NodeBB Global Chat Search

Standard chat search in NodeBB works well when you already know which room the message is in. But sometimes you remember the message — not the chat.

NodeBB Global Chat Search solves this by adding a global search bar to the chat sidebar, allowing you to search across all conversations you have ever participated in.

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🚀 Features

Global Context
Searches across all room IDs associated with your user account.

Performance Focused
Messages are fetched in batches of 50 to keep the server responsive even during deep searches.

Sticky UI
Your search query and results remain visible when navigating between chat rooms.

Smart Navigation
Clicking a search result scrolls directly to the message and highlights it with a smooth transition.

Rich Previews
Results include room names, sender avatars, and timestamps, matching the native NodeBB interface.

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🛠 Technical Details

Hooks Used

• static:app.load — server initialization
• filter:scripts.client — injecting the search interface into the chat UI

DOM Management

Uses a MutationObserver to ensure the search bar is injected correctly regardless of how the chat page loads.

State Management

Implements window.chatSearchState so search results persist during Ajaxify navigation.

Compatibility

Built for NodeBB ^3.0.0

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📥 Installation

Install the plugin via terminal:

npm install nodebb-plugin-chat-search

Then:

1. Activate the plugin in the Admin Control Panel (ACP)
2. Rebuild your NodeBB instance
3. Restart the forum

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🔗 Links

GitHub
https://github.com/palmoni5/nodebb-plugin-chat-search

Issues
Report bugs or request features via the repository issue tracker.

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💬 Feedback

Feedback, suggestions, and feature requests are welcome.
If this plugin helps you, consider starring the repository ⭐