Constructor.io Laravel Integration

A Laravel package for Constructor.io - AI-powered product discovery.

Features

• Product Search - Full-text search with filters, sorting, pagination
• Category Browse - Browse products by category or facet
• Autocomplete - Search suggestions and product previews with zero-state support
• AI Shopping Agent - Natural language product discovery ("I need a gift for my mom")
• Product Insights Agent - AI-powered Q&A on product detail pages
• Recommendations - Personalized product recommendations
• Collections - Browse curated product collections
• Catalog Management - Bulk catalog uploads (CSV, JSONL)
• Backend Integration - Automatic forwarding of user context headers and cookies for server-side API calls
• Laravel Scout - Full Scout engine integration

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                           Your Laravel Application                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                             │
│   ┌─────────────────────┐    ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│   │  Constructor Facade │───▶│  ConstructorSandboxSearch              │    │
│   │  (Search/Browse)    │    │  - search(), browse(), autocomplete()  │    │
│   └─────────────────────┘    │  - getRecommendations()                │    │
│                              │  - getBrowseGroups(), getCollections() │    │
│                              └──────────────┬─────────────────────────┘    │
│                                             │                               │
│   ┌─────────────────────┐                   ▼                               │
│   │ ConstructorService  │    ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│   │ (Catalog Management)│───▶│        ac.cnstrc.com (Search API)      │    │
│   │ - uploadCatalog()   │    └────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
│   │ - getTaskStatus()   │                                                   │
│   └─────────────────────┘                                                   │
│                                                                             │
│   ┌─────────────────────┐    ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│   │ ConstructorAgent    │───▶│      agent.cnstrc.com (Agent API)      │    │
│   │ Service             │    │  - AI Shopping Agent                   │    │
│   │ - askShoppingAgent()│    │  - Product Insights Agent              │    │
│   │ - askProductQuestion│    └────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
│   └─────────────────────┘                                                   │
│                                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Requirements

• PHP 8.1+
• Laravel 10.x, 11.x, or 12.x
• Constructor.io account (constructor.io)

Installation

1. Install via Composer

composer require timjohnbancroft/constructor-laravel

2. Publish Configuration

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="ConstructorIO\Laravel\ConstructorServiceProvider"

3. Configure Environment

Add to your .env file:

CONSTRUCTOR_API_KEY=your-api-key
CONSTRUCTOR_API_TOKEN=your-api-token
CONSTRUCTOR_AGENT_DOMAIN=your-agent-domain  # Optional: for AI Shopping Agent

# Optional: Backend integration (for server-side calls on behalf of browser users)
CONSTRUCTOR_BACKEND_TOKEN=your-backend-token      # Falls back to API_TOKEN if not set
CONSTRUCTOR_CLIENT_IDENTIFIER=cio-be-laravel-your-company  # Auto-generates if not set

Get your credentials from the Constructor.io Dashboard.

Credential Types:

• API Key (public): Identifies your index, used for search/browse/autocomplete requests
• API Token (secret): Used for authenticated operations like catalog uploads

Quick Start

Search Products

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Facades\Constructor;

// Basic search
$results = Constructor::search('blue shoes');

// With filters and options
$results = Constructor::search('shoes', [
    'brand' => ['Nike', 'Adidas'],
    'color' => ['blue'],
], [
    'page' => 1,
    'per_page' => 24,
    'sort_by' => 'price',
    'sort_order' => 'ascending',
]);

// Access results
foreach ($results->products as $product) {
    echo $product['name'];
    echo $product['price'];
    echo $product['image_url'];
}

// Pagination
echo "Page {$results->page} of {$results->totalPages()}";
echo "Total: {$results->total} products";

Browse by Category

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Facades\Constructor;

// Browse by category
$results = Constructor::browse('group_id', 'mens-clothing');

// Browse by brand
$results = Constructor::browse('brand', 'Nike', [], [
    'page' => 1,
    'per_page' => 24,
]);

// Get category hierarchy
$categories = Constructor::getBrowseGroups([
    'max_items' => 10,
    'max_children' => 5,
    'with_images' => true,
]);

Autocomplete

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Facades\Constructor;

// Get autocomplete suggestions
$results = Constructor::autocomplete('blu', [
    'sections' => [
        'suggestions' => ['enabled' => true, 'limit' => 5],
        'products' => ['enabled' => true, 'limit' => 6],
    ],
]);

foreach ($results->suggestions as $suggestion) {
    echo $suggestion['term'];
}

// Zero-state (search box focused but empty)
$zeroState = Constructor::getZeroStateData([
    'show_top_categories' => true,
    'show_popular_products' => true,
    'recommendation_pod_id' => 'hp-bestsellers',
]);

Recommendations

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Facades\Constructor;

// Home page recommendations
$recs = Constructor::getRecommendations('home-page-1', [
    'num_results' => 8,
]);

// Product page recommendations (requires item_id)
$similar = Constructor::getItemRecommendations('pdp-similar', 'PRODUCT-123');

Collections

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Facades\Constructor;

// Get all collections
$collections = Constructor::getCollections(['max_items' => 10]);

// Get collection metadata
$collection = Constructor::getCollection('summer-essentials');

// Browse products in a collection
$results = Constructor::browseCollection('summer-essentials', [], [
    'page' => 1,
    'per_page' => 24,
]);

AI Shopping Agent

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Services\ConstructorAgentService;

$agent = app(ConstructorAgentService::class);

// Natural language query
$response = $agent->askShoppingAgent('I need a gift for my mom who likes gardening');

echo $response['message'];
foreach ($response['products'] as $product) {
    echo $product['name'];
}

// Continue conversation
$followUp = $agent->askShoppingAgent(
    'Something under $50',
    $response['thread_id']
);

Product Insights Agent

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Services\ConstructorAgentService;

$agent = app(ConstructorAgentService::class);

// Get suggested questions for a product
$questions = $agent->getProductQuestions('PRODUCT-123');

// Ask a question about a product
$answer = $agent->askProductQuestion(
    question: 'Is this true to size?',
    itemId: 'PRODUCT-123'
);

echo $answer['answer'];

Catalog Management

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Services\ConstructorService;

$constructor = app(ConstructorService::class);

// Upload catalog file (creates or replaces all items)
$result = $constructor->uploadCatalog(
    storage_path('app/catalog/items.csv'),
    'create_or_replace'
);

// Or patch (update only specified items)
$result = $constructor->uploadCatalog(
    storage_path('app/catalog/updates.csv'),
    'patch'
);

// Wait for completion
$status = $constructor->waitForTaskCompletion($result['task_id']);

if ($status['successful']) {
    echo "Catalog uploaded!";
}

Recipes (If Configured)

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Facades\Constructor;

// Check if recipes are supported
if (Constructor::supportsRecipes()) {
    // Search recipes
    $results = Constructor::searchRecipes('chicken pasta');

    // Browse recipes by category
    $results = Constructor::browseRecipes('meal_type', 'dinner');

    // Get a single recipe
    $recipe = Constructor::getRecipe('recipe-123');
}

Data Transfer Objects (DTOs)

All search operations return strongly-typed DTOs with convenient methods.

SearchResults

Returned by search(), browse(), and browseCollection().

$results = Constructor::search('shoes');

// Properties
$results->products      // array - Product data
$results->total         // int - Total matching results
$results->page          // int - Current page (1-indexed)
$results->perPage       // int - Results per page
$results->facets        // array - Available filters with counts
$results->groups        // array - Category hierarchy (for browse)
$results->metadata      // array - Request ID, result ID, etc.

// Methods
$results->hasMore()        // bool - More pages available?
$results->totalPages()     // int - Calculate total pages
$results->isEmpty()        // bool - No products?
$results->count()          // int - Products on this page
$results->getOffset()      // int - Offset for "Showing X-Y of Z"
$results->nextPageNumber() // int - Next page number or 0
$results->toArray()        // array - For JSON serialization

Facets Structure:

// $results->facets
[
    'brand' => [
        'name' => 'Brand',           // Display name
        'values' => [                 // Value => count
            'Nike' => 45,
            'Adidas' => 32,
        ],
        'type' => 'checkbox_list',   // single_select, checkbox_list, or range
    ],
    'price' => [
        'name' => 'Price',
        'values' => [...],
        'type' => 'range',
        'min' => 25.00,
        'max' => 299.99,
    ],
]

AutocompleteResults

Returned by autocomplete() and getZeroStateData().

$results = Constructor::autocomplete('blu');

// Properties
$results->suggestions      // array - Search term suggestions
$results->products         // array - Product previews
$results->categories       // array - Category suggestions
$results->trending         // array - Trending searches (zero-state)
$results->popularProducts  // array - Popular products (zero-state)
$results->topCategories    // array - Top categories (zero-state)
$results->metadata         // array - Request metadata

// Methods
$results->hasSuggestions()     // bool
$results->hasProducts()        // bool
$results->hasCategories()      // bool
$results->hasZeroStateData()   // bool
$results->hasTrending()        // bool
$results->hasPopularProducts() // bool
$results->hasTopCategories()   // bool
$results->isEmpty()            // bool
$results->isAutocompleteEmpty() // bool - Ignores zero-state
$results->toArray()            // array

RecommendationResults

Returned by getRecommendations() and getItemRecommendations().

$recs = Constructor::getRecommendations('home-bestsellers');

// Properties
$recs->podId       // string - The pod ID requested
$recs->title       // string - Pod display name
$recs->products    // array - Recommended products
$recs->total       // int - Total recommendations available
$recs->metadata    // array - Request metadata, pod info

// Methods
$recs->isEmpty()           // bool
$recs->hasRecommendations() // bool
$recs->count()             // int - Number of products returned
$recs->toArray()           // array

Complete Facade Methods Reference

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Facades\Constructor;

// Search & Browse
Constructor::search(string $query, array $filters = [], array $options = []): SearchResults;
Constructor::browse(string $filterName, string $filterValue, array $filters = [], array $options = []): SearchResults;
Constructor::autocomplete(string $query, array $options = []): AutocompleteResults;
Constructor::getZeroStateData(array $options = []): AutocompleteResults;

// Recommendations
Constructor::getRecommendations(string $podId, array $options = []): RecommendationResults;
Constructor::getItemRecommendations(string $podId, string $itemId, array $options = []): RecommendationResults;

// Categories & Groups
Constructor::getBrowseGroups(array $options = []): array;

// Collections
Constructor::getCollections(array $options = []): array;
Constructor::getCollection(string $collectionId): ?array;
Constructor::browseCollection(string $collectionId, array $filters = [], array $options = []): SearchResults;
Constructor::getFirstProductImageFromCollection(string $collectionId): ?string;

// Facets
Constructor::getFacets(string $query, array $filters = []): array;
Constructor::getAvailableFacets(): array;
Constructor::getFacetValuesWithImages(string $facetName, int $maxItems = 10): array;

// Recipes
Constructor::searchRecipes(string $query, array $filters = [], array $options = []): SearchResults;
Constructor::browseRecipes(string $filterName, string $filterValue, array $filters = [], array $options = []): SearchResults;
Constructor::getRecipe(string $recipeId): ?array;

// Feature Detection
Constructor::supportsZeroState(): bool;
Constructor::supportsRecommendations(): bool;
Constructor::supportsBrowseGroups(): bool;
Constructor::supportsCollections(): bool;
Constructor::supportsRecipes(): bool;
Constructor::getProviderName(): string;

Search Options Reference

Options available for search() and browse():

$options = [
    // Pagination
    'page' => 1,              // Page number (1-indexed)
    'per_page' => 24,         // Results per page (max 100)

    // Sorting
    'sort_by' => 'price',     // Field to sort by
    'sort_order' => 'ascending', // 'ascending' or 'descending'

    // Section
    'section' => 'Products',  // Constructor section name

    // Range Filters
    'range_filters' => [
        'price' => ['min' => 50, 'max' => 200],
    ],

    // User Context (for personalization)
    'user_id' => 'user-123',
    'session_id' => 'session-abc',
];

Laravel Scout Integration

Register the Engine

The package automatically registers the constructor Scout driver. Configure in config/scout.php:

return [
    'driver' => env('SCOUT_DRIVER', 'constructor'),

    'constructor' => [
        'api_key' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_API_KEY'),
        'api_token' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_API_TOKEN'),
    ],
];

Make Models Searchable

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Laravel\Scout\Searchable;

class Product extends Model
{
    use Searchable;

    /**
     * Get the Constructor section for this model.
     */
    public function getConstructorSection(): string
    {
        return 'Products';
    }

    /**
     * Get the indexable data array for the model.
     */
    public function toSearchableArray(): array
    {
        return [
            'id' => $this->sku,
            'name' => $this->name,
            'url' => route('products.show', $this),
            'image_url' => $this->image_url,
            'price' => $this->price,
            'brand' => $this->brand,
            'categories' => $this->categories->pluck('name')->toArray(),
        ];
    }
}

Search with Scout

// Basic search
$products = Product::search('blue shirt')->get();

// With filters
$products = Product::search('shirt')
    ->where('brand', 'Nike')
    ->paginate(24);

Configuration Reference

config/constructor.php

return [
    // API Credentials
    'api_key' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_API_KEY'),
    'api_token' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_API_TOKEN'),

    // API Endpoints
    'search_base_url' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_SEARCH_BASE_URL', 'https://ac.cnstrc.com'),
    'agent_base_url' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_AGENT_BASE_URL', 'https://agent.cnstrc.com'),

    // AI Agent Settings
    'agent_domain' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_AGENT_DOMAIN'),
    'agent_guard' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_AGENT_GUARD', true),
    'agent_num_result_events' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_AGENT_NUM_RESULT_EVENTS', 5),
    'agent_num_results_per_event' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_AGENT_NUM_RESULTS_PER_EVENT', 4),

    // Backend Integration (server-side calls on behalf of browser users)
    'backend_token' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_BACKEND_TOKEN'),       // Falls back to api_token
    'client_identifier' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_CLIENT_IDENTIFIER'), // Auto-generates if null

    // HTTP Client
    'timeout' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_TIMEOUT', 30),
    'retry_times' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_RETRY_TIMES', 2),
    'retry_sleep' => env('CONSTRUCTOR_RETRY_SLEEP', 100),
];

Available Services

Error Handling

The package handles errors gracefully:

• Search errors return empty SearchResults (logged at error level)
• Recommendation errors return empty RecommendationResults (logged at error level)
• Agent errors throw exceptions (for UI error handling)
• Catalog errors throw exceptions (for background job handling)

// Search - gracefully returns empty on error
$results = Constructor::search('query');
if ($results->isEmpty()) {
    // Handle no results (could be error or just no matches)
}

// Agent - throws on error
try {
    $response = $agent->askShoppingAgent($query);
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    // Handle error: rate limit, auth failure, network error
    Log::error('Shopping Agent error: ' . $e->getMessage());
}

Troubleshooting

"Constructor.io configuration not properly set"

Ensure all required environment variables are set:

CONSTRUCTOR_API_KEY=your-api-key
CONSTRUCTOR_API_TOKEN=your-api-token

Empty results when products should exist

1. Check API key: Verify the API key matches your Constructor index
2. Check section name: Default is 'Products', ensure your index uses this
3. Check filters: Some filters may be too restrictive
4. View logs: Check storage/logs/laravel.log for API errors

Facets not returning

• Facets must be configured in the Constructor.io dashboard
• Not all indexes have facets enabled
• Try a broader search query to see available facets

Recommendations returning empty

1. Verify the pod ID exists in your Constructor account
2. Some pods require item_id - use getItemRecommendations() instead
3. Check that the pod has been trained with data

Agent authentication failures

Constructor Agent API authentication failed. Check your API key and domain configuration.

• Ensure CONSTRUCTOR_AGENT_DOMAIN is set correctly
• The agent domain is separate from the search API key

Rate limit errors

Rate limit exceeded. Please try again later.

• Implement caching for repeated requests
• Contact Constructor.io to increase limits for production

Testing Your Integration

Artisan Test Command

# Test search functionality
php artisan tinker
>>> Constructor::search('test')->toArray()

# Test recommendations
>>> Constructor::getRecommendations('your-pod-id')->toArray()

# Test agent (if configured)
>>> app(ConstructorAgentService::class)->getProductQuestions('product-id')

Unit Testing

Mock the facade for testing:

use ConstructorIO\Laravel\Facades\Constructor;
use ConstructorIO\Laravel\DataTransferObjects\SearchResults;

public function test_search_page_displays_products()
{
    Constructor::shouldReceive('search')
        ->once()
        ->with('shoes', [], \Mockery::any())
        ->andReturn(new SearchResults(
            products: [['id' => '1', 'name' => 'Nike Shoes']],
            total: 1,
            page: 1,
            perPage: 24
        ));

    $response = $this->get('/search?q=shoes');

    $response->assertSee('Nike Shoes');
}

Best Practices

Caching Recommendations

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;

$recommendations = Cache::remember(
    "recs:home-page:{$userId}",
    now()->addMinutes(15),
    fn() => Constructor::getRecommendations('home-page-1')
);

User Personalization

Pass user identifiers for personalized results:

$results = Constructor::search('shoes', [], [
    'user_id' => auth()->id(),
    'session_id' => session()->getId(),
]);

Handling Zero-State Gracefully

public function autocomplete(Request $request)
{
    $query = trim($request->input('q', ''));

    if (empty($query)) {
        return Constructor::getZeroStateData([
            'show_top_categories' => true,
            'recommendation_pod_id' => 'autocomplete-bestsellers',
        ])->toArray();
    }

    return Constructor::autocomplete($query)->toArray();
}

Documentation

• Constructor.io Documentation
• Search API Reference
• Browse API Reference
• Autocomplete API Reference
• Recommendations API Reference
• AI Shopping Agent API Reference

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.