Summary

WP Search with Algolia 3.0.0 upgrades its bundled Algolia PHP SDK from version 3 to version 4. This is a breaking upgrade of Algolia’s own client library — not something specific to this plugin — and it changes how the SDK is imported and called throughout.

If your theme or custom code calls the Algolia PHP SDK directly (rather than only through the plugin’s own settings/UI), you will need to update that code. This document explains what changed and how to update it.

Official Algolia reference: Upgrade the PHP API client to version 4

Why this happened

Algolia generates its v4 clients from OpenAPI specifications for consistency across all their SDKs (PHP, JS, Python, etc.). As part of that regeneration, Algolia:

1. Moved the SearchClient class into a new Api namespace.
2. Removed the old initIndex() / index-object pattern entirely.
3. Moved every index-level method onto the main $client, with the index name passed in as a parameter instead.

This plugin’s bundled copy of the SDK is namespace-prefixed (to avoid conflicts with other plugins), so the same structural change shows up under the plugin’s own namespace:

	v3 (2.14.1 and earlier)	v4 (3.0.0+)
Namespace root	Algolia\AlgoliaSearch	Algolia\AlgoliaSearch
As bundled by this plugin	WebDevStudios\WPSWA\Algolia\AlgoliaSearch\SearchClient	WebDevStudios\WPSWA\Algolia\AlgoliaSearch\Api\SearchClient

Step 1 — Update the import

// Before (SDK v3 / plugin 2.14.1)
use WebDevStudios\WPSWA\Algolia\AlgoliaSearch\SearchClient;

// After (SDK v4 / plugin 3.0.0+)
use WebDevStudios\WPSWA\Algolia\AlgoliaSearch\Api\SearchClient;

Client creation itself didn’t change — SearchClient::create( $appId, $apiKey ) still works the same way.

Step 2 — Remove the initIndex() pattern

This is the biggest functional change. In v3, you got an “index object” and called methods on it. In v4, there is no index object — every method lives on $client directly, and you pass the index name as the first argument.

// v3
$index = $client->initIndex( 'INDEX_NAME' );
$index->search( 'QUERY' );

// v4
$client->searchSingleIndex( 'INDEX_NAME', [ 'query' => 'QUERY' ] );

v4 methods accept either a model class or a plain associative array for parameters — arrays are perfectly fine and are the simplest option when migrating existing code.

Common method renames (v3 → v4)

v3 ($index->...)	v4 ($client->..., 'INDEX_NAME', ...)
$index->search('QUERY')	$client->searchSingleIndex('INDEX_NAME', ['query' => 'QUERY'])
$index->getObject($id)	$client->getObject('INDEX_NAME', $id)
$index->saveObject($obj)	$client->saveObject('INDEX_NAME', $obj)
$index->saveObjects($objs)	$client->saveObjects('INDEX_NAME', $objs)
$index->partialUpdateObject($obj)	$client->partialUpdateObject('INDEX_NAME', $id, $obj)
$index->deleteObject($id)	$client->deleteObject('INDEX_NAME', $id)
$index->deleteObjects($ids)	$client->deleteObjects('INDEX_NAME', $ids)
$index->getSettings()	$client->getSettings('INDEX_NAME')
$index->setSettings($settings)	$client->setSettings('INDEX_NAME', $settings)
$index->exists()	$client->indexExists('INDEX_NAME')
$index->clearObjects()	$client->clearObjects('INDEX_NAME')
$index->searchForFacetValues($facet, $q)	$client->searchForFacetValues('INDEX_NAME', $facet, ['facetQuery' => $q])
$client->multipleQueries([...])	$client->search((new SearchMethodParams())->setRequests([...]))
$client->copyIndex($src, $dst)	$client->operationIndex($src, ['operation' => 'copy', 'destination' => $dst])
$index->saveObjects($records)->wait()	$response = $client->saveObjects(...); $client->waitForTask('INDEX_NAME', $response['taskID']);

This is a shortened, practical list. For the full method-by-method reference table covering every API client (Search, Recommend, A/B Testing, Analytics, etc.), see Algolia’s own guide: https://www.algolia.com/doc/libraries/sdk/upgrade/php

A note on this plugin’s own backward-compatibility shim

As of 3.0.0, this plugin ships an internal adapter (Algolia_Index_Legacy_Client_Adapter) that lets code calling Algolia_Index::get_index()->someMethod(...) through the plugin’s own objects keep working for methods that kept their original name in v4 (like getObject, saveObject, setSettings). It automatically forwards the call to the real v4 client and inserts the index name for you.

This shim only covers code that goes through the plugin’s own Algolia_Index wrapper — it does not apply if your code instantiates the raw SDK SearchClient directly (as in the reported issue), and it does not cover v4 methods that were renamed (like search → searchSingleIndex, exists → indexExists).

Recommended approach going forward

Rather than importing the plugin’s internal, namespace-prefixed SDK classes directly in theme code, use the plugin’s own public accessor so future SDK upgrades don’t break your theme again:

global $algolia;

$client = $algolia->get_api()->get_client();

if ( $client ) {
    $results = $client->searchSingleIndex( 'INDEX_NAME', [ 'query' => 'QUERY' ] );
}

This returns an already-configured SearchClient instance (using the site’s stored App ID + API key), without your code needing to know the internal vendor namespace at all.

Server requirement reminder

WP Search with Algolia 3.0.0 also requires PHP 8.1 or higher (a requirement of the new SDK itself). Please confirm this before re-applying the update.

Summary checklist

1. Update any use ... SearchClient; imports to add \Api\ before SearchClient.
2. Replace every $index = $client->initIndex(...); $index->method(...) with $client->method('INDEX_NAME', ...).
3. Check method names against the rename table above (or the full official table).
4. Prefer global $algolia; $algolia->get_api()->get_client(); over importing the plugin’s internal SDK classes directly.
5. Confirm PHP 8.1+ on the server.
6. Full official reference: https://www.algolia.com/doc/libraries/sdk/upgrade/php