--- title: Searching code intro: 'You can search for code on {% data variables.product.product_name %} and narrow the results using these code search qualifiers in any combination.' redirect_from: - /articles/searching-code - /github/searching-for-information-on-github/searching-files-in-a-repository-for-exact-matches - /github/searching-for-information-on-github/searching-code-for-exact-matches - /github/searching-for-information-on-github/searching-code versions: fpt: '*' ghes: '*' ghae: '*' topics: - GitHub search --- {% data reusables.search.you-can-search-globally %} For more information, see "[About searching on GitHub](/articles/about-searching-on-github)." You can only search code using these code search qualifiers. Search qualifiers specifically for repositories, users, or commits, will not work when searching for code. {% data reusables.search.syntax_tips %} ## Considerations for code search Due to the complexity of searching code, there are some restrictions on how searches are performed: {% ifversion fpt or ghes %} - {% data reusables.search.required_login %}{% endif %} - Code in [forks](/articles/about-forks) is only searchable if the fork has more stars than the parent repository. Forks with fewer stars than the parent repository are **not** indexed for code search. To include forks with more stars than their parent in the search results, you will need to add `fork:true` or `fork:only` to your query. For more information, see "[Searching in forks](/articles/searching-in-forks)." - Only the _default branch_ is indexed for code search.{% ifversion fpt %} - Only files smaller than 384 KB are searchable.{% else %}* Only files smaller than 5 MB are searchable. - Only the first 500 KB of each file is searchable.{% endif %} - Only repositories with fewer than 500,000 files are searchable.{% ifversion fpt %} - Only repositories that have had activity or have been returned in search results in the last year are searchable.{% endif %} - Except with [`filename`](#search-by-filename) searches, you must always include at least one search term when searching source code. For example, searching for [`language:javascript`](https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=language%3Ajavascript&type=Code&ref=searchresults) is not valid, while [`amazing language:javascript`](https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=amazing+language%3Ajavascript&type=Code&ref=searchresults) is. - At most, search results can show two fragments from the same file, but there may be more results within the file. - You can't use the following wildcard characters as part of your search query: . , : ; / \ ` ' " = * ! ? # $ & + ^ | ~ < > ( ) { } [ ] @. The search will simply ignore these symbols. ## Search by the file contents or file path With the `in` qualifier you can restrict your search to the contents of the source code file, the file path, or both. When you omit this qualifier, only the file contents are searched. | Qualifier | Example | ------------- | ------------- | `in:file` | [**octocat in:file**](https://github.com/search?q=octocat+in%3Afile&type=Code) matches code where "octocat" appears in the file contents. | `in:path` | [**octocat in:path**](https://github.com/search?q=octocat+in%3Apath&type=Code) matches code where "octocat" appears in the file path. | | [**octocat in:file,path**](https://github.com/search?q=octocat+in%3Afile%2Cpath&type=Code) matches code where "octocat" appears in the file contents or the file path. ## Search within a user's or organization's repositories To search the code in all repositories owned by a certain user or organization, you can use the `user` or `org` qualifier. To search the code in a specific repository, you can use the `repo` qualifier. | Qualifier | Example | ------------- | ------------- | user:USERNAME | [**user:defunkt extension:rb**](https://github.com/search?q=user%3Agithub+extension%3Arb&type=Code) matches code from @defunkt that ends in .rb. | org:ORGNAME |[**org:github extension:js**](https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=org%3Agithub+extension%3Ajs&type=Code) matches code from GitHub that ends in .js. | repo:USERNAME/REPOSITORY | [**repo:mozilla/shumway extension:as**](https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Amozilla%2Fshumway+extension%3Aas&type=Code) matches code from @mozilla's shumway project that ends in .as. ## Search by file location You can use the `path` qualifier to search for source code that appears at a specific location in a repository. Use `path:/` to search for files that are located at the root level of a repository. Or specify a directory name or the path to a directory to search for files that are located within that directory or any of its subdirectories. | Qualifier | Example | ------------- | ------------- | path:/ | [**octocat filename:readme path:/**](https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=octocat+filename%3Areadme+path%3A%2F&type=Code) matches _readme_ files with the word "octocat" that are located at the root level of a repository. | path:DIRECTORY | [**form path:cgi-bin language:perl**](https://github.com/search?q=form+path%3Acgi-bin+language%3Aperl&type=Code) matches Perl files with the word "form" in a cgi-bin directory, or in any of its subdirectories. | path:PATH/TO/DIRECTORY | [**console path:app/public language:javascript**](https://github.com/search?q=console+path%3A%22app%2Fpublic%22+language%3Ajavascript&type=Code) matches JavaScript files with the word "console" in an app/public directory, or in any of its subdirectories (even if they reside in app/public/js/form-validators). ## Search by language You can search for code based on what language it's written in. The `language` qualifier can be the language name or alias. For a full list of supported languages with their names and aliases, see the [github/linguist repository](https://github.com/github/linguist/blob/master/lib/linguist/languages.yml). | Qualifier | Example | ------------- | ------------- | language:LANGUAGE | [**element language:xml size:100**](https://github.com/search?q=element+language%3Axml+size%3A100&type=Code) matches code with the word "element" that's marked as being XML and has exactly 100 bytes. | | [**display language:scss**](https://github.com/search?q=display+language%3Ascss&type=Code) matches code with the word "display," that's marked as being SCSS. | | [**org:mozilla language:markdown**](https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=org%3Amozilla+language%3Amarkdown&type=Code) matches code from all @mozilla's repositories that's marked as Markdown. ## Search by file size You can use the `size` qualifier to search for source code based on the size of the file where the code exists. The `size` qualifier uses [greater than, less than, and range qualifiers](/articles/understanding-the-search-syntax) to filter results based on the byte size of the file in which the code is found. | Qualifier | Example | ------------- | ------------- | size:n | [**function size:>10000 language:python**](https://github.com/search?q=function+size%3A%3E10000+language%3Apython&type=Code) matches code with the word "function," written in Python, in files that are larger than 10 KB. ## Search by filename The `filename` qualifier matches code files with a certain filename. You can also find a file in a repository using the file finder. For more information, see "[Finding files on GitHub](/articles/finding-files-on-github)." | Qualifier | Example | ------------- | ------------- | filename:FILENAME | [**filename:linguist**](https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=filename%3Alinguist&type=Code) matches files named "linguist." | | [**filename:.vimrc commands**](https://github.com/search?q=filename%3A.vimrc+commands&type=Code) matches *.vimrc* files with the word "commands." | | [**filename:test_helper path:test language:ruby**](https://github.com/search?q=minitest+filename%3Atest_helper+path%3Atest+language%3Aruby&type=Code) matches Ruby files named *test_helper* within the *test* directory. ## Search by file extension The `extension` qualifier matches code files with a certain file extension. | Qualifier | Example | ------------- | ------------- | extension:EXTENSION | [**form path:cgi-bin extension:pm**](https://github.com/search?q=form+path%3Acgi-bin+extension%3Apm&type=Code) matches code with the word "form," under cgi-bin, with the .pm file extension. | | [**icon size:>200000 extension:css**](https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=icon+size%3A%3E200000+extension%3Acss&type=Code) matches files larger than 200 KB that end in .css and have the word "icon." ## Further reading - "[Sorting search results](/articles/sorting-search-results/)" - "[Searching in forks](/articles/searching-in-forks)"{% ifversion fpt %} - "[Navigating code on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}](/github/managing-files-in-a-repository/navigating-code-on-github)"{% endif %}