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GH-SEARCH-CODE(1) GitHub CLI manual GH-SEARCH-CODE(1)

NAME

gh-search-code - Search within code

SYNOPSIS

gh search code <query> [flags]

DESCRIPTION

Search within code in GitHub repositories.

The search syntax is documented at:

⟨https://docs.github.com/search-github/searching-on-github/searching-code⟩

Note that these search results are powered by what is now a legacy GitHub code search engine. The results might not match what is seen on , and new features like regex search are not yet available via the GitHub API.

OPTIONS

Filter on file extension

Filter on filename

Filter JSON output using a jq expression

Output JSON with the specified fields

Filter results by language

Maximum number of code results to fetch

Restrict search to file contents or file path: {file|path}

Filter on owner

Filter on repository

Filter on size range, in kilobytes

Format JSON output using a Go template; see "gh help formatting"

Open the search query in the web browser

JSON FIELDS

path, repository, sha, textMatches, url

EXIT CODES

0: Successful execution

1: Error

2: Command canceled

4: Authentication required

NOTE: Specific commands may have additional exit codes. Refer to the command's help for more information.

EXAMPLE

# Search code matching "react" and "lifecycle"
$ gh search code react lifecycle
# Search code matching "error handling"
$ gh search code "error handling"
# Search code matching "deque" in Python files
$ gh search code deque --language=python
# Search code matching "cli" in repositories owned by microsoft organization
$ gh search code cli --owner=microsoft
# Search code matching "panic" in the GitHub CLI repository
$ gh search code panic --repo cli/cli
# Search code matching keyword "lint" in package.json files
$ gh search code lint --filename package.json

SEE ALSO

gh-search(1)

Apr 2025 GitHub CLI v2.70.0