SemiLayerDocs

Similar — Recipes

Three shapes for three common detail-page widgets.

Product catalog — "You might also like"

Six nearest neighbors on the product detail page. Minimum score keeps the panel quiet when neighbors get distant.

similarproducts
products: {
  source: 'main',
  table: 'products',
  fields: {
    id:          { type: 'number', primaryKey: true },
    name:        { type: 'text',   searchable: { weight: 3 } },
    description: { type: 'text',   searchable: true },
    category:    { type: 'enum',   values: ['headphones', 'footwear', 'apparel'] },
    brand:       { type: 'text' },
  },
  grants: { similar: 'public' },
}

Docs — "Related articles"

A sidebar on every doc page. Includes section as metadata so the card can render a breadcrumb.

similararticles
articles: {
  source: 'main',
  table: 'articles',
  fields: {
    id:      { type: 'number', primaryKey: true },
    title:   { type: 'text',   searchable: { weight: 2 } },
    body:    { type: 'text',   searchable: true },
    section: { type: 'enum',   values: ['security', 'billing', 'api', 'guides'] },
  },
  grants: { similar: 'public' },
}

Support — "Similar tickets"

Staff-only widget on the ticket view. Uses sk_ credentials and a restrictive rule.

similartickets
tickets: {
  source: 'main',
  table: 'tickets',
  fields: {
    id:       { type: 'number', primaryKey: true },
    subject:  { type: 'text',   searchable: { weight: 2 } },
    body:     { type: 'text',   searchable: true },
    status:   { type: 'enum',   values: ['open', 'triaged', 'resolved'] },
    priority: { type: 'enum',   values: ['low', 'normal', 'high', 'urgent'] },
  },
  grants: { similar: 'staff' },
}

When to reach for a feed instead

similar returns a single snapshot. If you need any of the following, reach for a feed with recordVector:

  • Popularity weighting — engagement scorer, blended with similarity.
  • Diversity — diversify: { by: 'cuisine', maxPerGroup: 2 }.
  • Pagination — cursor-based scroll beyond the first page.
  • Live evolution — WebSocket ticks when new candidates arrive.

Otherwise, similar is the lighter primitive — less surface area, less config to reason about.