Query syntax

A Sourcegraph query consists of two parts: a search pattern describing what to find, and filters that scope where to look. Both are optional—you can use filters alone to search commit history, file names, or repository names without a content pattern.

<search pattern>  <filter> <filter> ...

For example:

http.NewRequest lang:go repo:myorg/ -file:_test\.go

Search patterns

Keyword search (default)

In keyword mode (the default since Sourcegraph 5.4), terms are matched independently anywhere in the file. Use quotes for phrases and /.../ for inline regex:

Syntax	Behavior
`foo bar`	Files containing both `foo` and `bar` anywhere
`"foo bar"`	Exact phrase match
`/foo.*bar/`	Regular expression match (RE2 syntax)
`foo OR bar`	Files containing either `foo` or `bar`

Matching is case-insensitive by default. Toggle the Aa button in the search bar or add case:yes to your query to enable case sensitivity.

Regular expression search

Enable the (.*) toggle or include patternType:regexp to treat the entire query as a regular expression. Spaces between unquoted terms become .*? (fuzzy match). Quoted terms are matched literally.

Syntax	Behavior
`foo bar`	Matches `foo(.*?)bar`
`"foo bar"`	Matches the literal string `foo bar`
`foo\nbar`	Multiline match; `\n` is interpreted as a newline
`foo\ bar` or `/foo bar/`	Matches `foo bar` with a literal space

Sourcegraph uses RE2 syntax. Lookaheads, lookbehinds, and backreferences are not supported. For post-filtering with PCRE features, pipe results through src CLI and jq.

Structural search

Structural search uses Comby patterns to match syntactic code structures. Use :[name] as a hole that matches any sequence of characters (including across lines):

fmt.Errorf(":[msg]", :[args])

if err := :[call]; err != nil { :[body] }

Structural search ignores whitespace differences, making it reliable across codebases with different formatting conventions. Enable it with the [] toggle or patternType:structural.

Structural search requires an indexed commit. It is not available for unindexed branches.

Filters (all searches)

Filters narrow which repositories, files, or branches are searched. Multiple filters of the same type are intersected (AND logic) unless you use | within a single filter value for OR logic.

Repository

Filter	Description	Example
`repo:pattern`	Include repos whose path matches the RE2 pattern	`repo:myorg/frontend`
`-repo:pattern`	Exclude matching repos	`-repo:archived-`
`repo:pattern@rev`	Search a specific revision	`repo:myorg/api@v2.0`
`rev:revision`	Search a revision (used with `repo:`)	`repo:myorg/api rev:main`

To search multiple revisions, separate them with ::

repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$ rev:v1.5:v2.0 deprecatedEndpoint

Use glob patterns to search across many branches:

repo:^github\.com/myorg/myrepo$@*refs/heads/ type:diff after:"1 week ago" TODO

File

Filter	Description	Example
`file:pattern`	Include files whose full path matches the RE2 pattern	`file:\.go$`
`-file:pattern`	Exclude matching files	`-file:_test\.go$`
`file:has.content(pattern)`	Only files whose contents match the pattern	`file:has.content(TODO)`
`file:has.owner(email)`	Only files with a matching CODEOWNERS entry	`file:has.owner(alice@example.com)`
`file:has.contributor(pattern)`	Only files with a matching contributor name or email	`file:has.contributor(alice)`

Language

lang:typescript encoding
-lang:javascript http

Aliases: language:, l:. Language detection is based on file extension by default. Enable the search-content-based-lang-detection feature flag for content-based detection.

Content

Use content:"pattern" to set the search pattern explicitly when the pattern text would conflict with filter syntax:

repo:myorg content:"repo:myorg"

Use -content:"pattern" to exclude files containing a pattern:

file:Dockerfile alpine -content:alpine:latest

Result type

Filter	Description
`type:symbol`	Symbol search (functions, classes, variables)
`type:diff`	Search commit diffs
`type:commit`	Search commit messages

Select

select: transforms results to return only a specific aspect:

Value	Returns
`select:repo`	Distinct repository paths
`select:file`	Distinct file paths
`select:content`	Matching content chunks
`select:symbol.function`	Only function symbols
`select:symbol.class`	Only class symbols
`select:commit.diff.added`	Only added lines in diffs
`select:commit.diff.removed`	Only removed lines in diffs
`select:file.directory`	Directory paths of matched files
`select:file.owners`	Owners of matched files

Example—find all repositories that use fmt.Errorf:

fmt.Errorf select:repo

Repository predicates

Filter	Description	Example
`repo:has.path(pattern)`	Repos containing a file path matching the pattern	`repo:has.path(\.py)`
`repo:has.content(pattern)`	Repos containing file content matching the pattern	`repo:has.content(TODO)`
`repo:has.topic(topic)`	Repos with a given GitHub/GitLab topic	`repo:has.topic(security)`
`repo:has.meta(key:value)`	Repos tagged with a metadata key-value pair	`repo:has.meta(team:platform)`
`repo:has.commit.after(time)`	Repos with a commit more recent than the given time	`repo:has.commit.after(1 month ago)`
`repo:has.description(pattern)`	Repos with a description matching the pattern	`repo:has.description(go package)`

Behavior modifiers

Filter	Description	Example
`case:yes`	Case-sensitive matching	`OPEN_FILE case:yes`
`fork:yes` / `fork:only`	Include or limit to forked repos	`fork:yes repo:myorg`
`archived:yes` / `archived:only`	Include or limit to archived repos	`archived:only repo:myorg`
`count:N` / `count:all`	Return N results or wait for all	`count:1000 http.Get`
`timeout:duration`	Set a custom search timeout (max 1 minute)	`timeout:30s count:10000 func`
`visibility:public` / `visibility:private`	Filter by repo visibility	`type:repo visibility:public`
`patterntype:keyword` / `patterntype:regexp`	Override the pattern type	`test. patternType:regexp`

Filters (diff and commit searches only)

These filters apply only when type:diff or type:commit is set:

Filter	Description	Example
`author:pattern`	Commits authored by a matching name or email	`type:diff author:alice`
`-author:pattern`	Exclude commits by matching author	`type:commit -author:bot`
`after:"time"`	Commits after the given time	`after:"6 weeks ago"`
`before:"time"`	Commits before the given time	`before:"2024-01-01"`
`message:"string"`	Commits whose message contains the string	`type:commit message:"fix auth"`
`-message:"string"`	Exclude commits with matching message	`-message:"WIP"`

Time values accept many formats: "yesterday", "5 days ago", "2 weeks ago", "november 1 2019", "2024-03-15", and Unix timestamps. Example—find all security-related changes on any branch in the last week:

type:diff repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$@*refs/heads/ after:"1 week ago" \b(auth|security|password|permissions)\b

Boolean operators

Combine expressions with AND, OR, and NOT (case-insensitive):

Operator	Behavior	Example
`AND`	Both sides must match	`conf.Get( AND log15.Error(`
`OR`	Either side must match	`conf.Get( OR log15.Error(`
`NOT`	Negates a term or filter	`panic NOT ever`

AND binds more tightly than OR, so a AND b OR c AND d means (a AND b) OR (c AND d). Use parentheses to override precedence:

lang:go (timeout OR deadline) AND NOT test

When no parentheses are present, filters bind to adjacent terms:

file:main.c char c or (int i and int j)

is interpreted as (file:main.c char c) or (int i and int j). To apply file:main.c to the entire expression, use:

file:main.c (char c or (int i and int j))

To search for the literal words OR, AND, or NOT in code, use content:"query with OR".

Repository revisions

Append a revision to the repo: filter with @, or use the separate rev: filter:

# Branch name
repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$@main

# Commit hash
repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$@1735d48

# Tag
repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$@v3.15

# Multiple revisions
repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$ rev:v1.0:v2.0:main

# All branches (glob)
repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$@*refs/heads/

# All branches except main
repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$@*refs/heads/:^refs/heads/main

# Search at a point in time (Sourcegraph 5.4+)
repo:^github\.com/myorg/api$ rev:at.time(1 year ago)

Common query examples

Find hardcoded credentials or private keys across all repositories:

(-----BEGIN [A-Z ]*PRIVATE KEY------)|("gh|'gh)[pousr]_[A-Za-z0-9_]{16,} patternType:regexp case:yes

Find all TODOs outside of JSON, Markdown, and text files:

-file:\.(json|md|txt)$ TODO|FIXME|HACK|XXX

Find recent changes to authentication code across all branches:

type:diff repo:^github\.com/myorg/ repo:@*refs/heads/ after:"1 week ago" \b(login|logout|auth|token|session)\b

Find all repositories that have a Dockerfile and use Python:

repo:has.path(Dockerfile) lang:python select:repo

Find dependency changes in the last week:

file:package\.json type:diff after:"1 week ago"

Overview

Introduction to Code Search concepts and search types.

Features

Saved searches, search contexts, code monitoring, and more.

Get Started

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Code Search

Platform Features

Search patterns

Keyword search (default)

Regular expression search

Structural search

Filters (all searches)

Repository

File

Language

Content

Result type

Select

Repository predicates

Behavior modifiers

Filters (diff and commit searches only)

Boolean operators

Repository revisions

Common query examples

Overview

Features

​Search patterns

​Keyword search (default)

​Regular expression search

​Structural search

​Filters (all searches)

​Repository

​File

​Language

​Content

​Result type

​Select

​Repository predicates

​Behavior modifiers

​Filters (diff and commit searches only)

​Boolean operators

​Repository revisions

​Common query examples

Overview

Features

Search patterns

Keyword search (default)

Regular expression search

Structural search

Filters (all searches)

Repository

File

Language

Content

Result type

Select

Repository predicates

Behavior modifiers

Filters (diff and commit searches only)

Boolean operators

Repository revisions

Common query examples