HXSE — Code-First Search
Code-first search & filter for WordPress. Define filters with PHP arrays, output with a shortcode. Powered by htmx — no page reloads.
Use with caution
HXSE — Code-First Search works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. Was last updated 1 month ago, and scores 60/100 on our health check.
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (<10 active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where HXSE — Code-First Search stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| ajax | >100 |
| custom post type | >100 |
| filter | >100 |
| search | >100 |
| shortcode | >100 |
About HXSE — Code-First Search
From the official readme · v2.2.0Description
HXSE — Code-First Search lets you define search filters with PHP arrays and output them with a simple shortcode. No JavaScript configuration required. Powered by htmx for seamless, no-reload filtering.
Why HXSE?
- Code-first — Define everything in PHP arrays. Version-control friendly.
- No page reloads — htmx handles all filtering and pagination seamlessly.
- AI-friendly — Simple, consistent schema structure that AI agents can read and write.
- No dependencies — htmx is bundled. No jQuery required.
- Fully customizable — All styles use CSS custom properties (design tokens). Ships with
DESIGN.mdfor a complete variable reference and customization examples.
Filter Types
search— Keyword searchtaxonomy— Filter by taxonomy / categorymeta— Filter by custom field value or rangedate— Filter by yearrelation— Filter by related postselect— Filter external-source data by field value (api / rss / xml, v1.8.0+)
UI Types
select— Dropdownradio— Radio buttonscheckbox— Multiple selectionrange— Min/max slider (for numeric meta fields)
Pagination Modes
pager— Numbered page links with count displayloadmore— “Load more” button
Basic Usage
Define a schema in your theme’s functions.php:
add_filter( 'hxse_schemas', function( $schemas ) {
$schemas['staff_search'] = [
'post_type' => 'staff',
'filters' => [
['key' => 'keyword', 'type' => 'search', 'label' => 'キーワード'],
['key' => 'department', 'type' => 'taxonomy', 'label' => '部署',
'taxonomy' => 'department',
'ui' => 'checkbox',
],
],
'pagination' => [
'mode' => 'pager',
'per_page' => 12,
],
'template' => 'hxse-staff.php',
];
return $schemas;
} );
Then place the shortcode on any page:
[hxse id="staff_search"]
External Services
This plugin bundles htmx (https://htmx.org/) for handling AJAX requests without page reloads. htmx is included locally within the plugin and does not make any external network requests. It is licensed under the BSD 2-Clause License.
- htmx: https://htmx.org/
- htmx License: https://github.com/bigskysoftware/htmx/blob/master/LICENSE
Installation
- Upload the
hxse-code-first-searchfolder to/wp-content/plugins/. - Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
- Add
hxse_schemasfilter to your theme’sfunctions.phpor a custom plugin. - Add
[hxse id="your_schema_id"]shortcode to any page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to write JavaScript?
No. HXSE handles all htmx configuration automatically. You only write PHP to define your filters.
Can I use multiple search instances on one page?
Yes. Use the prefix option in url_params to avoid parameter conflicts.
How do I customize the result template?
Create hxse/your-template.php in your theme directory and specify it in the schema’s template key.
Does it work with custom fields from ACF?
Yes. Use type: 'meta' with the appropriate meta_key.
Changelog
2.2.0
- Added: Sort in static (Distan) mode — the
sortschema (wp_query keysdate_desc/date_asc/title_asc/title_desc/menu_order) is reproduced client-side; composes with filters and pagination, resets to page 1 on change - Docs: Documented static-site mode, client-side pagination, and sort across the bundled reference docs (ai-reference.md, llms.txt, HXSE-manual.md, DESIGN.md)
2.1.0
- Added: Client-side pagination in static (Distan) mode — honors the schema’s
paginationsettings (per_page,range, prev/next/first/last labels,count_format); no server or REST needed - Added: Pagination works with or without filters — filters narrow the set first, then results are paged, and the page resets to 1 when a filter changes
- Note: Set
pagination.modetonone(orper_pageto 0) to render all items on a single page, as in 2.0.0; abovehxse_static_max_itemsthe plain-list fallback still applies
2.0.0
- Added: Static-site (Distan) mode — when a page is rendered by a static site generator, HXSE now serves a self-contained, htmx/REST-free variant so search keeps working after WordPress is removed from production
- Added: Auto-detection of Distan generation via the
X-Distan-Renderrequest header (no configuration); force it per schema with'static' => true|false, or globally via thehxse_static_activefilter - Added: Client-side filtering over the baked result set for
wp_querysources —search,taxonomy, and non-rangemetafilters run in the browser againstdata-*attributes; live count and no-results are updated without a server - Added:
hxse_static_max_itemsfilter (default 500) — above the cap, static mode degrades to a plain paged list instead of shipping an oversized dataset to the browser - Note: In static mode htmx and
hxse.jsare not enqueued (they depend on the REST endpoint that a static site does not have); only the stylesheet is loaded - Note:
range/date/relationfilters, sort, and thetabledisplay are not reproduced client-side in this release; externalapi/rss/xml/sourcesare baked as a filter-less snapshot
1.9.1
- Security: Remote API/RSS fetch now uses
reject_unsafe_urlsto block requests to internal IPs and unsafe ports (SSRF hardening, series-wide rollout of the fix introduced in HXFE 1.4.6)
1.9.0
- Added: Filter, sort, and pagination support for merged mode (
sources) — the v1.8.0 external-source filter UI now works on merged multi-source data (opt-in: enabled whenfilters,sort, orpaginationis present in the schema) - Added: REST endpoint handling for merged-mode schemas — filter interactions and pager navigation now update results without page reloads, same as other modes
- Note: Merged items are normalized to a common shape (
title/link/date/excerpt/source), so filters and sort definitions target these fields — e.g. aselectfilter onsourcelets visitors narrow results to one feed - Note: All filtering runs in memory against merged cached data. No remote re-fetches on filter interactions. Schemas without
filters/sort/paginationbehave exactly as before.
1.8.0
- Added: Filter UI for external sources (
api/rss/xml) —searchandselectfilter types now work on fetched data (opt-in: enabled whenfilters,sort, orpaginationis present in the schema) - Added:
selectfilter type — exact-match filtering on any item field, with'options' => 'auto'to generate choices from the data automatically - Added:
sortsupport for external sources — sort definitions acceptfield,order, andcompare(‘string’ / ‘numeric’ / ‘date’) - Added: Pagination for external sources —
per_page,show_count, andshow_pageswork on fetched data via in-memory slicing (pager mode only; loadmore is not supported for external sources) - Added:
items_keyschema key — extract the item list from wrapped JSON payloads (dot notation supported, e.g. connpass’sevents) - Added: Bundled default template
templates/api.php— external-source schemas without a custom template now render a clean list instead of raw JSON debug output - Note: All filtering, sorting, and pagination run in memory against cached data. Filter interactions never trigger remote re-fetches.
- Note: Fully backward compatible — schemas without
filters/sort/paginationbehave exactly as before, and custom templates keep receiving data unchanged.
For developers
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FAQ
HXSE — Code-First Search: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 2, 2026
Is HXSE — Code-First Search free?
Yes. HXSE — Code-First Search is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is HXSE — Code-First Search safe to use in 2026?
HXSE — Code-First Search works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. Was last updated 1 month ago, and scores 60/100 on our health check.
How many websites use HXSE — Code-First Search?
HXSE — Code-First Search is active on <10 WordPress websites and has been downloaded 706 times since it launched in June 2026. It was downloaded 61 times in the last 30 days.
Does HXSE — Code-First Search work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested HXSE — Code-First Search up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.0 or newer.
What PHP version does HXSE — Code-First Search need?
HXSE — Code-First Search requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was HXSE — Code-First Search last updated?
The latest version, 2.2.0, was released on August 20, 2026 (1 month ago).
Who makes HXSE — Code-First Search?
HXSE — Code-First Search is developed and maintained by youheiokubo.
What are the best alternatives to HXSE — Code-First Search?
The most popular alternatives to HXSE — Code-First Search are zipaddr-jp (50K+ installs), SearchWP Live Ajax Search (50K+ installs) and WP-Polls (40K+ installs).
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