Regex in Search API

[chriscn]

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If I search for path:.github/workflows org:<redacted> /actions\/checkout@v[1-3]{1}/ I get 460 results, however if I run gh api /search/code?q=path%3A.github%2Fworkflows%20org%3A<redacted>%20%2Factions%5C%2Fcheckout%40v%5B1-3%5D%7B1%7D%2FI get zero results.

It seems to be as soon as I try and use regex through the API I get an empty total_count: 0 response?

I can't see any documentation around this.

[LangLangBart]

Currently, there is no regex support for the REST API when searching for code. Instead, one must use the WebUI¹ for regex searches.

I can't see any documentation around this.

The docs² note that characters for regex search are simply ignored in the API.

There has been no official announcement or blog post from GitHub about adding regex support to the code search REST API. The only indication thus far is a comment³ from a GitHub staff member about a year ago, suggesting it will be implemented but it's not ready yet.

Footnotes

1. Understanding GitHub Code Search syntax - Using regular expressions - GitHub Docs ↩

2. Searching code (legacy) - GitHub Docs ↩

3. 🚢 New code search and code view feedback · community · Discussion #54546 · GitHub ↩

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[fyenne]

hi , tell me when you get it done please github.

[MichaelChirico]

Really would love to have the regex search available to use programmatically, it would really empower some workflows I'd like to simplify!!

[llvee]

Adding regex search options to all search types vs only code would greatly improve the search. Has anyone else considered building an unofficial GH browser extension for adding functionalities such as that?

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