Gitlab Search

Search Skill

Search operations for GitLab using glab api raw endpoint calls.

Quick Reference

Risk Legend: - Safe | ⚠️ Caution | ⚠️⚠️ Warning | ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Danger

When to Use This Skill

ALWAYS use when:

• User wants to search or find something across GitLab
• User mentions "search", "find", "query", "look for"
• User asks "where is", "which project has", "find all"
• User wants to search code, issues, MRs, commits, or wikis

NEVER use when:

• User wants to list all items (use specific skill: gitlab-issue, gitlab-mr, etc.)
• User knows the exact project/issue/MR ID
• User wants to search local files (use grep/find locally)

API Prerequisites

Required Token Scopes: read_api or api

Note: Search results are limited to resources the authenticated user can access.

Search Scopes

Available Commands

Global Search

# Search projects by name
glab api "search?scope=projects&search=api+gateway" --method GET

# Search issues globally
glab api "search?scope=issues&search=authentication+bug" --method GET

# Search merge requests
glab api "search?scope=merge_requests&search=refactor" --method GET

# Search code (blobs)
glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=TODO+fixme" --method GET

# Search commits
glab api "search?scope=commits&search=fix+security" --method GET

# Search wiki content
glab api "search?scope=wiki_blobs&search=installation" --method GET

# Search users
glab api "search?scope=users&search=john" --method GET

# Search milestones
glab api "search?scope=milestones&search=v2.0" --method GET

# Search comments/notes
glab api "search?scope=notes&search=approved" --method GET

Project-Scoped Search

# Search issues in specific project
glab api "projects/123/search?scope=issues&search=bug" --method GET

# Search code in project
glab api "projects/123/search?scope=blobs&search=function+authenticate" --method GET

# Search commits in project
glab api "projects/123/search?scope=commits&search=fix" --method GET

# Search wiki in project
glab api "projects/123/search?scope=wiki_blobs&search=setup" --method GET

# Search MRs in project
glab api "projects/123/search?scope=merge_requests&search=feature" --method GET

# Search notes in project
glab api "projects/123/search?scope=notes&search=LGTM" --method GET

# Search milestones in project
glab api "projects/123/search?scope=milestones&search=sprint" --method GET

# Using project path (URL-encoded)
glab api "projects/$(echo 'mygroup/myproject' | jq -Rr @uri)/search?scope=blobs&search=TODO"

Group-Scoped Search

# Search issues in group
glab api "groups/456/search?scope=issues&search=urgent" --method GET

# Search code across group
glab api "groups/456/search?scope=blobs&search=api+key" --method GET

# Search projects in group
glab api "groups/456/search?scope=projects&search=backend" --method GET

# Search MRs in group
glab api "groups/456/search?scope=merge_requests&search=hotfix" --method GET

# Using group path (URL-encoded)
glab api "groups/$(echo 'mygroup' | jq -Rr @uri)/search?scope=issues&search=bug"

Pagination

# Get more results per page
glab api "search?scope=issues&search=bug&per_page=50" --method GET

# Get specific page
glab api "search?scope=issues&search=bug&per_page=50&page=2" --method GET

# Auto-paginate all results
glab api "search?scope=projects&search=api" --paginate

Advanced Search Syntax

# Exact phrase search (use quotes, URL-encoded)
glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=%22exact+phrase%22" --method GET

# Filename filter in code search
glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=authenticate+filename:auth.py" --method GET

# Extension filter
glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=class+extension:java" --method GET

# Path filter
glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=config+path:src/main" --method GET

Output Processing

Extract Key Fields

# Get issue IDs and titles
glab api "search?scope=issues&search=bug" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.project_id)#\(.iid): \(.title)"'

# Get project names and URLs
glab api "search?scope=projects&search=api" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.path_with_namespace): \(.web_url)"'

# Get code matches with file paths
glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=TODO" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.project_id):\(.path):\(.startline) \(.data)"'

# Get commit info
glab api "search?scope=commits&search=fix" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.short_id): \(.title)"'

Count Results

# Count matching issues
glab api "search?scope=issues&search=bug" --paginate | jq 'length'

# Count by project
glab api "search?scope=issues&search=bug" --paginate | \
  jq 'group_by(.project_id) | map({project: .[0].project_id, count: length})'

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Find All TODOs in Codebase

# Search for TODO comments across all accessible projects
glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=TODO" --paginate | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.project_id):\(.path):\(.startline)"'

Workflow 2: Find Issues Across Team Projects

# Get group ID
group_id=$(glab api "groups/$(echo 'myteam' | jq -Rr @uri)" | jq -r '.id')

# Search for critical issues in group
glab api "groups/$group_id/search?scope=issues&search=critical" --paginate | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.references.full): \(.title)"'

Workflow 3: Find Who Worked on Feature

# Search commits mentioning feature
glab api "projects/123/search?scope=commits&search=authentication" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.author_name): \(.title)"'

Workflow 4: Find Security-Related Code

# Search for potential security patterns
for term in "password" "secret" "api_key" "token"; do
  echo "=== Searching for: $term ==="
  glab api "projects/123/search?scope=blobs&search=$term" | \
    jq -r '.[] | "\(.path):\(.startline)"'
done

Workflow 5: Find Related MRs

# Search MRs by feature name
glab api "search?scope=merge_requests&search=oauth+integration" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "!\(.iid) [\(.state)]: \(.title)"'

Search Tips

Effective Search Terms

URL Encoding Special Characters

# Space -> +
glab api "search?scope=issues&search=fix+bug"

# Quotes (for exact match) -> %22
glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=%22exact+phrase%22"

# Hash -> %23
glab api "search?scope=issues&search=issue%231234"

Troubleshooting

Search Limitations

• Basic search searches titles/descriptions only
• Advanced search (Elasticsearch) required for code search
• Results limited to accessible resources
• Rate limits apply for large searches

Related Documentation

• API Helpers
• Safeguards
• Quick Reference
• GitLab Search API