--- title: "Service: /comments/find [GET]" source: https://dev.pageseeder.com/api/services/find-comments-public-GET.html description: "GET service that retrieves filtered public comments from specified groups, supporting pagination and customizable output of attachments, contents, and metadata. Returns XML list sorted by most recent first." last_updated: 2026-09-02T11:36:19+10:00 document_type: api_endpoint operation_id: comment-GET resource_id: comment path_template: /comments/find http_method: GET api_category: comment implementation_version: 6.2008 api_since: 5.2102 deprecated_since: null obsolete_since: null api_support: supported cache_control: null generated_at: 2026-09-02 tokens: ~2203 --- # /comments/find \[GET\] ## Description This service returns a list of public [comments](../../reference/glossary/comment.md) using parameters to filter the results. The list of groups specified must be public groups. The most recent comments are returned first. > **Note:** This service performs a search directly on the database and returns the corresponding comment instances as XML. Alternatively, an index search could provide better performance with the caveat that there can be a slight delay between a comment creation or update and its availability in the index. ## Parameters | Name | Description | Required | Type | Default value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | groups | Comma-separated list of group names the comments **MUST** belong to | yes | strings | | | archived | If `true`, include archived comments | no | boolean | `false` | | attachments | The attachments to include, can be `none`, `context` or `all` | no | enum | `all` | | author | The `ID` of the comments author | no | long | | | contents | The contents to include, can be `none` or `all` | no | enum | `all` | | context | Only return comments in this context, can be `group`, `uri`, `all` | no | enum | `all` | | createdafter | The date time after which the comments were created e.g. `2010-10-25T12:26:00+10:00` | no | datetime | | | createdbefore | The date time before which the comments were created e.g. `2011-08-25T10:20:00-04:00` | no | datetime | | | emails | The email addresses to include, can be `none` or `all`  (`all` for administrators only) | no | boolean | `none` | | labels | Comma-separated list of label values – comment **MUST** have all (not recommended for filtering large data sets) | no | string | | | moderated | If `true`, include moderated (not accepted) comments | no | boolean | `false` | | page | The page to load | no | long | `1` | | pagesize | The number of results per page | no  | long | `1000` | | paths | The context URI paths for the comments – **MUST** be URL encoded (comma-separated list with optional `*` suffix) | no | paths | | | position | If `first`, only the first (root) comment in a discussion is returned (might be faster when using paths) | no | string | `any` | | returngroups | The groups to return in the output, can be `none`, `specified` | no | enum | `none` or if multiple groups `specified` | | statuses | Comma-separated list of statuses | no | status | | | title | The title the comments **MUST** have (optional wildcard `*` suffix, use `**` to escape) | no | string | | | type | The type the comments **MUST** have (optional wildcard `*` suffix, use `**` to escape) | no | string | | | types | Comma-separated list of types the comment can have (empty string means no type) | no | strings | | Including all attachments, contents and returned groups can incur a performance penalty when loading large discussions. Some of the following parameters allow developers to control whether they are loaded and returned or not. ### `attachments` This parameter determines whether attachments are included in the response. Possible options are: - `none` – No attachment is to be included - `context` – Only include the context document or URL - `all` – Include all attachments > **Note:** The context is usually the same for all comments within the same discussion. ### `contents` This parameter determines whether the contents of the individual comments are included in the response. Possible options are: - `none` – The content is not to be loaded - `all` – Load the content of all comments > **Note:** There is usually only one content of type `text/plain` when comments are entered through the user interface. However, it is possible to have contents with different media type when the comment has been created through the API. ### `returngroups` This parameter determines whether to return groups on to which the comments were posted. > **Tip:** Returning the group might be unnecessary if the client knows the group and the comments aren't shared. Possible options are: - `none` – The groups are not to be loaded - `specified` – Load the content of all comments ### `statuses` A comma-separated list of [task status](../../reference/glossary/task_status.md) or [document status](../../reference/glossary/document_status.md) values. ## Permission This service requires no permissions but will only work on groups configured for public access and requires `publicEnable=non-member` in the [Global properties](../../guide/configuration/properties/global_properties.md). If the parameter `emails` is set to `all`, the permission is restricted to administrator only. ## Response This service returns a list of [\](../elements/element_comment.md) elements wrapped in a `` element as in the following example. ```xml My thread Some text ... ... ... ... ``` By default, all attachments and contents are included. ### Effect of `attachments` parameter If attachments is `none`: ```xml Welcome ... ... ``` If attachments is `context`, only the [\ element](../elements/element_context.md) is included: ```xml Welcome ... ... ... ... ``` If attachments is `all`, both the attachments to the comment using the [\ element](../elements/element_attachment.md) and the context are included: ```xml Welcome ... ... ... ... ... ... ``` ### Effect of `contents` parameter If contents is `none`, the comment content is not included: ```xml Welcome ... ... ... ... ... ``` ### Effect of `returngroups` parameter If returngroups is `none`, the comment does not include the [\ element](../elements/element_group.md). This is the default behavior when a comment is posted on a single group. ```xml Welcome ... ... ... ... ``` If returngroups is `specified`, the comment include the groups that the comment was posted on. This is the default behavior when a comment belongs to multiple groups: ```xml Welcome ... ... ... ... ``` ## Error Handling | Code | Cause / Description | | --- | --- | | 0x1306 | The Group is invalid or not accessible | | 0x1312 | The createdafter or createdbefore date is invalid | | 0x1313 | The author is invalid |