diff --git a/includes/Hooks.php b/includes/Hooks.php
index ab5890af..e81c3923 100644
--- a/includes/Hooks.php
+++ b/includes/Hooks.php
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ class Hooks implements
 		Config $config
 	) {
 		return [
-			'wgVectorSearchHost' => $config->get( 'VectorSearchHost' ),
+			'wgVectorSearchApiUrl' => $config->get( 'VectorSearchApiUrl' ),
 			'wgVectorWebABTestEnrollment' => self::getActiveABTest( $config ),
 		];
 	}
diff --git a/resources/VectorResourceLoaderVirtualConfig.d.ts b/resources/VectorResourceLoaderVirtualConfig.d.ts
index 33b7bc3c..7c3570f9 100644
--- a/resources/VectorResourceLoaderVirtualConfig.d.ts
+++ b/resources/VectorResourceLoaderVirtualConfig.d.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 /** See Vector\Hooks::getVectorResourceLoaderConfig */
 interface VectorResourceLoaderVirtualConfig {
-	wgVectorSearchHost: string;
+	wgVectorSearchApiUrl: string;
 }
diff --git a/resources/skins.vector.js/searchLoader.js b/resources/skins.vector.js/searchLoader.js
index 78392b35..e5c4d8cb 100644
--- a/resources/skins.vector.js/searchLoader.js
+++ b/resources/skins.vector.js/searchLoader.js
@@ -141,9 +141,9 @@ function initSearchLoader( document ) {
 	var searchBoxes = document.querySelectorAll( '.vector-search-box' ),
 		isWikidata = mw.config.get( 'wgWikiID' ) === 'wikidatawiki';
 
-	// Allow developers to defined $wgVectorSearchHost in LocalSettings to target different APIs
-	if ( config.wgVectorSearchHost ) {
-		mw.config.set( 'wgVectorSearchHost', config.wgVectorSearchHost );
+	// Allow developers to defined $wgVectorSearchApiUrl in LocalSettings to target different APIs
+	if ( config.wgVectorSearchApiUrl ) {
+		mw.config.set( 'wgVectorSearchApiUrl', config.wgVectorSearchApiUrl );
 	}
 
 	if ( !searchBoxes.length ) {
diff --git a/resources/skins.vector.search/App.vue b/resources/skins.vector.search/App.vue
index 3bffb5c5..fa21ace6 100644
--- a/resources/skins.vector.search/App.vue
+++ b/resources/skins.vector.search/App.vue
@@ -155,7 +155,9 @@ module.exports = exports = defineComponent( {
 		 * @param {string} value
 		 */
 		onInput: function ( value ) {
-			const domain = mw.config.get( 'wgVectorSearchHost', location.host ),
+			const searchApiUrl = mw.config.get( 'wgVectorSearchApiUrl',
+					mw.config.get( 'wgScriptPath' ) + '/rest.php'
+				),
 				query = value.trim();
 
 			if ( query === '' ) {
@@ -166,7 +168,7 @@ module.exports = exports = defineComponent( {
 
 			instrumentation.listeners.onFetchStart();
 
-			restClient.fetchByTitle( query, domain, 10, this.showDescription ).fetch
+			restClient.fetchByTitle( query, searchApiUrl, 10, this.showDescription ).fetch
 				.then( ( data ) => {
 					this.suggestions = data.results;
 					this.searchFooterUrl = urlGenerator.generateUrl( query );
diff --git a/resources/skins.vector.search/restSearchClient.js b/resources/skins.vector.search/restSearchClient.js
index ce5067b4..6e5e03b0 100644
--- a/resources/skins.vector.search/restSearchClient.js
+++ b/resources/skins.vector.search/restSearchClient.js
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ function adaptApiResponse( config, query, restResponse, showDescription ) {
 /**
  * @callback fetchByTitle
  * @param {string} query The search term.
- * @param {string} domain The base URL for the wiki without protocol. Example: 'sr.wikipedia.org'.
+ * @param {string} searchApiUrl The URL to rest.php
  * @param {number} [limit] Maximum number of results.
  * @return {AbortableSearchFetch}
  */
@@ -85,9 +85,9 @@ function restSearchClient( config ) {
 		/**
 		 * @type {fetchByTitle}
 		 */
-		fetchByTitle: ( q, domain, limit = 10, showDescription = true ) => {
+		fetchByTitle: ( q, searchApiUrl, limit = 10, showDescription = true ) => {
 			const params = { q, limit };
-			const url = '//' + domain + config.get( 'wgScriptPath' ) + '/rest.php/v1/search/title?' + $.param( params );
+			const url = searchApiUrl + '/v1/search/title?' + $.param( params );
 			const result = fetchJson( url, {
 				headers: {
 					accept: 'application/json'
diff --git a/skin.json b/skin.json
index 751b31a5..3cdbba9b 100644
--- a/skin.json
+++ b/skin.json
@@ -473,9 +473,9 @@
 			"value": [],
 			"description": "Temporary configuration flag for allowing users to preview the new Vector skin."
 		},
-		"VectorSearchHost": {
+		"VectorSearchApiUrl": {
 			"value": "",
-			"description": "Override default search API. Can be used with $wgDisableTextSearch and $wgSearchForwardUrl to mimic user experience on production."
+			"description": "To override the default search API, set this to the URL to rest.php on another wiki. Can be used with $wgDisableTextSearch and $wgSearchForwardUrl to mimic user experience on production."
 		},
 		"VectorUseIconWatch": {
 			"value": true
diff --git a/tests/jest/restSearchClient.test.js b/tests/jest/restSearchClient.test.js
index 1e5dba19..295e72dc 100644
--- a/tests/jest/restSearchClient.test.js
+++ b/tests/jest/restSearchClient.test.js
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ describe( 'restApiSearchClient', () => {
 
 		const searchResult = await restSearchClient( configMock ).fetchByTitle(
 			'media',
-			'en.wikipedia.org',
+			'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php',
 			2
 		).fetch;
 
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ describe( 'restApiSearchClient', () => {
 		if ( mockedRequests ) {
 			expect( fetchMock ).toHaveBeenCalledTimes( 1 );
 			expect( fetchMock ).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-				'//en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php/v1/search/title?q=media&limit=2',
+				'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php/v1/search/title?q=media&limit=2',
 				{ headers: { accept: 'application/json' }, signal: controller.signal }
 			);
 		}
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ describe( 'restApiSearchClient', () => {
 
 		const searchResult = await restSearchClient( configMock ).fetchByTitle(
 			'thereIsNothingLikeThis',
-			'en.wikipedia.org'
+			'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php'
 		).fetch;
 
 		/* eslint-disable-next-line compat/compat */
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ describe( 'restApiSearchClient', () => {
 		if ( mockedRequests ) {
 			expect( fetchMock ).toHaveBeenCalledTimes( 1 );
 			expect( fetchMock ).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-				'//en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php/v1/search/title?q=thereIsNothingLikeThis&limit=10',
+				'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php/v1/search/title?q=thereIsNothingLikeThis&limit=10',
 				{ headers: { accept: 'application/json' }, signal: controller.signal }
 			);
 		}
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ describe( 'restApiSearchClient', () => {
 
 			await expect( restSearchClient( configMock ).fetchByTitle(
 				'anything',
-				'en.wikipedia.org'
+				'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php'
 			).fetch ).rejects.toThrow( 'failed' );
 		} );
 	}
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/integration/VectorHooksTest.php b/tests/phpunit/integration/VectorHooksTest.php
index f4cd9334..1485f7e2 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/integration/VectorHooksTest.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/integration/VectorHooksTest.php
@@ -56,10 +56,10 @@ class VectorHooksTest extends MediaWikiIntegrationTestCase {
 			[
 				[
 					'VectorWebABTestEnrollment' => [],
-					'VectorSearchHost' => 'en.wikipedia.org'
+					'VectorSearchApiUrl' => 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php'
 				],
 				[
-					'wgVectorSearchHost' => 'en.wikipedia.org',
+					'wgVectorSearchApiUrl' => 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php',
 					'wgVectorWebABTestEnrollment' => [],
 				]
 			],
@@ -83,10 +83,10 @@ class VectorHooksTest extends MediaWikiIntegrationTestCase {
 								],
 						],
 					],
-					'VectorSearchHost' => 'en.wikipedia.org'
+					'VectorSearchApiUrl' => 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php'
 				],
 				[
-					'wgVectorSearchHost' => 'en.wikipedia.org',
+					'wgVectorSearchApiUrl' => 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php',
 					'wgVectorWebABTestEnrollment' => [
 						'name' => 'vector.sticky_header',
 						'enabled' => true,
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ class VectorHooksTest extends MediaWikiIntegrationTestCase {
 			# Bad experiment (no buckets)
 			[
 				[
-					'VectorSearchHost' => 'en.wikipedia.org',
+					'VectorSearchApiUrl' => 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php',
 					'VectorWebABTestEnrollment' => [
 						'name' => 'vector.sticky_header',
 						'enabled' => true,
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ class VectorHooksTest extends MediaWikiIntegrationTestCase {
 			# Bad experiment (no unsampled bucket)
 			[
 				[
-					'VectorSearchHost' => 'en.wikipedia.org',
+					'VectorSearchApiUrl' => 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php',
 					'VectorWebABTestEnrollment' => [
 						'name' => 'vector.sticky_header',
 						'enabled' => true,
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ class VectorHooksTest extends MediaWikiIntegrationTestCase {
 			# Bad experiment (wrong format)
 			[
 				[
-					'VectorSearchHost' => 'en.wikipedia.org',
+					'VectorSearchApiUrl' => 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php',
 					'VectorWebABTestEnrollment' => [
 						'name' => 'vector.sticky_header',
 						'enabled' => true,
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ class VectorHooksTest extends MediaWikiIntegrationTestCase {
 			# Bad experiment (samplingRate defined as string)
 			[
 				[
-					'VectorSearchHost' => 'en.wikipedia.org',
+					'VectorSearchApiUrl' => 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/rest.php',
 					'VectorWebABTestEnrollment' => [
 						'name' => 'vector.sticky_header',
 						'enabled' => true,