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GET
/
search
cURL
curl -i -X GET "https://api.box.com/2.0/search?query=sales" \
     -H "authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>"
{
  "type": "search_results_items",
  "total_count": 5000,
  "limit": 1000,
  "offset": 2000,
  "entries": [
    {
      "id": "12345",
      "type": "file",
      "etag": "1",
      "sequence_id": "3",
      "name": "Contract.pdf",
      "sha1": "85136C79CBF9FE36BB9D05D0639C70C265C18D37",
      "file_version": {
        "id": "12345",
        "type": "file_version",
        "sha1": "134b65991ed521fcfe4724b7d814ab8ded5185dc"
      },
      "description": "Contract for Q1 renewal",
      "size": 629644,
      "path_collection": {
        "total_count": 1,
        "entries": [
          {
            "id": "12345",
            "type": "folder",
            "etag": "1",
            "sequence_id": "3",
            "name": "Contracts"
          }
        ]
      },
      "created_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
      "modified_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
      "trashed_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
      "purged_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
      "content_created_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
      "content_modified_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
      "created_by": {
        "id": "11446498",
        "type": "user",
        "name": "Aaron Levie",
        "login": "[email protected]"
      },
      "modified_by": {
        "id": "11446498",
        "type": "user",
        "name": "Aaron Levie",
        "login": "[email protected]"
      },
      "owned_by": {
        "id": "11446498",
        "type": "user",
        "name": "Aaron Levie",
        "login": "[email protected]"
      },
      "shared_link": {
        "url": "https://www.box.com/s/vspke7y05sb214wjokpk",
        "effective_access": "company",
        "effective_permission": "can_download",
        "is_password_enabled": true,
        "download_count": 3,
        "preview_count": 3,
        "download_url": "https://www.box.com/shared/static/rh935iit6ewrmw0unyul.jpeg",
        "vanity_url": "https://acme.app.box.com/v/my_url/",
        "vanity_name": "my_url",
        "access": "open",
        "unshared_at": "2018-04-13T13:53:23-07:00",
        "permissions": {
          "can_download": true,
          "can_preview": true,
          "can_edit": false
        }
      },
      "parent": {
        "id": "12345",
        "type": "folder",
        "etag": "1",
        "sequence_id": "3",
        "name": "Contracts"
      },
      "item_status": "active",
      "version_number": "1",
      "comment_count": 10,
      "permissions": {
        "can_delete": true,
        "can_download": true,
        "can_invite_collaborator": true,
        "can_rename": true,
        "can_set_share_access": true,
        "can_share": true,
        "can_annotate": true,
        "can_comment": true,
        "can_preview": true,
        "can_upload": true,
        "can_view_annotations_all": true,
        "can_view_annotations_self": true
      },
      "tags": [
        "approved"
      ],
      "lock": {
        "id": "11446498",
        "type": "lock",
        "created_by": {
          "id": "11446498",
          "type": "user",
          "name": "Aaron Levie",
          "login": "[email protected]"
        },
        "created_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
        "expired_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
        "is_download_prevented": true,
        "app_type": "office_wopiplus"
      },
      "extension": "pdf",
      "is_package": true,
      "expiring_embed_link": {
        "access_token": "c3FIOG9vSGV4VHo4QzAyg5T1JvNnJoZ3ExaVNyQWw6WjRsanRKZG5lQk9qUE1BVQ",
        "expires_in": 3600,
        "token_type": "bearer",
        "restricted_to": [
          {
            "scope": "item_download",
            "object": {
              "id": "12345",
              "type": "folder",
              "etag": "1",
              "sequence_id": "3",
              "name": "Contracts"
            }
          }
        ],
        "url": "https://cloud.app.box.com/preview/expiring_embed/..."
      },
      "watermark_info": {
        "is_watermarked": true
      },
      "is_accessible_via_shared_link": true,
      "allowed_invitee_roles": [
        "editor"
      ],
      "is_externally_owned": true,
      "has_collaborations": true,
      "metadata": {
        "enterprise_27335": {
          "marketingCollateral": {
            "$canEdit": true,
            "$id": "01234500-12f1-1234-aa12-b1d234cb567e",
            "$parent": "folder_59449484661",
            "$scope": "enterprise_27335",
            "$template": "marketingCollateral",
            "$type": "properties-6bcba49f-ca6d-4d2a-a758-57fe6edf44d0",
            "$typeVersion": 2,
            "$version": 1
          }
        }
      },
      "expires_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
      "representations": {
        "entries": [
          {
            "content": {
              "url_template": "https://dl.boxcloud.com/api/2.0/internal_files/123/versions/345/representations/png_paged_2048x2048/content/{+asset_path}?watermark_content=4567"
            },
            "info": {
              "url": "https://api.box.com/2.0/internal_files/123/versions/345/representations/png_paged_2048x2048"
            },
            "properties": {
              "dimensions": "2048x2048",
              "paged": "true",
              "thumb": "true"
            },
            "representation": "png",
            "status": {
              "state": "success"
            }
          }
        ]
      },
      "classification": {
        "name": "Top Secret",
        "definition": "Content that should not be shared outside the company.",
        "color": "#FF0000"
      },
      "uploader_display_name": "Ellis Wiggins",
      "disposition_at": "2012-12-12T10:53:43-08:00",
      "shared_link_permission_options": [
        "can_preview"
      ],
      "is_associated_with_app_item": true
    }
  ]
}
This endpoint is in the version 2024.0. No changes are required to continue using it. For more details, see Box API versioning.Learn more about Box SDK versioning strategy.

Authorizations

​
Authorization
string
header
required

The access token received from the authorization server in the OAuth 2.0 flow.

Query Parameters

​
query
string

The string to search for. This query is matched against item names, descriptions, text content of files, and various other fields of the different item types.

This parameter supports a variety of operators to further refine the results returns.

  • "" - by wrapping a query in double quotes only exact matches are returned by the API. Exact searches do not return search matches based on specific character sequences. Instead, they return matches based on phrases, that is, word sequences. For example: A search for "Blue-Box" may return search results including the sequence "blue.box", "Blue Box", and "Blue-Box"; any item containing the words Blue and Box consecutively, in the order specified.
  • AND - returns items that contain both the search terms. For example, a search for marketing AND BoxWorks returns items that have both marketing and BoxWorks within its text in any order. It does not return a result that only has BoxWorks in its text.
  • OR - returns items that contain either of the search terms. For example, a search for marketing OR BoxWorks returns a result that has either marketing or BoxWorks within its text. Using this operator is not necessary as we implicitly interpret multi-word queries as OR unless another supported boolean term is used.
  • NOT - returns items that do not contain the search term provided. For example, a search for marketing AND NOT BoxWorks returns a result that has only marketing within its text. Results containing BoxWorks are omitted.

We do not support lower case (that is, and, or, and not) or mixed case (that is, And, Or, and Not) operators.

This field is required unless the mdfilters parameter is defined.

​
scope
enum<string>
default:user_content

Limits the search results to either the files that the user has access to, or to files available to the entire enterprise.

The scope defaults to user_content, which limits the search results to content that is available to the currently authenticated user.

The enterprise_content can be requested by an admin through our support channels. Once this scope has been enabled for a user, it will allow that use to query for content across the entire enterprise and not only the content that they have access to.

Available options:
user_content,
enterprise_content
​
file_extensions
string[]

Limits the search results to any files that match any of the provided file extensions. This list is a comma-separated list of file extensions without the dots.

​
created_at_range
string[]

Limits the search results to any items created within a given date range.

Date ranges are defined as comma separated RFC3339 timestamps.

If the start date is omitted (,2014-05-17T13:35:01-07:00) anything created before the end date will be returned.

If the end date is omitted (2014-05-15T13:35:01-07:00,) the current date will be used as the end date instead.

​
updated_at_range
string[]

Limits the search results to any items updated within a given date range.

Date ranges are defined as comma separated RFC3339 timestamps.

If the start date is omitted (,2014-05-17T13:35:01-07:00) anything updated before the end date will be returned.

If the end date is omitted (2014-05-15T13:35:01-07:00,) the current date will be used as the end date instead.

​
size_range
integer[]

Limits the search results to any items with a size within a given file size range. This applied to files and folders.

Size ranges are defined as comma separated list of a lower and upper byte size limit (inclusive).

The upper and lower bound can be omitted to create open ranges.

​
owner_user_ids
string[]

Limits the search results to any items that are owned by the given list of owners, defined as a list of comma separated user IDs.

The items still need to be owned or shared with the currently authenticated user for them to show up in the search results. If the user does not have access to any files owned by any of the users an empty result set will be returned.

To search across an entire enterprise, we recommend using the enterprise_content scope parameter which can be requested with our support team.

​
recent_updater_user_ids
string[]

Limits the search results to any items that have been updated by the given list of users, defined as a list of comma separated user IDs.

The items still need to be owned or shared with the currently authenticated user for them to show up in the search results. If the user does not have access to any files owned by any of the users an empty result set will be returned.

This feature only searches back to the last 10 versions of an item.

​
ancestor_folder_ids
string[]

Limits the search results to items within the given list of folders, defined as a comma separated lists of folder IDs.

Search results will also include items within any subfolders of those ancestor folders.

The folders still need to be owned or shared with the currently authenticated user. If the folder is not accessible by this user, or it does not exist, a HTTP 404 error code will be returned instead.

To search across an entire enterprise, we recommend using the enterprise_content scope parameter which can be requested with our support team.

​
content_types
enum<string>[]

Limits the search results to any items that match the search query for a specific part of the file, for example the file description.

Content types are defined as a comma separated lists of Box recognized content types. The allowed content types are as follows.

  • name - The name of the item, as defined by its name field.
  • description - The description of the item, as defined by its description field.
  • file_content - The actual content of the file.
  • comments - The content of any of the comments on a file or folder.
  • tags - Any tags that are applied to an item, as defined by its tags field.
Available options:
name,
description,
file_content,
comments,
tag
​
type
enum<string>

Limits the search results to any items of this type. This parameter only takes one value. By default the API returns items that match any of these types.

  • file - Limits the search results to files,
  • folder - Limits the search results to folders,
  • web_link - Limits the search results to web links, also known as bookmarks.
Available options:
file,
folder,
web_link
​
trash_content
enum<string>
default:non_trashed_only

Determines if the search should look in the trash for items.

By default, this API only returns search results for items not currently in the trash (non_trashed_only).

  • trashed_only - Only searches for items currently in the trash
  • non_trashed_only - Only searches for items currently not in the trash
  • all_items - Searches for both trashed and non-trashed items.
Available options:
non_trashed_only,
trashed_only,
all_items
​
mdfilters
Metadata filter · object[]

Limits the search results to any items for which the metadata matches the provided filter. This parameter is a list that specifies exactly one metadata template used to filter the search results. The parameter is required unless the query parameter is provided.

Required array length: 1 element
​
sort
enum<string>
default:relevance

Defines the order in which search results are returned. This API defaults to returning items by relevance unless this parameter is explicitly specified.

  • relevance (default) returns the results sorted by relevance to the query search term. The relevance is based on the occurrence of the search term in the items name, description, content, and additional properties.
  • modified_at returns the results ordered in descending order by date at which the item was last modified.
Available options:
modified_at,
relevance
​
direction
enum<string>
default:DESC

Defines the direction in which search results are ordered. This API defaults to returning items in descending (DESC) order unless this parameter is explicitly specified.

When results are sorted by relevance the ordering is locked to returning items in descending order of relevance, and this parameter is ignored.

Available options:
DESC,
ASC
​
limit
integer<int64>
default:30

Defines the maximum number of items to return as part of a page of results.

Required range: x <= 200
​
include_recent_shared_links
boolean
default:false

Defines whether the search results should include any items that the user recently accessed through a shared link.

When this parameter has been set to true, the format of the response of this API changes to return a list of Search Results with Shared Links.

​
fields
string[]

A comma-separated list of attributes to include in the response. This can be used to request fields that are not normally returned in a standard response.

Be aware that specifying this parameter will have the effect that none of the standard fields are returned in the response unless explicitly specified, instead only fields for the mini representation are returned, additional to the fields requested.

​
offset
integer<int64>
default:0

The offset of the item at which to begin the response.

Queries with offset parameter value exceeding 10000 will be rejected with a 400 response.

​
deleted_user_ids
string[]

Limits the search results to items that were deleted by the given list of users, defined as a list of comma separated user IDs.

The trash_content parameter needs to be set to trashed_only.

If searching in trash is not performed, an empty result set is returned. The items need to be owned or shared with the currently authenticated user for them to show up in the search results.

If the user does not have access to any files owned by any of the users, an empty result set is returned.

Data available from 2023-02-01 onwards.

​
deleted_at_range
string[]

Limits the search results to any items deleted within a given date range.

Date ranges are defined as comma separated RFC3339 timestamps.

If the start date is omitted (2014-05-17T13:35:01-07:00), anything deleted before the end date will be returned.

If the end date is omitted (2014-05-15T13:35:01-07:00), the current date will be used as the end date instead.

The trash_content parameter needs to be set to trashed_only.

If searching in trash is not performed, then an empty result is returned.

Data available from 2023-02-01 onwards.

Response

Returns a collection of search results. If there are no matching search results, the entries array will be empty.

A list of files, folders and web links that matched the search query.

​
type
enum<string>
required

Specifies the response as search result items without shared links.

Available options:
search_results_items
Example:

"search_results_items"

​
total_count
integer<int64>

One greater than the offset of the last entry in the search results. The total number of entries in the collection may be less than total_count.

Example:

5000

​
limit
integer<int64>

The limit that was used for this search. This will be the same as the limit query parameter unless that value exceeded the maximum value allowed.

Example:

1000

​
offset
integer<int64>

The 0-based offset of the first entry in this set. This will be the same as the offset query parameter used.

Example:

2000

​
entries
(File (Full) · object | Folder (Full) · object | Web link · object)[]

The search results for the query provided.

A full representation of a file, as can be returned from any file API endpoints by default.