Search Skill

Search operations for GitLab using glab api raw endpoint calls.

Quick Reference

Operation	Command Pattern	Risk
Search projects	`glab api "search?scope=projects&search=..."`	-
Search issues	`glab api "search?scope=issues&search=..."`	-
Search MRs	`glab api "search?scope=merge_requests&search=..."`	-
Search code	`glab api "search?scope=blobs&search=..."`	-
Search commits	`glab api "search?scope=commits&search=..."`	-
Search users	`glab api "search?scope=users&search=..."`	-
Search wiki	`glab api "search?scope=wiki_blobs&search=..."`	-
Project search	`glab api "projects/:id/search?scope=...&search=..."`	-
Group search	`glab api "groups/:id/search?scope=...&search=..."`	-

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

Scope	Description	Available At
`projects`	Search project names/descriptions	Global, Group
`issues`	Search issue titles/descriptions	Global, Group, Project
`merge_requests`	Search MR titles/descriptions	Global, Group, Project
`milestones`	Search milestone titles	Global, Group, Project
`snippet_titles`	Search snippet titles	Global
`wiki_blobs`	Search wiki content	Global, Group, Project
`commits`	Search commit messages	Global, Group, Project
`blobs`	Search code/file content	Global, Group, Project
`notes`	Search comments	Global, Group, Project
`users`	Search usernames/names	Global

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

For	Search Examples
Bug fixes	`fix bug`, `resolve issue`, `patch`
Features	`add feature`, `implement`, `new`
Refactoring	`refactor`, `cleanup`, `improve`
Security	`security`, `vulnerability`, `CVE`
Performance	`performance`, `optimize`, `speed`
Documentation	`docs`, `readme`, `documentation`

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

Issue	Cause	Solution
Empty results	No matches or no access	Verify search term, check permissions
Partial results	Pagination needed	Use `--paginate` flag
400 Bad Request	Invalid scope	Check scope is valid for endpoint
Slow search	Large result set	Add filters or narrow scope
No code results	Basic search disabled	Contact admin to enable advanced search

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

gitlab-search