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apache/lucene

A high-performance, full-featured text search engine library written in Java, used as the foundation for building search applications.

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What is it?

Apache Lucene is a text search engine library written in Java. It provides the indexing and query machinery that search applications are built on, so developers embed it in their own programs rather than running it as a standalone server.

The project is maintained under the Apache Software Foundation and is built with Gradle. Building it requires JDK 25, and the source can be cloned from git or downloaded as a source distribution. Contribution guidelines, developer docs and a migration guide are kept in the repository.

Because Lucene is a library, its APIs are used directly from Java code. Detailed usage documentation and Javadoc are published on the project's website rather than in this repository.

Key features

  • 01Full-text indexing and querying implemented as a Java library.
  • 02Built with Gradle and requires JDK 25.
  • 03Maintained under the Apache Software Foundation with Apache-2.0 licensing.
  • 04Provides developer documentation and a migration guide in the repository.

Use cases

  • Adding full-text search to a Java application or service.
  • Building custom search engines or indexing pipelines on the JVM.
  • Studying or contributing to information retrieval internals.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install JDK 25 using your package manager or download it manually

  2. 2

    Clone Lucene's git repository (or download the source distribution)

  3. 3

    Run the Gradle launcher script

    gradlew

Things to know

  • Building from source requires JDK 25 or later.
  • The README covers only basic build setup; it is a library, so you must integrate it into your own application.

Topics

#search#information-retrieval#java#search-engine#indexing#backend#lucene#nosql

FAQ

What is lucene?
A high-performance, full-featured text search engine library written in Java, used as the foundation for building search applications. Apache Lucene is a text search engine library written in Java. It provides the indexing and query machinery that search applications are built on, so developers embed it in their own programs rather than running it as a standalone server.
Is lucene free to use? What license does it have?
lucene is open source under the Apache-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is lucene still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to lucene was on Oct 22, 2026.
What can I use lucene for?
Adding full-text search to a Java application or service. Building custom search engines or indexing pipelines on the JVM. Studying or contributing to information retrieval internals.
How do I install lucene?
Install JDK 25 using your package manager or download it manually Clone Lucene's git repository (or download the source distribution) Run the Gradle launcher script: gradlew
Where can I get lucene?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/apache/lucene

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