---
title: "Discussion on \"Why your search bar is slow (and it's probably not the reason you think)\" | Hashnode"
description: "Discussion on \"Why your search bar is slow (and it's probably not the reason you think)\". A telecom platform I worked on let customers manage their contacts — over 50,000 of them, organized into groups ranging from 500 to 3,000 people each. Businesses used these groups to send messages, ru"
url: "https://hashnode.com/posts/why-your-search-bar-is-slow-and-it-s-probably-not-the-reason-you-think/6a8294912d5187fa9b6b554d"
---

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# [Why your search bar is slow (and it's probably not the reason you think)](https://blog.aakibshah.com.np/why-your-search-bar-is-slow-and-it-s-probably-not-the-reason-you-think?utm_source=hashnode&utm_medium=feed)

A telecom platform I worked on let customers manage their contacts — over 50,000 of them, organized into groups ranging from 500 to 3,000 people each. Businesses used these groups to send messages, ru

Aug 17 · 4 min read · blog.aakibshah.com.np  
Updated Aug 19  
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## Written by

[Aakib Shah Sayed](https://hashnode.com/@Skyz)

@Skyz

  
[View profile](https://hashnode.com/@Skyz)

Tech Explorer

## Responses 4

Markdown supported · ⌘↵ to post

[Duko tools](https://hashnode.com/@talha24ramzan)

[Aug 18](https://hashnode.com/posts/why-your-search-bar-is-slow-and-it-s-probably-not-the-reason-you-think/6a8294912d5187fa9b6b554d/comment/6a84605c0da0d1694bc9c12c)

The debounce + index combo is the one most people skip half of, adding an index without debouncing still fires a query per keystroke, and debouncing without an index just delays the same expensive scan. Needed both to actually fix it, which the writeup makes clear.

"Bigger server means doing the same wasteful thing slightly faster" is a good line for the instinct to scale before profiling.

[Aakib Shah Sayed](https://hashnode.com/@Skyz)

[Aug 19](https://hashnode.com/posts/why-your-search-bar-is-slow-and-it-s-probably-not-the-reason-you-think/6a8294912d5187fa9b6b554d/comment/6a84605c0da0d1694bc9c12c#reply-6a8516cd428888507bc1a8ae)

Yup Debouncing + indexing fix is the way to go.. The every keystoke

[Julian Neagu](https://hashnode.com/@julianneagulab)

[Aug 17](https://hashnode.com/posts/why-your-search-bar-is-slow-and-it-s-probably-not-the-reason-you-think/6a8294912d5187fa9b6b554d/comment/6a830726f58da046dcc1535f)

This is the kind of slowdown that looks like a scaling problem until you trace it. I’ve hit the same thing building small tools. Usually the first win is doing less work, not adding more servers.

[Aakib Shah Sayed](https://hashnode.com/@Skyz)

[Aug 19](https://hashnode.com/posts/why-your-search-bar-is-slow-and-it-s-probably-not-the-reason-you-think/6a8294912d5187fa9b6b554d/comment/6a830726f58da046dcc1535f#reply-6a8516e4ca9057d1049094ff)

Yes