--- title: "Adding rules" slug: "adding-rules" abstract: "Learn how to use the Search and Recommendation API for Sitecore Search to blacklist, boost, bury, include, and pin item rules to the search result." --- # Adding rules You can use the `widget.items.search.rule` object to configure how you want Sitecore Search to treat certain result items. You can blacklist, boost, bury, include, and pin items and categories. Except for the `pin` rule, you must nest a [`filter` object](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/developers/search-developer-guide/integrating-using-rest-apis/using-the-search-and-recommendation-api-to-create-search-experiences/filtering-items-in-search-results.html "Filtering items in search results") within the `rule` object to specify which items the rule applies to. For the data model of this object, see the [Search and Recommendation API reference](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/developers/search-and-recommentation-api/index.html). > [!note] > The rules you pass in an API request override the rules configured in Sitecore Search. ## Boosting items into slots To boost an item or category into slots, add a `widget.items.search.rule.boost` object. You must specify the product or category you want to boost and the slots you want them to appear in. In this example, - You want to boost all items in the `product` category. - You want boosted items to appear in slots two and three of the search results. The following code shows a sample request: ```JSON { "widget": { "items": [ { "rfk_id": "rfkid_7", "entity": "content", "search": { "content": {}, "rule": { "boost": [ { "filter": { "type": "eq", "name": "type", "value": "products" }, "slots": [ 2, 3 ] } ] } } } ] }, "context": { "locale": { "country": "us", "language": "en" }, "user": { "uuid": "159871551-1g-i4-4x-1p-f5tdhddqwvywv7b9g2vy-1664852644904" } } } ``` The following is the response to the request: ```JSON { "rfk_id": "rfkid_7", "entity": "content", "content": [ { "description": "Premier Assure is designed...", "id": "https___www_sitecore_com_activities", "image": "https:imageurl/activities/gettyimages-699087272-hero.jpg?md=20220921T172222Z", "image_type": "Image", "image_url": "www.imageur.com", "last_modified": "2022-10-19 `20:57`:04Z", "source_id": "407033", "subtitle": "Improve the quality of your Sitecore investment using a review-based approach.", "title": "Premier Assure services: assuring confidence in your investment", "type": "Knowledge Center", "url": "https://www.sitecore.com/activities" }, { "description": "Sitecore CDP Connector for Responsys...", "id": "https___www_sitecore_com_products_marketplace_tap_cdp_sitecore-cdp-connector-for-responsys", "source_id": "388218", "subtitle": null, "title": "Sitecore CDP Connector for Responsys", "type": "products", "url": "https://www.sitecore.com/products/marketplace/tap/cdp/sitecore-cdp-connector-for-responsys" }, { "description": "Sitecore CDP Integration for Amazon Sagemaker...", "source_id": "388218", "subtitle": null, "title": "Sitecore CDP Integration for Amazon Sagemaker", "type": "products", "url": "https://www.sitecore.com/products/marketplace/tap/cdp/sitecore-cdp-integration-for-amazon-sagemaker" }, { "description": "Related topicsResource hubPersonalizationEnable customer connections with your brand...", "id": "https___www_sitecore_com_content-management", "image": "https:imageurl/content-gettyimages-691574517-original2.jpg?md=20220107T002955Z", "image_type": "Image", "image_url": "https:imageurl/588D7FE5D8C&t=544x310", "last_modified": "2022-05-25 `19:52`:23Z", "source_id": "407033", "subtitle": "Content fuels the digital experience in just about every industry.", "title": "Content resources", "type": "Knowledge Center", "url": "https://www.sitecore.com/content-management" } ... ], "total_item": 5856, "limit": 10, "offset": 0 } ], "dt": 109, "ts": 1669433189900 } ``` In the response `content` object, you can see `product` items in the second and third results items, that is, slots two and three. ## Boosting items without slots To boost an item or category without specifying a slot, use a `widget.items.search.rule.boost` object. You'll need to specify the product or category you want to boost and the weight by which you want to boost it. In this example, - The visitor searches for the keyword *content*. - You want to boost all blogs by a weight of *5*. ```JSON { "widget": { "items": [ { "entity": "content", "rfk_id": "rfkid_7", "search": { "content": {}, "rule": { "boost": [ { "weight": 4, "filter": { "type": "eq", "name": "type", "value": "Blogs" } } ] }, "personalization": { "fields": [ "title", "type" ] }, "limit": 10, "offset": 0, "query": { "keyphrase": "content" } }, "sources": [ "407033", "408162" ] } ] }, "context": { "locale": { "country": "us", "language": "en" }, "user": { "uuid": "159871551-ye-l5-4u-1p-0z7apweb0jxcibpfzr40-1663129543566" } } } ``` ## Blacklisting items To blacklist a list of items or categories, add a `search.rule.blacklist` object. These items or categories never show up in the search results. In this example, you want to blacklist all content of type `other`. The following code shows a sample request: ```JSON { "widget": { "items": [ { "rfk_id": "rfkid_7", "entity": "content", "search": { "content": {}, "rule": { "blacklist": { "filter": { "type": "eq", "name": "type", "value": "other" } } } } } ] }, "context": { "locale": { "country": "us", "language": "en" }, "user": { "uuid": "159871551-1g-i4-4x-1p-f5tdhddqwvywv7b9g2vy-1664852644904" } } } ``` The following is the response to the request: ```JSON { "widgets": [ { "rfk_id": "rfkid_7", "entity": "content", "content": [ { "description": "Discover top moments...", "id": "https___www_sitecore_com", "image": "https:imageurl.com/sitecore-home-hero-v01-052722_72dpi.jpg?md=20220627T124154Z", "last_modified": "2022-11-18 `16:46`:12Z", "source_id": "407033", "subtitle": "Digital Experience Platform and Content Hub that apply the power of data science and marketing technology to shape your business around new possibilities.", "title": "Turn consumers into fans", "type": "Others", "url": "https://www.sitecore.com" }, { "description": "It captures data...", "id": "https___www_sitecore_com_blog_digital-transformation_7-business-benefits-of-a-customer-data-platform", "image": "https:imageurl.com/gettyimages-1299625060_insights_feature.png?md=20220224T144643Z", "image_url": "https://imageurl.com/79E042A6C3001AB18B&t=544x310", "last_modified": "2022-04-05 `04:57`:22Z", "product": "Customer Data Platform", "source_id": "407033", "subtitle": "From smashing data silos and building loyalty, to driving revenue, our blog explores 7 transformative business effects of a customer data platform.", "title": "7 business benefits of a customer data platform", "type": "Others", "url": "https://www.sitecore.com/blog/digital-transformation/7-business-benefits-of-a-customer-data-platform" }, ... ], "total_item": 4934, "limit": 10, "offset": 0 } ], "dt": 30, "ts": 1669054635432 } ``` In the response `content` object, you can see that no item has a `type` of `other`. ## Pinning items To pin an item to a particular slot in the search results, use the `search.rule.pin` object and specify the slot you want to use and the ID of the item you want to pin. In this example, you want to pin a blog about cloud computing to slot number two. The following code shows a sample request: ```JSON { "widget": { "items": [ { "rfk_id": "rfkid_7", "entity": "content", "sources": [ "388218", "390565" ], "search": { "content": {}, "rule": { "pin": [ { "slot": 2, "id": "https___www_sitecore_com_blog_cloud_cloud-computing-in-business-and-the-future-of-cx" } ] } } } ] }, "context": { "locale": { "country": "us", "language": "en" }, "user": { "uuid": "159871551-1g-i4-4x-1p-f5tdhddqwvywv7b9g2vy-1664852644904" } } } ``` The following is the response to the request: ```JSON { "widgets": [ { "rfk_id": "rfkid_7", "entity": "content", "content": [ { "description": "October 13, 2021...", "id": "https___www_sitecore_com_company_news-events_news_2021_10_majority-of-mena-brands-changed-customer-experiences-due-to-the-pandemic", "source_id": "388218", "subtitle": null, "title": "Khaleej Times: Majority of Mena brands changed customer experiences due to the pandemic", "type": "news", "url": "https://www.sitecore.com/company/news-events/news/2021/10/majority-of-mena-brands-changed-customer-experiences-due-to-the-pandemic" }, { "description": "Companies that survived...", "id": "https___www_sitecore_com_blog_cloud_cloud-computing-in-business-and-the-future-of-cx", "image_url": "https://imageurl/cloud-computing-in-business-and-the-future-of-cx/gettyimages-1209700460_heromedium_mb.jpg?mw=600&md=20211006T181735Z&hash=827DB91BE20225F7C4BEFDF36BDD0249&t=544x310", "source_id": "388218", "subtitle": "How CIOs can lead organizational transformation starting with marketing.", "title": "Cloud computing in business and the future of CX", "type": "blogs", "url": "https://www.sitecore.com/blog/cloud/cloud-computing-in-business-and-the-future-of-cx" }, ... ], "total_item": 2881, "limit": 10, "offset": 0 } ], "dt": 52, "ts": 1669054542978 } ``` In the response `content` object, you see the blog you want as the second item in the search results, in slot number two.