---
title: "Service: /members/{member}/index/start [POST]"
source: https://dev.pageseeder.com/api/services/start-server-index-POST.html
description: "Starts an asynchronous server indexing process for specified objects (personal groups, projects, URLs, or help documents). Requires administrator permissions. Returns XML with thread and indexing progress details."
last_updated: 2026-09-02T11:36:22+10:00
document_type: api_endpoint
operation_id: search-POST
resource_id: search
path_template: /members/{member}/index/start
http_method: POST
api_category: search
implementation_version: 6.2004
api_since: 5.9000
deprecated_since: null
obsolete_since: null
api_support: experimental
cache_control: N/A
generated_at: 2026-09-02
tokens: ~393
---

# /members/\{member\}/index/start \[POST\]

## Description

Start server [indexing](../../reference/glossary/index_xml.md). Invoking this service starts an [Asynchronous process](../usage/asynchronous_process.md).

Start the indexing for specified objects:

- `personal`– all user’s personal groups
- `projects` – all groups under specified projects
- `urls` – all URLs on the server
- `help` – all built-in help documents (custom help is included under `projects`)

## Parameters

| Name | Description | Required | Type | Default value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| prefix | A comma-separated list of project names to index (all groups under these projects are indexed), if not specified, groups under all server projects are indexed (requires `projects` in `include` parameter) | no | string |  |
| include | A comma-separated list of group types to index (supported values are `personal, projects, urls, help`) | no | string | `personal, projects, urls, help` |

## Permission

This service requires administrator.

## Response

This service returns the following XML:

```xml
<server-indexing>
  <thread ...> ...
    <indexing>
      <groups group=[group name]
              current=[current group no.]
              total=[total groups to index]/>
      <progress current="[current item no.]"
                total="[total items to index]"/>
      <!-- for each type specified.. -->
      <type name="[comment|document|version]"/>
      ...
    </indexing>
  </thread>
</server-indexing>
```

## Error Handling

No specific errors expected for this service.