What is Apache Lucene/Solr used for?

Apache Lucene/Solr is the former combined repository of Apache Lucene and Solr, the Java search library and search server, which now live in separate projects. It is a good fit for embedding full-text search in Java applications, and understanding the history of Lucene and Solr.

Is Apache Lucene/Solr open source?

Yes. Apache Lucene/Solr is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at apache/lucene-solr.

Is Apache Lucene/Solr free?

Yes. Apache Lucene/Solr is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Apache Lucene/Solr?

Yes. Apache Lucene/Solr can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Apache Lucene/Solr an alternative to?

Apache Lucene/Solr is an open-source alternative to Elastic. Other open-source alternatives to Elastic include Apache Solr, OpenSearchServer and Typesense.

Is Apache Lucene/Solr actively maintained?

The most recent commit to Apache Lucene/Solr was on 15 May 2026. The project has 4.4k stars on GitHub.

Apache Lucene/Solr: open-source alternative to Elastic

About Apache Lucene/Solr

This repository was the combined home of Apache Lucene and Apache Solr, open-source search software from the Apache Software Foundation. Lucene Core is a Java library that provides indexing and search, spellchecking, hit highlighting and advanced analysis and tokenization, and Solr is a search server built on top of it.

The README explains that the two now have separate repositories: Solr became a top-level Apache project, and main-line development for each takes place in its own git repository. Only bugfix development for the 8.11.x releases remains on a branch of this shared repository, and GitHub users are told to fork the mirror of the relevant project and send pull requests against its main branch. The Lucene website also describes PyLucene, a Python binding for Lucene Core.

Lucene and Solr are licensed under Apache-2.0. The Lucene site describes Lucene as the search core behind Solr, Elasticsearch and OpenSearch. New work should use the current Lucene and Solr projects, and this repository mainly serves as a historical home.

Key features

Java search and indexing library
Spellchecking and hit highlighting
Advanced analysis and tokenization
PyLucene Python bindings
Solr search server heritage
Apache 2.0 licensed

Good fit for

→Embedding full-text search in Java applications
→Understanding the history of Lucene and Solr

Built with: Java
Tags: lucene; solr; search-engine; java; full-text-search; apache; information-retrieval

Apache Lucene/Solr: questions and answers

What is Apache Lucene/Solr used for?: Apache Lucene/Solr is the former combined repository of Apache Lucene and Solr, the Java search library and search server, which now live in separate projects. It is a good fit for embedding full-text search in Java applications, and understanding the history of Lucene and Solr.
Is Apache Lucene/Solr open source?: Yes. Apache Lucene/Solr is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at apache/lucene-solr.
Is Apache Lucene/Solr free?: Yes. Apache Lucene/Solr is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Apache Lucene/Solr?: Yes. Apache Lucene/Solr can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Apache Lucene/Solr an alternative to?: Apache Lucene/Solr is an open-source alternative to Elastic. Other open-source alternatives to Elastic include Apache Solr, OpenSearchServer and Typesense.
Is Apache Lucene/Solr actively maintained?: The most recent commit to Apache Lucene/Solr was on 15 May 2026. The project has 4.4k stars on GitHub.