2.9.0, this type-checking seems to be relaxed — now TypeScript doesn't complain about incorrect values in additionalSearchParameters, even though they may still cause a runtime RequestMalformed error from the API.

Could you clarify:

Was this relaxed type behavior intentional?

Is there a recommended way to enforce strict typing on additionalSearchParameters in the latest version?

Another reason I updated the library is related to the infix parameter. In v2.8.0, the type expects an array:

infix: ['off', 'off', 'always'] // ✅ TS accepts this

But when using this with a Typesense cluster running v28, it results in an error:
RequestMalformed: Request failed with HTTP code 400 | Server said: One or more search parameters are malformed.
After reviewing the documentation, I discovered that the server expects a comma-separated string like:
infix: 'off, off, always' // ✅ works at runtime
But then I had to bypass TypeScript like this:
infix: 'off, off, always' as any

Could you please clarify:

What is the correct type for infix expected by the server in v28?

Should the types in the adapter match this format (i.e., allow a string)?

[jasonbosco]

Typesense Server only accepts a comma-separated string value for infix:

infix: 'off, off, always'

But in typesense-js we started allowing an array version of comma-separated parameters and do the conversion from array to a CSV string before sending it to the server.

@tharropoulos We should definitely allow for a string in the types as well, because that's what Typesense Server expects.

The array data type is a convenience method just in the JS library.

[tharropoulos]

The issue is in the main JS library. We're only allowing either an array of Infix operations or a single one. I'll implement a fix for this on the Typesense JS repo and then update the dependency here.

[ValPolOff]

Thank you for the quick response regarding the infix parameter!

I also wanted to ask about the typing for additionalSearchParameters in v2.9.0. Previously (in v2.8.0), TypeScript would correctly flag invalid values - for example, passing a string like "lol" for group_limit would trigger a type error since it expects a number.

[tharropoulos]

I also wanted to ask about the typing for additionalSearchParameters in v2.9.0. Previously (in v2.8.0), TypeScript would correctly flag invalid values - for example, passing a string like "lol" for group_limit would trigger a type error since it expects a number.

It now doesn't?

[tharropoulos]

I've made a PR for this on the main repo.

[ValPolOff]

I also wanted to ask about the typing for additionalSearchParameters in v2.9.0. Previously (in v2.8.0), TypeScript would correctly flag invalid values - for example, passing a string like "lol" for group_limit would trigger a type error since it expects a number.

It now doesn't?

In the latest version it works like this:

In the older version it worked like this:

[tharropoulos]

Thanks for reporting this, I've addressed this in #243

[ValPolOff]

I've integrated both PRs (#290 and #243) into my project.
TypeScript now correctly validates additionalSearchParameters (like group_limit and sort_by), showing errors for invalid types as expected, but I'm still getting TypeScript errors when using the correct comma-separated string format.

[tharropoulos]

Can you share the error? Should be on v.2.9.1-2

[ValPolOff]

Type '"off, off, always"' is not assignable to type 'OperationMode | OperationMode[] | { error: "Invalid operation mode"; value: string; } | undefined'.ts(2322)
(property) infix?: OperationMode | OperationMode[] | {
    error: "Invalid operation mode";
    value: string;
} | undefined