At Algolia, they're building tools for hobbyists and developers who want to give back to the community through open-source software. They've created an open index of recipes, which is a complex data structure that needs to be composable, meaning it should work well independently and in different combinations. The index has multiple layers, including ingredients and directions, which are organized into groups. The team has designed a new shape for the index, making it more flexible and easier to use. They've also created a utility JavaScript program to handle units of measurement. The open index is now available for anyone to experiment with and test their own integrations before loading in production-ready data.