--- title: "Service: /groups/{group}/search [GET]" source: https://dev.pageseeder.com/api/services/group-search_get.html description: "Queries a group's search index using full-text search, facets, filters, and ranges. Supports boolean operators, phrases, wildcards, and result pagination with customizable sorting and field extraction." last_updated: 2026-09-08T14:05:49+10:00 document_type: api_endpoint operation_id: search-GET resource_id: search path_template: /groups/{group}/search http_method: GET api_category: search implementation_version: null api_since: 5.9400 deprecated_since: null obsolete_since: null api_support: supported cache_control: null generated_at: 2026-09-02 tokens: ~3766 --- # /groups/\{group\}/search \[GET\] ## Description The purpose of this service is to query the index of a single group by a question. For additional information see [Index fields](../../reference/index/index_fields.md) and [Index field definitions](../../reference/index/field_definitions.md). ### Question This parameter performs a full-text search on the index. Mostly useful for tokenized fields such as the `pstitle` and `pscontent`. Typically single, or multiple terms, separated by spaces, the `question` is usually based on input from the user. The `questionfields` parameter is a comma-separated list of fields to look for the values from the `question`. By default, the terms in the `question` are processed as a full text search – meaning title (`pstitle`) and content (`pscontent`). `questionfields` are *analyzed* and *indexed*. When not searching the field, but retrieving the contents, a field must be *stored*. The Lucene query produced is the equivalent of: `+(field1:term1 field1:term2 field2:term1 field2:term2 ...)` #### Boolean operators Full-text search using the question parameter supports `AND` and `OR` (in capitals) using a lexer. The default remains `AND`. | User Input | Normalised | Lucene predicate | | --- | --- | --- | | cheese crackers | cheese `AND` crackers | `+field`:cheese `+field`:crackers | | rat `OR` mouse | rat `OR` mouse | `field`:rat `field`:mouse | #### Phrases Using double quotes around terms specifies a phrase. For example: `"cheese crackers"`. #### Grouping Use brackets to express queries composed of multiple boolean operators. For example `(rat OR mouse) AND cheese`. #### Wildcard characters The character ‘\*’ means any zero or more characters and ‘?’ means any single character. For example the question `sec*r??`would match *secret* and *secured* but not *security*. *Requires PageSeeder v5.98 or newer.* ### Facets This service supports parameters for computing facet values and filtering the results. Cardinality is calculated automatically by counting the number of results that match a facet out of the overall results. Use the facets parameter to specify fields in the index, preferably using fields which are indexed but not analyzed. An example of using the facets parameter would be to process the `'psauthor'` field. This would instruct the service to calculate all possible `'psauthor'` fields and the number of results for each unique value. Specifying facet values to compute does not affect the search results. To apply a facet use *filters*. #### Wildcard characters Facet field names can end with a wildcard character '\*' which means that facets will be computed for all fields in the result set starting with that name. For example `facets=psproperty-*` would compute facets for `psproperty-year`, `psproperty-genre`, etc. if they occur in the result set. #### Range facets (experimental) Range facets can be used to count results in multiple ranges for string, numeric or date fields. The brackets have the following meaning: - `[` = include start term for all ranges (e.g. `[0;10;20;30}` = 0-9.999, 10-19.999, 20-20.999\]) - `]` = include end term in final range (e.g. `[0;10;20;30]` = 0-9.999, 10-19.999, 20-30\]) - `{`= exclude start term for all ranges (e.g. `{0;10;20;30]` = 0.001-10, 10.001-20, 20.001-30\]) - `}`= exclude end term in final range (e.g. `{0;10;20;30}` = 0.001-10, 10.001-20, 20.001-20.999\]) Example: ```properties facets=pstitle-sort:[a;l;zz],psxrefcount:[0;1;10;100;1000;] facets=psmodifieddate:[2016-01-01;2017-01-01;] ``` #### Interval facets (experimental) Interval facets can be used to count results within certain intervals for string, numeric or date fields. The format is `x;y|z` or `x|z` where `x` is the start term, `y` is the optional ending term and `z` is the interval (`1` = 1 character/number, `2`=2 characters/numbers, etc. and `1Y`= 1 year, `1M` = 1 month, `1D` = 1 day, etc.). The brackets have the following meaning: - `[` = include start term for all intervals (e.g. `[0;30|10}` = 0-9.999, 10-19.999, 20-20.999\]) - `]` = include end term in final interval (e.g. `[0;30|10]` = 0-9.999, 10-19.999, 20-30\]) - `{`= exclude start term for all intervals (e.g. `{0;30|10]` = 0.001-10, 10.001-20, 20.001-30\]) - `}`= exclude end term in final interval (e.g. `{0;30|10}` = 0.001-10, 10.001-20, 20.001-20.999\]) Example: ```properties facets=pstitle-sort:[a|1] facets=psmodifieddate:[2016-01-01T00:00:00Z|1M] facets=pstitle-sort:[a;zz|5],psxrefcount:[0;100|10] facets=psmodifieddate:[2016-01-01T00:00:00Z;2017-01-01T00:00:00Z|1M] ``` Numeric intervals must have a start and end. If there is no end the interval is measured forward and backward from the start. For string intervals the interval only applies to the first character (e.g. `[aa|1]` = aa, ba, ca, etc.) > **Warning:** Range and interval facets are experimental features which may change in future so should not be used on production systems. #### Computing cardinality There are two methods for computing the cardinality of the facets: - Including the facet from the base query in the computation (result facet) - Excluding the facet from the base query in the computation (flexible facet) #### Result facets These facets are more efficient to compute, but it does not allow the user to move "across" result sets or to provide UI to combine facets of the same field. They are useful to help users to narrow or widen their search since the cardinality of the facet counts the results in the current result set. Example: | Filter | facets | facet values | Result set | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | *(empty)* | animal,color | bird:2 cat:1 dog:1 | black:2 yellow:1 brown:1 | 1, bird A, yellow 2, bird B, black 3, cat C, black 4, dog D, brown | | animal:bird | animal,color | bird:2 | black:1 yellow:1 | 1, bird A, yellow 2, bird B, black | | color:black | animal,color | bird:1 cat:1 | black:2 | 2, bird B, black 3, cat C, black | | animal:bird,color:black | animal,color | bird:1 | black:1 | 2, bird B, black | #### Flexible facets In the case of flexible facets, the base query is recomputed so that the field is excluded from the query if the field is used in the filter. The cardinality of the facet counts the matching results in the result set using the recomputed filter. Example: | Filter | fexible-facets | facet values | Result set | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | *(empty)* | animal,color | bird:2 cat:1 dog:1 | black:2 yellow:1 brown:1 | 1, bird A, yellow 2, bird B, black 3, cat C, black 4, dog D, brown | | animal:bird | animal,color | bird:2 cat:1 dog:1 | black:1 yellow:1 | 1, bird A, yellow 2, bird B, black | | color:black | animal,color | bird:1 cat:1 | black:2 yellow:1 brown:1 | 2, bird B, black 3, cat C, black | | animal:bird,color:black | animal,color | bird:1 cat:1 | black:1 yellow:1 | 2, bird B, black | ### Filters Filters are specific terms that the query should match, they are specified as a comma-separated list of Lucene index terms using the `filters` parameter as expressed as: `[field]:[term]`. For example, the select parameter value `psauthor:john,pspriority:High` will only display results by author 'john' and have priority 'High'. When selecting facets, the Lucene query produced will be the equivalent of: ``` +(facet1:value1) +(facet2:value2 facet2:value3) ... ``` The default behaviour of filters is to use: - AND for different field names - OR for the same field Also, selected facets can be prefixed with '+' (required) and '-' (prohibited) to further qualify the facet. | User | Means | Lucene predicate | | --- | --- | --- | | label:abc,label:xyz | label:abc OR label:xyz | label:abc label:xyz | | +label:abc,+label:xyz | label:abc AND label:xyz | +label:abc,+label:xyz | | label:abc,label:xyz,type:mno | (label:abc OR label:xyz) AND type:mno | label:abc label:xyz type:mno | | label:abc,-type:mno | label:abc NOT type:mno | label:abc -type:mno | > **Note:** When inserting ‘+’ in a URL it must be encoded as ‘%2B’ otherwise it will be interpreted as a space. ### Ranges The ranges parameter can be used to filter using a set of ranges. It is a comma separated list of range searches with format: ```java field:[|{(lower)?;(upper)?}|] ``` where `[` or `]` means include limit value and `{` or `}` means exclude limit value. For example: ```java ranges=psproperty-expires:[2015-03-20;2016-01-01],psproperty-title:[A;C} ranges=psxrefcount:{50;],psreversexrefcount:[;10] ``` #### Date ranges The service does not support the `from`, `last` or `to` parameters. Use the `ranges` parameter to perform a date range search on the last modified date. See example below. | GenericSearch | Ranges | | --- | --- | | from=2017-04-03T14:00 | `psmodifieddate:[2015-04-03T14:00:00;]` | | from=2017-04-03&to=2017-05-03 | `psmodifieddate:[2015-04-03;2017-05-03]` | To replace the `last` parameter, you need to compute the lower end of the range from the current date and time. #### Size ranges The service does not support the `min-size` or `max-size` parameters. Use a range search on the `pssize` field instead. ### Organizing search results Search results can be paged and ordered. The `page` and `page-size` controls which part of the search results will be returned. They must be positive integer values and will default to `1` and `100` respectively. The sortby parameter is a comma separated list of fields to sort the results; the results are sorted by relevance if no sortby parameter is specified. ## Parameters | Name | Description | Requ​ired | Type | Default value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | facets | A comma-separated list of fields to use as result facets | no | strings | | | facetsize | The max number of facet values to load (ignored if larger than global property `maxFacetSize` - default `1000`) | no | integer | `10` | | filters | A comma-separated list of field:term pairs to use as filters | no | strings | | | flexiblefacets | A comma-separated list of fields to use as flexible facets | no | strings | | | fieldsize | Maximum number of characters allowed in a result field (max 10000) | no | integer | `1000` | | page | The current page to view | no | integer | `1` | | pagesize | How many results does a page contain | no | integer | `100` | | question | The question to search for | no | string | | | questionfields | A comma-separated list of fields to search the question in | no | strings | `pstitle,​pscontent` | | ranges | A comma-separated list of range searches | no | strings | | | sortfields | A comma-separated list of fields to sort the results | no | strings | | | suggestsize | The max number of suggestions to load (only for question query) | no | integer | `20` | ### Escaping characters In `facets`, `flexiblefacets`, `filters` and `ranges` parameters the characters ‘`,`’, ‘`;`’, ‘`|`’ and ‘`\`’ must be preceded by backslash (e.g. `pstitle:one\,two\\three\|four\;five` means the term `one,two\three|four;five` ). ### question An optional parameter to specify terms to search in the text. It can include boolean operators AND, OR; phrases and grouping using brackets. ### question-fields A comma-separated list of fields to search for the question. Each field must match matching `^([a-zA-Z0-9\-]+)$`. If not specified, the default fields for the question are "pstitle,pscontent". ### facets A comma-separated list of field names to include as facets of the current result set. ### flexiblefacets A comma-separated list of field names to include as facets of the result set excluding any filter based on these field names. ### facetsize The maximum number of facet values returned per facet or flexible facet. Setting this to zero improves performance as no values are computed, but the `has-results` attribute is still returned. ### filters A comma-separated list of terms to select facets. ### ranges A comma-separated list of range searches. ### sort-fields A comma-separated list of fields to sort the results. Prefix the field name with a minus (-) to use descending order, otherwise it is ascending. If not specified, results are sorted by relevance. ### suggest-size The maximum number of suggestions. ### page The current page to view. ### page-size How many results does a page contain. ## Permission This service is restricted to guest and higher unless the group is accessible to public. ## Response  The XML response is: ```xml ... ... ... ... ``` ### Query ```xml hello ... ... ``` ### Suggestions ```xml ... ``` ### Facets ```xml ... ... ``` ### Results ```xml [value] ... ... ``` > **Note:** The `result/@id` is equivalent to `result/field[@name='psid']` and is only available in PageSeeder v6.3 or higher. ## Error Handling | 0x1501 | If there is an invalid group specified | | --- | --- | | 0x1502 | If there are no indexes selected | | 0x1503 | If the predicate is not valid | | 0x1504 | If a sort field cannot be used for sorting | | 0x1505 | If the facet size specified is bigger than the global property for face size ( maxFacetSize) | | 0x1506 | If a numeric field is specified as a facet | | 0x6502 | Missing catalog, re-index group |