Syntax reference
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This page provides detailed information on the supported filters, operators,
syntax options, and keyboard shortcuts for Code Search.
Supported filters
The following table lists the filters you can use when searching code.
| Filter |
Other options |
Description |
Example |
case:yes |
case:y |
Make the search case sensitive. By default, searches are not case
sensitive.
If you are grouping multiple search terms, this filter is inherited by
all child groups. |
case:yes Hello World |
class: |
|
Search for a class name. |
class:MainClass |
comment: |
|
Search within comments. |
comment:bug |
content: |
|
Search only for file contents. This excludes filenames. |
content:hello |
file: |
filepath:
path:
f: |
Search for a file by filename or path. |
file:test.js |
function: |
func: |
Search for a function name. |
function:print |
lang: |
language: |
Search for results by using a specific language. |
lang:java test |
pcre:yes |
|
Use Perl compatible regular expressions.
Useful for searching across lines. |
pcre:yes @Provides\s+double |
symbol: |
|
Search for a specific symbol. |
symbol:immutable |
usage: |
|
Search while excluding comments and string literals. |
usage:map |
lang options
The table below lists the commonly used programming languages supported by the
lang: filter. Where applicable, an alias can be used for the value.
| Language |
lang: value |
Aliases |
| C++ |
c++ |
cpp, cc, cxx |
| C |
c |
|
| Java |
java |
|
| Kotlin |
kotlin |
kt, kts |
| Python |
python |
py |
| JavaScript |
javascript |
js |
| Go |
go |
golang |
| JSON |
json |
|
| HTML |
html |
angular |
| Objective-C++ |
objectivec++ |
|
| Objective-C |
objectivec |
objc |
| Markdown |
markdown |
md |
| AppleScript |
applescript |
|
| C# |
c# |
csharp |
| CSS |
css |
|
| CSV |
csv |
|
| curl |
curl |
|
| Dart |
dart |
|
| Django |
django |
|
| JSP |
jsp |
|
| Perl |
perl |
|
| PHP |
php |
|
| PowerShell |
powershell |
|
| Ruby |
ruby |
|
| Rust |
rust |
rs |
| shell |
shell |
bash, sh |
| SHTML |
shtml |
|
| SQL |
sql |
|
| Swift |
swift |
|
| Tcl |
tcl |
|
| XML |
xml |
|
| XSLT |
xslt |
|
| YAML |
yaml |
|
Supported operators
The following table lists the operators you can use when searching code.
Additional syntax options
The following additional syntax options are supported for searching code.
| Option |
Description |
| (search_expression) |
Groups multiple terms together. See
Grouping search terms for more information. |
- |
Excludes the term from search results. |
\ |
Escapes special characters such as ., \,
or (. |
| "search_expression" |
Perform a literal search without interpreting the search query as a
regular expression. |
Supported keyboard shortcuts
To see the keyboard shortcuts available in Code Search, type ?.
The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts you can use when searching
code.
| Key(s) |
Action |
| h |
Show the file's revision history. |
| q |
Toggle the bottom panel. |
| b |
Show or hide the blame layer. |
| f |
Show the find bar. |
| / |
Change focus to the search box. |
| o |
Change focus to the outline browser. |
| t |
Change focus to the directory tree. |
| l |
Opens the Links drop-down. |
| lp |
Copies the file path in the Links drop-down. |
| lh
|
Copies the link to the HEAD version of the file
in the Links drop-down. |
| lr
|
Copies the link to the current version of the file
and the current line in the Links drop-down. |
| .
|
While in the search box, search for code or files
in the current directory. |
| j |
Select the next result in the search results. |
| k |
Select the previous result in the search results. |
| x |
Show cross references for symbols. |
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2023-10-03 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2023-10-03 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eCode Search allows you to search for code using filters like \u003ccode\u003elang:\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003efile:\u003c/code\u003e, and \u003ccode\u003eclass:\u003c/code\u003e to refine your results by language, filename, or class name respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can use operators like \u003ccode\u003eAND\u003c/code\u003e and \u003ccode\u003eOR\u003c/code\u003e to combine search terms, along with additional syntax options for grouping, excluding, and escaping characters within your queries.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eCode Search supports keyboard shortcuts for actions such as showing file history (h), toggling the bottom panel (q), and navigating search results (j/k).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA wide variety of common programming languages are supported by Code Search, including but not limited to: Python, Java, JavaScript, C++, Go, and more, which can be specified using the \u003ccode\u003elang:\u003c/code\u003e filter and their respective values or aliases.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Syntax reference\n\nThis page provides detailed information on the supported filters, operators,\nsyntax options, and keyboard shortcuts for Code Search.\n\nSupported filters\n-----------------\n\nThe following table lists the filters you can use when searching code.\n\n| Filter | Other options | Description | Example |\n|-------------|----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|\n| `case:yes` | `case:y` | Make the search case sensitive. By default, searches are not case sensitive. If you are grouping multiple search terms, this filter is inherited by all child groups. | `case:yes Hello World` |\n| `class:` | | Search for a class name. | `class:MainClass` |\n| `comment:` | | Search within comments. | `comment:bug` |\n| `content:` | | Search only for file contents. This excludes filenames. | `content:hello` |\n| `file:` | `filepath:` path: f: | Search for a file by filename or path. | `file:test.js` |\n| `function:` | `func:` | Search for a function name. | `function:print` |\n| `lang:` | `language:` | Search for results by using a specific language. | `lang:java test` |\n| `pcre:yes` | | Use Perl compatible regular expressions. Useful for searching across lines. | `pcre:yes @Provides\\s+double` |\n| `symbol:` | | Search for a specific symbol. | `symbol:immutable` |\n| `usage:` | | Search while excluding comments and string literals. | `usage:map` |\n\n### lang options\n\nThe table below lists the commonly used programming languages supported by the\n`lang:` filter. Where applicable, an alias can be used for the value.\n\n| Language | `lang:` value | Aliases |\n|---------------|----------------|--------------------|\n| C++ | `c++` | `cpp`, `cc`, `cxx` |\n| C | `c` | |\n| Java | `java` | |\n| Kotlin | `kotlin` | `kt`, `kts` |\n| Python | `python` | `py` |\n| JavaScript | `javascript` | `js` |\n| Go | `go` | `golang` |\n| JSON | `json` | |\n| HTML | `html` | `angular` |\n| Objective-C++ | `objectivec++` | |\n| Objective-C | `objectivec` | `objc` |\n| Markdown | `markdown` | `md` |\n| AppleScript | `applescript` | |\n| C# | `c#` | `csharp` |\n| CSS | `css` | |\n| CSV | `csv` | |\n| curl | `curl` | |\n| Dart | `dart` | |\n| Django | `django` | |\n| JSP | `jsp` | |\n| Perl | `perl` | |\n| PHP | `php` | |\n| PowerShell | `powershell` | |\n| Ruby | `ruby` | |\n| Rust | `rust` | `rs` |\n| shell | `shell` | `bash`, `sh` |\n| SHTML | `shtml` | |\n| SQL | `sql` | |\n| Swift | `swift` | |\n| Tcl | `tcl` | |\n| XML | `xml` | |\n| XSLT | `xslt` | |\n| YAML | `yaml` | |\n\nSupported operators\n-------------------\n\nThe following table lists the operators you can use when searching code.\n\n| Operator | Description |\n|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| `AND` | Logical \\`AND\\` operator. See [Using the AND operator](/code-search/user/and-operator) for more information. |\n| `OR` | Logical \\`OR\\` operator. See [Using the OR operator](/code-search/user/or-operator) for more information. |\n\nAdditional syntax options\n-------------------------\n\nThe following additional syntax options are supported for searching code.\n\n| Option | Description |\n|-----------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| (\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003esearch_expression\u003c/var\u003e) | Groups multiple terms together. See [Grouping search terms](/code-search/user/group-terms) for more information. |\n| `-` | Excludes the term from search results. |\n| `\\` | Escapes special characters such as `.`, `\\`, or `(`. |\n| \"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003esearch_expression\u003c/var\u003e\" | Perform a literal search without interpreting the search query as a regular expression. |\n\nSupported keyboard shortcuts\n----------------------------\n\nTo see the keyboard shortcuts available in Code Search, type `?`.\n\nThe following table lists the keyboard shortcuts you can use when searching\ncode.\n\n| Key(s) | Action |\n|--------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| h | Show the file's revision history. |\n| q | Toggle the bottom panel. |\n| b | Show or hide the blame layer. |\n| f | Show the find bar. |\n| / | Change focus to the search box. |\n| o | Change focus to the outline browser. |\n| t | Change focus to the directory tree. |\n| l | Opens the Links drop-down. |\n| lp | Copies the file path in the Links drop-down. |\n| lh | Copies the link to the HEAD version of the file in the Links drop-down. |\n| lr | Copies the link to the current version of the file and the current line in the Links drop-down. |\n| . | While in the search box, search for code or files in the current directory. |\n| j | Select the next result in the search results. |\n| k | Select the previous result in the search results. |\n| x | Show cross references for symbols. |"]]