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Install

Requirements​

  • XenForo 2.3.0 or newer.
  • PHP 7.2 or newer.
  • MySQL 5.7 / MariaDB 10.2 with utf8mb4.

Enhanced Search (XFES) is optional. When it is installed, the search-engine diagnostics on zero-result clusters get typo correction and a relevance verdict; without it, diagnostics fall back to tag suggestions.

Install​

  1. Download the release archive and extract it into your installation. The src/addons/MC/SearchAnalytics/ directory should sit alongside the other add-ons.
  2. Navigate to AdminCP > Add-ons and click Install next to [MC] Search Analytics. The add-on creates five storage tables (xf_mc_sa_search_log, xf_mc_sa_search_aggregate, xf_mc_sa_search_cluster, xf_mc_sa_search_trending_snapshot, xf_mc_sa_search_denylist) and adds mcsa_widget_optin to xf_user_option.
  3. Five cron entries are activated automatically: Daily rollup, Retention prune, Trending, Widget cache, and Diagnostics sweep.

First-run checklist​

  1. Review the privacy posture at AdminCP > Setup > Options > [MC] Search Analytics > General. The defaults are conservative: Hash guest IPs on, Attribute searches to users off, direct messages excluded by design. See Privacy.
  2. Pick the content types to capture under the Capture section: Capture these search types. All registered content types with a search handler are listed; _global (unscoped searches) is always captured.
  3. Add staff or moderator groups to Excluded user groups so admin searches do not pollute analytics.
  4. Confirm cron entries are active at AdminCP > Tools > Cron entries: Daily rollup, Retention prune, Trending, Widget cache, Diagnostics sweep.
  5. Grant the View Search Analytics widgets permission to the member groups that should see the public widgets. See Permissions.
  6. Optionally remove branding under AdminCP > Setup > Options > [MC] Search Analytics > General.

Verifying the install​

  • Confirm the add-on is Active at AdminCP > Add-ons.
  • Visit AdminCP > Logs > Search Analytics. The Overview dashboard should render with zero data.
  • Run a search on the front-end, wait for the buffer flush (default 30 seconds maximum age), and refresh the dashboard. The search should appear in the raw lists.
  • Confirm all five cron entries are listed at AdminCP > Tools > Cron entries with [MC] Search Analytics in the title.