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stack/docs/scratchpads/70-semantic-search-api.md
Jason Woltje 3969dd5598 feat(#70): implement semantic search API with Ollama embeddings
Updated semantic search to use OllamaEmbeddingService instead of OpenAI:
- Replaced EmbeddingService with OllamaEmbeddingService in SearchService
- Added configurable similarity threshold (SEMANTIC_SEARCH_SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD)
- Updated both semanticSearch() and hybridSearch() methods
- Added comprehensive tests for semantic search functionality
- Updated controller documentation to reflect Ollama requirement
- All tests passing with 85%+ coverage

Related changes:
- Updated knowledge.service.versions.spec.ts to include OllamaEmbeddingService
- Added similarity threshold environment variable to .env.example

Fixes #70

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-02 15:15:04 -06:00

2.0 KiB

Issue #70: [KNOW-018] Semantic Search API

Objective

Implement semantic (vector) search endpoint that uses embeddings generated by issue #69 to enable natural language search over knowledge entries.

Approach

  1. Review existing embedding schema and pgvector setup
  2. Review OllamaEmbeddingService from issue #69
  3. Create DTOs for semantic search request/response
  4. Write tests first (TDD)
  5. Implement semantic search in SearchService using pgvector cosine similarity
  6. Create controller endpoint POST /api/knowledge/search/semantic
  7. Add configurable similarity threshold
  8. Test with real queries
  9. Run quality checks and code review

Progress

  • Create scratchpad
  • Review existing code (embedding schema, OllamaEmbeddingService)
  • Add similarity threshold environment variable
  • Write tests (TDD - RED)
  • Update SearchService to use OllamaEmbeddingService instead of OpenAI (TDD - GREEN)
  • Update hybridSearch to use OllamaEmbeddingService
  • Update test files to include OllamaEmbeddingService mocks
  • All tests passing
  • Type check and build successful
  • Run code review
  • Run QA checks
  • Commit changes
  • Close issue

Testing

  • Unit tests for SearchService.semanticSearch()
  • Controller tests for POST /api/knowledge/search/semantic
  • Integration tests with real embeddings
  • Target: 85%+ coverage

Notes

  • Use pgvector cosine similarity operator (<=>)
  • Lower distance = higher similarity
  • Results should include similarity scores
  • Similarity threshold should be configurable via environment variable
  • Reuse OllamaEmbeddingService from issue #69

Findings

  • The semantic search endpoint already exists in search.controller.ts (line 111)
  • The SearchService already has semanticSearch() method (line 449)
  • BUT: It currently uses OpenAI-based EmbeddingService instead of OllamaEmbeddingService
  • Need to update SearchService to inject and use OllamaEmbeddingService
  • Need to add configurable similarity threshold
  • Controller endpoint already properly configured with guards and permissions