GitHub Search Operators
Search operators to find repositories, code, issues, and users on GitHub.
46 operators across 7 categories
Tips & Notes
- Code search requires you to be logged in and has different syntax than repo/issue search.
- Use the type selector (Repositories, Code, Issues, etc.) to narrow results.
- Combine multiple qualifiers with spaces (implicit AND).
- Date ranges use ISO 8601 format: YYYY-MM-DD.
- Some operators only work for certain search types (repos vs issues vs code).
Repository Search
| Operator | Description | Example | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
user: | Find repos by a specific user or org | user:facebook react | |
org: | Find repos in a specific organization | org:microsoft typescript | |
repo: | Search within a specific repository | repo:vercel/next.js router | |
in:name | Search in repository names | react in:name | |
in:description | Search in repository descriptions | machine learning in:description | |
in:readme | Search in README files | getting started in:readme | |
in:topics | Search in repository topics | in:topics javascript |
Repository Metrics
| Operator | Description | Example | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
stars: | Filter by number of stars | stars:>10000 language:python | |
stars:n..m | Filter by star range | stars:100..1000 react | |
forks: | Filter by number of forks | forks:>500 | |
size: | Filter by repo size in KB | size:<1000 | |
followers: | Filter by number of followers | followers:>1000 |
Language & Topics
| Operator | Description | Example | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
language: | Filter by programming language | language:typescript state management | |
topic: | Filter by topic | topic:react topic:hooks | |
license: | Filter by license type | license:mit language:go |
Date Filters
| Operator | Description | Example | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
created: | Filter by creation date | created:>2024-01-01 | |
pushed: | Filter by last push date | pushed:>2024-06-01 | |
created:YYYY-MM-DD..YYYY-MM-DD | Filter by date range | created:2024-01-01..2024-06-30 |
Issues & Pull Requests
| Operator | Description | Example | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
is:issue | Find only issues | is:issue is:open label:bug | |
is:pr | Find only pull requests | is:pr is:merged author:octocat | |
is:open | Find open issues/PRs | is:open is:issue repo:facebook/react | |
is:closed | Find closed issues/PRs | is:closed is:pr | |
is:merged | Find merged pull requests | is:merged author:username | |
label: | Filter by label | label:bug label:help-wanted | |
author: | Filter by author | author:octocat is:issue | |
assignee: | Filter by assignee | assignee:username is:open | |
mentions: | Filter by @mentioned user | mentions:octocat | |
commenter: | Filter by commenter | commenter:octocat is:issue | |
involves: | Filter by involved user (author, assignee, commenter, or mentioned) | involves:octocat is:open | |
milestone: | Filter by milestone | milestone:"v2.0" is:open | |
no:label | Find issues without labels | no:label is:open is:issue | |
no:milestone | Find issues without milestones | no:milestone is:open | |
no:assignee | Find unassigned issues | no:assignee is:open label:bug |
Code Search
| Operator | Description | Example | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
path: | Search in files at a specific path | path:src/components Button | |
path:*.ext | Search in files with specific extension | path:*.tsx useState | |
filename: | Search for files by name | filename:package.json | |
extension: | Filter by file extension | extension:py import pandas | |
symbol: | Search for symbol definitions | symbol:handleClick language:typescript |
Repository Status
| Operator | Description | Example | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
is:public | Find public repositories | is:public user:username | |
is:private | Find your private repositories | is:private | |
archived:true | Find archived repositories | archived:true user:octocat | |
archived:false | Exclude archived repositories | archived:false stars:>1000 | |
mirror:true | Find mirror repositories | mirror:true | |
fork:true | Include forked repositories | fork:true language:rust | |
fork:only | Show only forked repositories | fork:only user:username | |
template:true | Find template repositories | template:true topic:nextjs |