Search Endpoint

The Search endpoint exposes ITSM-NG’s powerful search engine, allowing you to query any itemtype using complex criteria, filters, and sorting options.

Basic Search

Perform a basic search on any itemtype.

cURL

curl -X GET \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  -H "App-Token: your_app_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/'

This returns the first 50 tickets with default sorting.

Search Parameters

criteria

array

Array of search criteria objects

metacriteria

array

Array of meta-criteria for searching across related itemtypes (deprecated - use meta flag in criteria)

sort

integer

default:"1"

Field ID to sort by (see searchOptions)

order

string

default:"ASC"

Sort order: ASC or DESC

range

string

default:"0-50"

Pagination range (e.g., 0-49 for first 50 results)

forcedisplay

array

Array of field IDs to force display in results

rawdata

boolean

default:"false"

Include raw SQL query and debug info

withindexes

boolean

default:"false"

Index results by item ID instead of sequential array

uid_cols

boolean

default:"false"

Use unique column identifiers instead of numeric IDs

giveItems

boolean

default:"false"

Include HTML-formatted data in data_html key

Search Criteria

Each criterion object has the following structure:

link

string

Logical operator: AND, OR, AND NOT, NOT (optional for first criterion)

field

integer

required

Field ID from searchOptions (e.g., 1 = name, 2 = ID)

searchtype

string

required

Search operator:

contains - Wildcard search (default)
equals - Exact match
notequals - Not equal
lessthan - Less than
morethan - Greater than
under - Hierarchical under
notunder - Not hierarchical under

value

string

required

Search value

Search Examples

Simple Text Search

Search for computers with “LAPTOP” in the name:

cURL

curl -g -X GET \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Computer/?criteria[0][field]=1&criteria[0][searchtype]=contains&criteria[0][value]=LAPTOP'

Multiple Criteria with AND

Search for tickets that are open (status 1-4) AND high priority (5):

cURL

curl -g -X GET \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?criteria[0][field]=12&criteria[0][searchtype]=equals&criteria[0][value]=1&criteria[1][link]=AND&criteria[1][field]=3&criteria[1][searchtype]=equals&criteria[1][value]=5'

Nested Criteria (Complex Logic)

Search for tickets where (category=Hardware AND priority=5) OR (category=Software AND priority=4):

cURL

curl -g -X GET \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?criteria[0][criteria][0][field]=7&criteria[0][criteria][0][searchtype]=equals&criteria[0][criteria][0][value]=1&criteria[0][criteria][1][link]=AND&criteria[0][criteria][1][field]=3&criteria[0][criteria][1][searchtype]=equals&criteria[0][criteria][1][value]=5&criteria[1][link]=OR&criteria[1][criteria][0][field]=7&criteria[1][criteria][0][searchtype]=equals&criteria[1][criteria][0][value]=2&criteria[1][criteria][1][link]=AND&criteria[1][criteria][1][field]=3&criteria[1][criteria][1][searchtype]=equals&criteria[1][criteria][1][value]=4'

Meta-Criteria (Cross-Itemtype Search)

Search for computers used by users with “john” in their name:

cURL

curl -g -X GET \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Computer/?criteria[0][field]=1&criteria[0][searchtype]=contains&criteria[0][value]=&criteria[1][link]=AND&criteria[1][meta]=true&criteria[1][itemtype]=User&criteria[1][field]=1&criteria[1][searchtype]=contains&criteria[1][value]=john'

Date Range Search

Search for tickets created in the last 7 days:

cURL

curl -g -X GET \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?criteria[0][field]=15&criteria[0][searchtype]=morethan&criteria[0][value]=-7DAY'

For date searches, you can use relative values like -7DAY, -1MONTH, -1YEAR, or absolute dates in YYYY-MM-DD format.

Wildcard Search

The contains searchtype supports wildcards:

^value - Starts with “value”
value$ - Ends with “value”
^value$ - Exact match
value - Contains “value” anywhere (default)

Example - Find tickets starting with “INC”:

cURL

curl -g -X GET \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?criteria[0][field]=1&criteria[0][searchtype]=contains&criteria[0][value]=^INC'

List Search Options

Before searching, you need to know which fields are available. Get searchOptions for an itemtype:

cURL

curl -X GET \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/listSearchOptions/Ticket'

Response Example

{
  "common": "Characteristics",
  "1": {
    "name": "Name",
    "table": "glpi_tickets",
    "field": "name",
    "datatype": "itemlink",
    "uid": "Ticket.name"
  },
  "2": {
    "name": "ID",
    "table": "glpi_tickets",
    "field": "id",
    "datatype": "number",
    "uid": "Ticket.id"
  },
  "12": {
    "name": "Status",
    "table": "glpi_tickets",
    "field": "status",
    "datatype": "specific",
    "uid": "Ticket.status"
  }
}

Use the numeric keys (1, 2, 12, etc.) as field values in your search criteria.

Pagination

Handle large result sets with pagination:

cURL

# First 50 results
curl -g -X GET \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?range=0-49'

# Next 50 results
curl -g -X GET \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?range=50-99'

The response includes headers:

Content-Range: 0-49/500 - Current range / total count
Accept-Range: Ticket 1000 - Max items per request

Sorting Results

Sort by any field:

cURL

# Sort by priority (field 3) descending
curl -g -X GET \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?sort=3&order=DESC'

Force Display Fields

Control which fields appear in results:

cURL

curl -g -X GET \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?forcedisplay[0]=1&forcedisplay[1]=12&forcedisplay[2]=15'

This forces display of fields 1 (name), 12 (status), and 15 (date) in results.

Fields 1 (ID), 2 (name), and 80 (entity) are always included in results by default.

Response Format

{
  "totalcount": 150,
  "count": 50,
  "range": "0-49",
  "data": [
    {
      "1": "Printer not working",
      "2": "123",
      "12": "Processing (assigned)",
      "80": "Root Entity"
    },
    {
      "1": "Network issue",
      "2": "124",
      "12": "New",
      "80": "Root Entity"
    }
  ]
}

totalcount - Total matching results (ignoring pagination)
count - Number of results in this response
range - Current pagination range
data - Array of result objects (keys are searchOption IDs)

Special Itemtypes

AllAssets

Search across all asset types simultaneously:

cURL

curl -g -X GET \
  -H "Session-Token: your_session_token" \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/AllAssets/?criteria[0][field]=1&criteria[0][searchtype]=contains&criteria[0][value]=DELL'

This searches Computers, Monitors, Phones, Printers, etc. in one query.

Common Search Patterns

Find all assets in a location

curl -g -X GET \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Computer/?criteria[0][field]=3&criteria[0][searchtype]=equals&criteria[0][value]=5'

Where field 3 is locations_id=5.

Find tickets assigned to me

# Assuming your user ID is 42
curl -g -X GET \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Ticket/?criteria[0][field]=5&criteria[0][searchtype]=equals&criteria[0][value]=42'

Where field 5 is assigned technician.

Find software installed on computers

curl -g -X GET \
  'https://your-instance.com/apirest.php/search/Computer/?criteria[0][meta]=true&criteria[0][itemtype]=Software&criteria[0][field]=1&criteria[0][searchtype]=contains&criteria[0][value]=Office'

This uses meta-criteria to search across the Software relationship.

Best Practices

Use listSearchOptions First

Always retrieve searchOptions to know available fields before building queries.

Pagination for Large Results

Use appropriate range values to avoid loading thousands of results at once.

Indexed Results for Lookups

Use withindexes=true when you need to look up results by item ID.

Test Criteria Incrementally

Build complex searches step-by-step, testing each criterion before adding more.

Getting Started

Session Management

Resources

CRUD Operations

Search Endpoint

Basic Search

Search Parameters

Search Criteria

Search Examples

Simple Text Search

Multiple Criteria with AND

Nested Criteria (Complex Logic)

Meta-Criteria (Cross-Itemtype Search)

Date Range Search

Wildcard Search

List Search Options

Response Example

Sorting Results

Force Display Fields

Response Format

Special Itemtypes

AllAssets

Common Search Patterns

Best Practices

Use listSearchOptions First

Pagination for Large Results

Indexed Results for Lookups

Test Criteria Incrementally

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Session Management

Resources

CRUD Operations

​Basic Search

​Search Parameters

​Search Criteria

​Search Examples

​Simple Text Search

​Multiple Criteria with AND

​Nested Criteria (Complex Logic)

​Meta-Criteria (Cross-Itemtype Search)

​Date Range Search

​Wildcard Search

​List Search Options

​Response Example

​Pagination

​Sorting Results

​Force Display Fields

​Response Format

​Special Itemtypes

​AllAssets

​Common Search Patterns

​Best Practices

Use listSearchOptions First

Pagination for Large Results

Indexed Results for Lookups

Test Criteria Incrementally

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Basic Search

Search Parameters

Search Criteria

Search Examples

Simple Text Search

Multiple Criteria with AND

Nested Criteria (Complex Logic)

Meta-Criteria (Cross-Itemtype Search)

Date Range Search

Wildcard Search

List Search Options

Response Example

Pagination

Sorting Results

Force Display Fields

Response Format

Special Itemtypes

AllAssets

Common Search Patterns

Best Practices