Search API

Every API call to search must be authenticated.

Additional scopes

Additional scopes are available for the Advanced Search API and Group Search API if Elasticsearch is enabled: blobs, commits, notes, wiki_blobs.

Advanced Search API

Search for an expression globally across the GitLab instance, in a specified scope. The response depends on the requested scope.

GET /search
AttributeTypeRequiredDescription
scopestringYesThe scope to search in. Values include projects, issues, merge_requests, milestones, snippet_titles, users. Additional scopes: blobs, commits, notes, wiki_blobs.
searchstringYesThe search query.
confidentialbooleanNoFilter by confidentiality. Supports issues scope; other scopes are ignored.
order_bystringNoAllowed values are created_at only. If not set, results are sorted by created_at in descending order for basic search, or by the most relevant documents for advanced search.
sortstringNoAllowed values are asc or desc only. If not set, results are sorted by created_at in descending order for basic search, or by the most relevant documents for advanced search.
statestringNoFilter by state. Supports issues and merge_requests scopes; other scopes are ignored.

Scope: projects

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=projects&search=flight"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 6,
    "description": "Nobis sed ipsam vero quod cupiditate veritatis hic.",
    "name": "Flight",
    "name_with_namespace": "Twitter / Flight",
    "path": "flight",
    "path_with_namespace": "twitter/flight",
    "created_at": "2017-09-05T07:58:01.621Z",
    "default_branch": "main",
    "tag_list":[], //deprecated, use `topics` instead
    "topics":[],
    "ssh_url_to_repo": "ssh://jarka@localhost:2222/twitter/flight.git",
    "http_url_to_repo": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight.git",
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight",
    "readme_url": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight/-/blob/main/README.md",
    "avatar_url": null,
    "star_count": 0,
    "forks_count": 0,
    "last_activity_at": "2018-01-31T09:56:30.902Z"
  }
]

Scope: issues

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=issues&search=file"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 83,
    "iid": 1,
    "project_id": 12,
    "title": "Add file",
    "description": "Add first file",
    "state": "opened",
    "created_at": "2018-01-24T06:02:15.514Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:36:23.263Z",
    "closed_at": null,
    "labels":[],
    "milestone": null,
    "assignees": [{
      "id": 20,
      "name": "Ceola Deckow",
      "username": "sammy.collier",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c23d85a4f50e0ea76ab739156c639231?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/sammy.collier"
    }],
    "author": {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Administrator",
      "username": "root",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
    },
    "assignee": {
      "id": 20,
      "name": "Ceola Deckow",
      "username": "sammy.collier",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c23d85a4f50e0ea76ab739156c639231?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/sammy.collier"
    },
    "user_notes_count": 0,
    "upvotes": 0,
    "downvotes": 0,
    "due_date": null,
    "confidential": false,
    "discussion_locked": null,
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/h5bp/7bp/subgroup-prj/issues/1",
    "time_stats": {
      "time_estimate": 0,
      "total_time_spent": 0,
      "human_time_estimate": null,
      "human_total_time_spent": null
    }
  }
]
note
The assignee column is deprecated. It is shown as a single-sized array assignees to conform to the GitLab EE API.

Scope: merge_requests

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=merge_requests&search=file"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 56,
    "iid": 8,
    "project_id": 6,
    "title": "Add first file",
    "description": "This is a test MR to add file",
    "state": "opened",
    "created_at": "2018-01-22T14:21:50.830Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:40:33.295Z",
    "target_branch": "main",
    "source_branch": "jaja-test",
    "upvotes": 0,
    "downvotes": 0,
    "author": {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Administrator",
      "username": "root",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
    },
    "assignee": {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "Jacquelyn Kutch",
      "username": "abigail",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/3138c66095ee4bd11a508c2f7f7772da?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/abigail"
    },
    "source_project_id": 6,
    "target_project_id": 6,
    "labels": [
      "ruby",
      "tests"
    ],
    "draft": false,
    "work_in_progress": false,
    "milestone": {
      "id": 13,
      "iid": 3,
      "project_id": 6,
      "title": "v2.0",
      "description": "Qui aut qui eos dolor beatae itaque tempore molestiae.",
      "state": "active",
      "created_at": "2017-09-05T07:58:29.099Z",
      "updated_at": "2017-09-05T07:58:29.099Z",
      "due_date": null,
      "start_date": null
    },
    "merge_when_pipeline_succeeds": false,
    "merge_status": "can_be_merged",
    "sha": "78765a2d5e0a43585945c58e61ba2f822e4d090b",
    "merge_commit_sha": null,
    "squash_commit_sha": null,
    "user_notes_count": 0,
    "discussion_locked": null,
    "should_remove_source_branch": null,
    "force_remove_source_branch": true,
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight/merge_requests/8",
    "time_stats": {
      "time_estimate": 0,
      "total_time_spent": 0,
      "human_time_estimate": null,
      "human_total_time_spent": null
    }
  }
]

Scope: milestones

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=milestones&search=release"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 44,
    "iid": 1,
    "project_id": 12,
    "title": "next release",
    "description": "Next release milestone",
    "state": "active",
    "created_at": "2018-02-06T12:43:39.271Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:44:01.298Z",
    "due_date": "2018-04-18",
    "start_date": "2018-02-04"
  }
]

Scope: snippet_titles

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=snippet_titles&search=sample"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 50,
    "title": "Sample file",
    "file_name": "file.rb",
    "description": "Simple ruby file",
    "author": {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Administrator",
      "username": "root",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
    },
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:49:29.104Z",
    "created_at": "2017-11-28T08:20:18.071Z",
    "project_id": 9,
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root/jira-test/snippets/50"
  }
]

Scope: wiki_blobs

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=wiki_blobs&search=bye"

Example response:


[
  {
    "basename": "home",
    "data": "hello\n\nand bye\n\nend",
    "path": "home.md",
    "filename": "home.md",
    "id": null,
    "ref": "main",
    "startline": 5,
    "project_id": 6,
    "group_id": null
  }
]
note
filename is deprecated in favor of path. Both return the full path of the file inside the repository, but in the future filename is intended to be only the filename and not the full path. For details, see issue 34521.

Scope: commits

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=commits&search=bye"

Example response:


[
  {
  "id": "4109c2d872d5fdb1ed057400d103766aaea97f98",
  "short_id": "4109c2d8",
  "title": "goodbye $.browser",
  "created_at": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "parent_ids": [
    "59d05353ab575bcc2aa958fe1782e93297de64c9"
  ],
  "message": "goodbye $.browser\n",
  "author_name": "angus croll",
  "author_email": "anguscroll@gmail.com",
  "authored_date": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "committer_name": "angus croll",
  "committer_email": "anguscroll@gmail.com",
  "committed_date": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "project_id": 6
  }
]

Scope: blobs

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

Filters are available for this scope:

  • filename
  • path
  • extension

To use a filter, include it in your query. For example: a query filename:some_name*.

You may use wildcards (*) to use glob matching.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=blobs&search=installation"

Example response:


[
  {
    "basename": "README",
    "data": "```\n\n## Installation\n\nQuick start using the [pre-built",
    "path": "README.md",
    "filename": "README.md",
    "id": null,
    "ref": "main",
    "startline": 46,
    "project_id": 6
  }
]
note
filename is deprecated in favor of path. Both return the full path of the file inside the repository, but in the future filename is intended to be only the filename and not the full path. For details, see issue 34521.

Scope: notes

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/6/search?scope=notes&search=maxime"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 191,
    "body": "Harum maxime consequuntur et et deleniti assumenda facilis.",
    "attachment": null,
    "author": {
      "id": 23,
      "name": "User 1",
      "username": "user1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/111d68d06e2d317b5a59c2c6c5bad808?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/user1"
    },
    "created_at": "2017-09-05T08:01:32.068Z",
    "updated_at": "2017-09-05T08:01:32.068Z",
    "system": false,
    "noteable_id": 22,
    "noteable_type": "Issue",
    "project_id": 6,
    "noteable_iid": 2
  }
]

Scope: users

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/search?scope=users&search=doe"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "John Doe1",
    "username": "user1",
    "state": "active",
    "avatar_url": "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c922747a93b40d1ea88262bf1aebee62?s=80&d=identicon",
    "web_url": "http://localhost/user1"
  }
]

Group Search API

Search for an expression in the specified group.

If a user is not a member of a group and the group is private, a GET request on that group results in a 404 Not Found status code.

GET /groups/:id/search
AttributeTypeRequiredDescription
idinteger or stringYesThe ID or URL-encoded path of the group owned by the authenticated user.
scopestringYesThe scope to search in. Values include issues, merge_requests, milestones, projects, users. Additional scopes: blobs, commits, notes, wiki_blobs.
searchstringYesThe search query.
confidentialbooleanNoFilter by confidentiality. Supports only issues scope; other scopes are ignored.
order_bystringNoAllowed values are created_at only. If not set, results are sorted by created_at in descending order for basic search, or by the most relevant documents for advanced search.
sortstringNoAllowed values are asc or desc only. If not set, results are sorted by created_at in descending order for basic search, or by the most relevant documents for advanced search.
statestringNoFilter by state. Supports issues and merge_requests only; other scopes are ignored.

The response depends on the requested scope.

Scope: projects

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/3/search?scope=projects&search=flight"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 6,
    "description": "Nobis sed ipsam vero quod cupiditate veritatis hic.",
    "name": "Flight",
    "name_with_namespace": "Twitter / Flight",
    "path": "flight",
    "path_with_namespace": "twitter/flight",
    "created_at": "2017-09-05T07:58:01.621Z",
    "default_branch": "main",
    "tag_list":[], //deprecated, use `topics` instead
    "topics":[],
    "ssh_url_to_repo": "ssh://jarka@localhost:2222/twitter/flight.git",
    "http_url_to_repo": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight.git",
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight",
    "readme_url": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight/-/blob/main/README.md",
    "avatar_url": null,
    "star_count": 0,
    "forks_count": 0,
    "last_activity_at": "2018-01-31T09:56:30.902Z"
  }
]

Scope: issues

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/3/search?scope=issues&search=file"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 83,
    "iid": 1,
    "project_id": 12,
    "title": "Add file",
    "description": "Add first file",
    "state": "opened",
    "created_at": "2018-01-24T06:02:15.514Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:36:23.263Z",
    "closed_at": null,
    "labels":[],
    "milestone": null,
    "assignees": [{
      "id": 20,
      "name": "Ceola Deckow",
      "username": "sammy.collier",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c23d85a4f50e0ea76ab739156c639231?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/sammy.collier"
    }],
    "author": {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Administrator",
      "username": "root",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
    },
    "assignee": {
      "id": 20,
      "name": "Ceola Deckow",
      "username": "sammy.collier",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c23d85a4f50e0ea76ab739156c639231?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/sammy.collier"
    },
    "user_notes_count": 0,
    "upvotes": 0,
    "downvotes": 0,
    "due_date": null,
    "confidential": false,
    "discussion_locked": null,
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/h5bp/7bp/subgroup-prj/issues/1",
    "time_stats": {
      "time_estimate": 0,
      "total_time_spent": 0,
      "human_time_estimate": null,
      "human_total_time_spent": null
    }
  }
]
note
assignee column is deprecated, now we show it as a single-sized array assignees to conform to the GitLab EE API.

Scope: merge_requests

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/3/search?scope=merge_requests&search=file"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 56,
    "iid": 8,
    "project_id": 6,
    "title": "Add first file",
    "description": "This is a test MR to add file",
    "state": "opened",
    "created_at": "2018-01-22T14:21:50.830Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:40:33.295Z",
    "target_branch": "main",
    "source_branch": "jaja-test",
    "upvotes": 0,
    "downvotes": 0,
    "author": {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Administrator",
      "username": "root",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
    },
    "assignee": {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "Jacquelyn Kutch",
      "username": "abigail",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/3138c66095ee4bd11a508c2f7f7772da?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/abigail"
    },
    "source_project_id": 6,
    "target_project_id": 6,
    "labels": [
      "ruby",
      "tests"
    ],
    "draft": false,
    "work_in_progress": false,
    "milestone": {
      "id": 13,
      "iid": 3,
      "project_id": 6,
      "title": "v2.0",
      "description": "Qui aut qui eos dolor beatae itaque tempore molestiae.",
      "state": "active",
      "created_at": "2017-09-05T07:58:29.099Z",
      "updated_at": "2017-09-05T07:58:29.099Z",
      "due_date": null,
      "start_date": null
    },
    "merge_when_pipeline_succeeds": false,
    "merge_status": "can_be_merged",
    "sha": "78765a2d5e0a43585945c58e61ba2f822e4d090b",
    "merge_commit_sha": null,
    "squash_commit_sha": null,
    "user_notes_count": 0,
    "discussion_locked": null,
    "should_remove_source_branch": null,
    "force_remove_source_branch": true,
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight/merge_requests/8",
    "time_stats": {
      "time_estimate": 0,
      "total_time_spent": 0,
      "human_time_estimate": null,
      "human_total_time_spent": null
    }
  }
]

Scope: milestones

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/3/search?scope=milestones&search=release"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 44,
    "iid": 1,
    "project_id": 12,
    "title": "next release",
    "description": "Next release milestone",
    "state": "active",
    "created_at": "2018-02-06T12:43:39.271Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:44:01.298Z",
    "due_date": "2018-04-18",
    "start_date": "2018-02-04"
  }
]

Scope: wiki_blobs

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/6/search?scope=wiki_blobs&search=bye"

Example response:


[
  {
    "basename": "home",
    "data": "hello\n\nand bye\n\nend",
    "path": "home.md",
    "filename": "home.md",
    "id": null,
    "ref": "main",
    "startline": 5,
    "project_id": 6,
    "group_id": 1
  }
]
note
filename is deprecated in favor of path. Both return the full path of the file inside the repository, but in the future filename is intended to be only the filename and not the full path. For details, see issue 34521.

Scope: commits

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/6/search?scope=commits&search=bye"

Example response:


[
  {
  "id": "4109c2d872d5fdb1ed057400d103766aaea97f98",
  "short_id": "4109c2d8",
  "title": "goodbye $.browser",
  "created_at": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "parent_ids": [
    "59d05353ab575bcc2aa958fe1782e93297de64c9"
  ],
  "message": "goodbye $.browser\n",
  "author_name": "angus croll",
  "author_email": "anguscroll@gmail.com",
  "authored_date": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "committer_name": "angus croll",
  "committer_email": "anguscroll@gmail.com",
  "committed_date": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "project_id": 6
  }
]

Scope: blobs

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

Filters are available for this scope:

  • filename
  • path
  • extension

To use a filter, include it in your query. For example: a query filename:some_name*.

You may use wildcards (*) to use glob matching.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/6/search?scope=blobs&search=installation"

Example response:


[
  {
    "basename": "README",
    "data": "```\n\n## Installation\n\nQuick start using the [pre-built",
    "path": "README.md",
    "filename": "README.md",
    "id": null,
    "ref": "main",
    "startline": 46,
    "project_id": 6
  }
]
note
filename is deprecated in favor of path. Both return the full path of the file inside the repository, but in the future filename is intended to be only the filename and not the full path. For details, see issue 34521.

Scope: notes

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/6/search?scope=notes&search=maxime"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 191,
    "body": "Harum maxime consequuntur et et deleniti assumenda facilis.",
    "attachment": null,
    "author": {
      "id": 23,
      "name": "User 1",
      "username": "user1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/111d68d06e2d317b5a59c2c6c5bad808?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/user1"
    },
    "created_at": "2017-09-05T08:01:32.068Z",
    "updated_at": "2017-09-05T08:01:32.068Z",
    "system": false,
    "noteable_id": 22,
    "noteable_type": "Issue",
    "project_id": 6,
    "noteable_iid": 2
  }
]

Scope: users

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/3/search?scope=users&search=doe"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "John Doe1",
    "username": "user1",
    "state": "active",
    "avatar_url": "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c922747a93b40d1ea88262bf1aebee62?s=80&d=identicon",
    "web_url": "http://localhost/user1"
  }
]

Project Search API

Search for an expression in the specified project.

If a user is not a member of a project and the project is private, a GET request on that project results in a 404 status code.

GET /projects/:id/search
AttributeTypeRequiredDescription
idinteger or stringYesThe ID or URL-encoded path of the project owned by the authenticated user.
scopestringYesThe scope to search in. Values include blobs, commits, issues, merge_requests, milestones, notes, users, and wiki_blobs.
searchstringYesThe search query.
confidentialbooleanNoFilter by confidentiality. Supports issues scope; other scopes are ignored.
refstringNoThe name of a repository branch or tag to search on. The project’s default branch is used by default. Applicable only for scopes blobs, commits, and wiki_blobs.
order_bystringNoAllowed values are created_at only. If not set, results are sorted by created_at in descending order for basic search, or by the most relevant documents for advanced search.
sortstringNoAllowed values are asc or desc only. If not set, results are sorted by created_at in descending order for basic search, or by the most relevant documents for advanced search.
statestringNoFilter by state. Supports the issues and merge_requests scopes; other scopes are ignored.

The response depends on the requested scope.

Scope: issues

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/12/search?scope=issues&search=file"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 83,
    "iid": 1,
    "project_id": 12,
    "title": "Add file",
    "description": "Add first file",
    "state": "opened",
    "created_at": "2018-01-24T06:02:15.514Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:36:23.263Z",
    "closed_at": null,
    "labels":[],
    "milestone": null,
    "assignees": [{
      "id": 20,
      "name": "Ceola Deckow",
      "username": "sammy.collier",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c23d85a4f50e0ea76ab739156c639231?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/sammy.collier"
    }],
    "author": {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Administrator",
      "username": "root",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
    },
    "assignee": {
      "id": 20,
      "name": "Ceola Deckow",
      "username": "sammy.collier",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c23d85a4f50e0ea76ab739156c639231?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/sammy.collier"
    },
    "user_notes_count": 0,
    "upvotes": 0,
    "downvotes": 0,
    "due_date": null,
    "confidential": false,
    "discussion_locked": null,
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/h5bp/7bp/subgroup-prj/issues/1",
    "time_stats": {
      "time_estimate": 0,
      "total_time_spent": 0,
      "human_time_estimate": null,
      "human_total_time_spent": null
    }
  }
]
note
assignee column is deprecated, now we show it as a single-sized array assignees to conform to the GitLab EE API.

Scope: merge_requests

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/6/search?scope=merge_requests&search=file"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 56,
    "iid": 8,
    "project_id": 6,
    "title": "Add first file",
    "description": "This is a test MR to add file",
    "state": "opened",
    "created_at": "2018-01-22T14:21:50.830Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:40:33.295Z",
    "target_branch": "main",
    "source_branch": "jaja-test",
    "upvotes": 0,
    "downvotes": 0,
    "author": {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Administrator",
      "username": "root",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
    },
    "assignee": {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "Jacquelyn Kutch",
      "username": "abigail",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/3138c66095ee4bd11a508c2f7f7772da?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/abigail"
    },
    "source_project_id": 6,
    "target_project_id": 6,
    "labels": [
      "ruby",
      "tests"
    ],
    "draft": false,
    "work_in_progress": false,
    "milestone": {
      "id": 13,
      "iid": 3,
      "project_id": 6,
      "title": "v2.0",
      "description": "Qui aut qui eos dolor beatae itaque tempore molestiae.",
      "state": "active",
      "created_at": "2017-09-05T07:58:29.099Z",
      "updated_at": "2017-09-05T07:58:29.099Z",
      "due_date": null,
      "start_date": null
    },
    "merge_when_pipeline_succeeds": false,
    "merge_status": "can_be_merged",
    "sha": "78765a2d5e0a43585945c58e61ba2f822e4d090b",
    "merge_commit_sha": null,
    "squash_commit_sha": null,
    "user_notes_count": 0,
    "discussion_locked": null,
    "should_remove_source_branch": null,
    "force_remove_source_branch": true,
    "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/twitter/flight/merge_requests/8",
    "time_stats": {
      "time_estimate": 0,
      "total_time_spent": 0,
      "human_time_estimate": null,
      "human_total_time_spent": null
    }
  }
]

Scope: milestones

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/12/search?scope=milestones&search=release"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 44,
    "iid": 1,
    "project_id": 12,
    "title": "next release",
    "description": "Next release milestone",
    "state": "active",
    "created_at": "2018-02-06T12:43:39.271Z",
    "updated_at": "2018-02-06T12:44:01.298Z",
    "due_date": "2018-04-18",
    "start_date": "2018-02-04"
  }
]

Scope: notes

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/6/search?scope=notes&search=maxime"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 191,
    "body": "Harum maxime consequuntur et et deleniti assumenda facilis.",
    "attachment": null,
    "author": {
      "id": 23,
      "name": "User 1",
      "username": "user1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/111d68d06e2d317b5a59c2c6c5bad808?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/user1"
    },
    "created_at": "2017-09-05T08:01:32.068Z",
    "updated_at": "2017-09-05T08:01:32.068Z",
    "system": false,
    "noteable_id": 22,
    "noteable_type": "Issue",
    "project_id": 6,
    "noteable_iid": 2
  }
]

Scope: wiki_blobs

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

Filters are available for this scope:

  • filename
  • path
  • extension

To use a filter, include it in your query. For example: a query filename:some_name*. You may use wildcards (*) to use glob matching.

Wiki blobs searches are performed on both filenames and contents. Search results:

  • Found in filenames are displayed before results found in contents.
  • May contain multiple matches for the same blob because the search string might be found in both the filename and content, or might appear multiple times in the content.
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/6/search?scope=wiki_blobs&search=bye"

Example response:


[
  {
    "basename": "home",
    "data": "hello\n\nand bye\n\nend",
    "path": "home.md",
    "filename": "home.md",
    "id": null,
    "ref": "main",
    "startline": 5,
    "project_id": 6,
    "group_id": 1
  }
]
note
filename is deprecated in favor of path. Both return the full path of the file inside the repository, but in the future filename are intended to be only the filename and not the full path. For details, see issue 34521.

Scope: commits

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/6/search?scope=commits&search=bye"

Example response:


[
  {
  "id": "4109c2d872d5fdb1ed057400d103766aaea97f98",
  "short_id": "4109c2d8",
  "title": "goodbye $.browser",
  "created_at": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "parent_ids": [
    "59d05353ab575bcc2aa958fe1782e93297de64c9"
  ],
  "message": "goodbye $.browser\n",
  "author_name": "angus croll",
  "author_email": "anguscroll@gmail.com",
  "authored_date": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "committer_name": "angus croll",
  "committer_email": "anguscroll@gmail.com",
  "committed_date": "2013-02-18T22:02:54.000Z",
  "project_id": 6
  }
]

Scope: blobs

Moved to GitLab Premium in 13.9.

This scope is available only if Elasticsearch is enabled.

Filters are available for this scope:

  • Filename
  • Path
  • Extension

To use a filter, include it in your query. For example: a query filename:some_name*. You may use wildcards (*) to use glob matching.

Blobs searches are performed on both filenames and contents. Search results:

  • Found in filenames are displayed before results found in contents.
  • May contain multiple matches for the same blob because the search string might be found in both the filename and content, or might appear multiple times in the content.
curl --request GET --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/6/search?scope=blobs&search=keyword%20filename:*.py

Example response:


[
  {
    "basename": "README",
    "data": "```\n\n## Installation\n\nQuick start using the [pre-built",
    "path": "README.md",
    "filename": "README.md",
    "id": null,
    "ref": "main",
    "startline": 46,
    "project_id": 6
  }
]
note
filename is deprecated in favor of path. Both return the full path of the file inside the repository, but in the future filename is intended to be only the filename and not the full path. For details, see issue 34521.

Scope: users

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/6/search?scope=users&search=doe"

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "John Doe1",
    "username": "user1",
    "state": "active",
    "avatar_url": "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c922747a93b40d1ea88262bf1aebee62?s=80&d=identicon",
    "web_url": "http://localhost/user1"
  }
]