diff --git a/meli.1 b/meli.1
index 702b8365..d400d501 100644
--- a/meli.1
+++ b/meli.1
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ uses the SEARCH command,
 uses libnotmuch and
 .Em Maildir/mbox
 performs a slow linear search.
-It is advised to use a cache on
+It is advised to use a search backend on
 .Em Maildir/mbox
 accounts.
 .Nm Ns
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ and
 .Em Date .
 The message body (in plain text human readable form) and the flags can also be queried.
 To enable sqlite3 indexing for an account set
-.Em cache_type
+.Em search_backend
 to
 .Em sqlite3
 in the configuration file and to create the sqlite3 index issue command
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ Quotes should always be escaped.
 .Sy Important Notice about IMAP/JMAP
 .sp
 To prevent downloading all your messages from your IMAP/JMAP server, don't set
-.Em cache_type
+.Em search_backend
 to
 .Em sqlite3 Ns
 \&.
diff --git a/meli.conf.5 b/meli.conf.5
index 8d8727d4..31a212d1 100644
--- a/meli.conf.5
+++ b/meli.conf.5
@@ -164,9 +164,9 @@ If true, do not monitor account for changes (you can use shortcut listing.refres
 .Pq Em optional
 command to execute when manually refreshing (shortcut listing.refresh)
 .Pq Em None
-.It Ic cache_type Ar String
+.It Ic search_backend Ar String
 .Pq Em optional
-Choose which cache backend to use.
+Choose which search backend to use.
 Available options are 'none' and 'sqlite3'
 .Pq Em "sqlite3"
 .It Ic vcard_folder Ar String
diff --git a/src/components/mail/status.rs b/src/components/mail/status.rs
index 3aa42ffa..0b314da5 100644
--- a/src/components/mail/status.rs
+++ b/src/components/mail/status.rs
@@ -460,17 +460,17 @@ impl Component for AccountStatus {
         );
         write_string_to_grid(
             &if a.settings.account().format() == "imap"
-                && *a.settings.conf.cache_type() == CacheType::None
+                && *a.settings.conf.search_backend() == SearchBackend::None
             {
                 "server-side search".to_string()
             } else if a.settings.account().format() == "notmuch"
-                && *a.settings.conf.cache_type() == CacheType::None
+                && *a.settings.conf.search_backend() == SearchBackend::None
             {
                 "notmuch database".to_string()
             } else {
                 #[cfg(feature = "sqlite3")]
                 {
-                    if *a.settings.conf.cache_type() == CacheType::Sqlite3 {
+                    if *a.settings.conf.search_backend() == SearchBackend::Sqlite3 {
                         if let Ok(path) = crate::sqlite3::db_path() {
                             format!("sqlite3 database {}", path.display())
                         } else {
diff --git a/src/conf.rs b/src/conf.rs
index 88e925e5..8e149a99 100644
--- a/src/conf.rs
+++ b/src/conf.rs
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ pub struct FileAccount {
     #[serde(default)]
     mailboxes: HashMap<String, FileMailboxConf>,
     #[serde(default)]
-    cache_type: CacheType,
+    search_backend: SearchBackend,
     #[serde(default = "false_val")]
     pub manual_refresh: bool,
     #[serde(default = "none")]
@@ -220,8 +220,8 @@ impl FileAccount {
         &self.root_mailbox
     }
 
-    pub fn cache_type(&self) -> &CacheType {
-        &self.cache_type
+    pub fn search_backend(&self) -> &SearchBackend {
+        &self.search_backend
     }
 }
 
@@ -417,7 +417,7 @@ impl FileSettings {
                 extra,
                 manual_refresh,
                 refresh_command: _,
-                cache_type: _,
+                search_backend: _,
                 conf_override: _,
             } = acc.clone();
 
@@ -630,26 +630,26 @@ impl Serialize for IndexStyle {
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq)]
-pub enum CacheType {
+pub enum SearchBackend {
     None,
     #[cfg(feature = "sqlite3")]
     Sqlite3,
 }
 
-impl Default for CacheType {
+impl Default for SearchBackend {
     fn default() -> Self {
         #[cfg(feature = "sqlite3")]
         {
-            CacheType::Sqlite3
+            SearchBackend::Sqlite3
         }
         #[cfg(not(feature = "sqlite3"))]
         {
-            CacheType::None
+            SearchBackend::None
         }
     }
 }
 
-impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for CacheType {
+impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for SearchBackend {
     fn deserialize<D>(deserializer: D) -> std::result::Result<Self, D::Error>
     where
         D: Deserializer<'de>,
@@ -657,22 +657,22 @@ impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for CacheType {
         let s = <String>::deserialize(deserializer)?;
         match s.as_str() {
             #[cfg(feature = "sqlite3")]
-            "sqlite3" => Ok(CacheType::Sqlite3),
-            "nothing" | "none" | "" => Ok(CacheType::None),
-            _ => Err(de::Error::custom("invalid `index_cache` value")),
+            "sqlite3" => Ok(SearchBackend::Sqlite3),
+            "nothing" | "none" | "" => Ok(SearchBackend::None),
+            _ => Err(de::Error::custom("invalid `search_backend` value")),
         }
     }
 }
 
-impl Serialize for CacheType {
+impl Serialize for SearchBackend {
     fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> std::result::Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
     where
         S: Serializer,
     {
         match self {
             #[cfg(feature = "sqlite3")]
-            CacheType::Sqlite3 => serializer.serialize_str("sqlite3"),
-            CacheType::None => serializer.serialize_str("none"),
+            SearchBackend::Sqlite3 => serializer.serialize_str("sqlite3"),
+            SearchBackend::None => serializer.serialize_str("none"),
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/conf/accounts.rs b/src/conf/accounts.rs
index 3d643579..af0c967a 100644
--- a/src/conf/accounts.rs
+++ b/src/conf/accounts.rs
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ impl Account {
         };
 
         if settings.account().format() == "imap" {
-            settings.conf.cache_type = crate::conf::CacheType::None;
+            settings.conf.search_backend = crate::conf::SearchBackend::None;
         }
 
         let mut active_jobs = HashMap::default();