[Stack Overflow #37346868, accepted answer, 17 votes]: search() returns at most 1000 records no matter how big the index is. To pull everything, use the browse() function instead. Prefer search for user-facing queries since its more optimized, and reserve browse for bulk operations like backups or full exports.

Source context: Stack Overflow #37346868 (accepted answer, 17 votes): a developer with a 50k-record Algolia index finds search() never returns more than 1000 records. The accepted answer explains search() is capped at 1000 hits and points at browse() for full retrieval, with the warning that browse is less optimized and should be reserved for bulk jobs like backups.