View source for Help:Searching

{{About|searching Wikipedia|navigating|Help:Navigation#Using the search box to navigate|adding a search input box|mw:Extension:InputBox|main search|Special:Search}}
{{Redirect|WP:LOOK|customising the look of Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Skin}}
{{further|mw:Help:CirrusSearch}} 
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Wikipedia how to|H:S}}
[[File:System-search.svg|100px|right]]
The ''[[#Search box|search box]]'' on every page accesses the internal [[#Under the hood|search engine]]. It will navigate directly to a given ''page name'' upon an exact match. You can [[#Prefixed tilde character for forced search|force]] it to show you other pages that include your [[#Search string|search string]] by including a tilde character {{kbd|~}} before the first term of a query. The maximum search string is 300 characters long.{{efn|name=Phabricator|1=See [[WP:Phabricator|Phabricator]] task {{phab|T107947}} for an explanation.}} However, search can instantly search all {{NUMBEROFPAGES}} pages on the wiki when the search is kept to a simple word or two. 

Wikipedia's searches can be made domain-specific (i.e., search in desired namespaces). The search engine also supports [[#Special characters|special characters]] and [[#Parameters|parameters]] to extend the power of searches and allow users to make their [[#Search string|search strings]] more specific.

Advanced features of the Wikipedia search engine include multi-word proximity-searches (in which the user indicates how close the words in a phrase might be), wildcard searches, "fuzzy" {{kbd|~}} searches (handles typo-correction and questionable spelling), and several wiki-oriented operators and parameters for weighting and filtering. Search can also handle [[Help:Searching/Regex|regular expression]]s, a sophisticated exact-string and string-pattern search tool that is not offered by most public search engines.

Search can also filter results by template names used, [[WP:CATEGORY|category]] membership, or pages linking to a specific page.  

[[Special:Preferences]] offers several search options, and [[Wikipedia:Tools#Searching|Wikipedia:Tools § Searching]] offers the setups of other users.

== Search box ==
[[File:Screenshot of Vector 2022 search bar.png|thumb|Screenshot of search box as in Vector 2022 default skin (as of 7 January 2025)]]
[[File:Search box vector.PNG|thumb|right|Vector (2010) legacy skin, search box.]]
[[File:Search box monobook.PNG|thumb|right|Monobook places this search-box in the left toolbox.]]

The search box is an input box with the placeholder text "Search Wikipedia" in it. In Wikipedia's default [[Wikipedia:Vector 2022|Vector 2022]] skin, it is located in the header of the page at the top of the screen.

To use the search box, click in it, or jump to it by pressing {{Keypress|Shift|Alt|F}}, and type in your [[#Search string|search string]]. Then, either click {{Key press|Enter}}, or the {{Button|Search}} button.

If your search matches a [[Wikipedia:Page name|page name]] exactly, search will {{em|navigate}} to the page directly instead of showing search results. To get {{em|search results}} instead, prepend or end a word of the search string (i.e., the page name) with a tilde ("<code>~</code>").<!-- N.B.: 'Ecclesiastical~ history of the Catholic Church' yields more results than either '~Ecclesiastical~ history of the Catholic Church' or 'Ecclesiastical~ history of the Catholic Church~'. Not sure which of the two is more desirable - user:Bertux --> (Or choose "{{int:Searchsuggest-containing}}" from the suggestions that drop down as you type.)

In the former default skin [[Wikipedia:Vector|Vector]], the search box is located in the top right hand corner, and instead of a search button, there is an icon of a magnifying glass on the right-hand end of the search box. Pressing {{Keypress|Enter}} or clicking on the magnifying glass when the box is empty takes you directly to Wikipedia's [[#Search page|search page]]. Prior to that, in [[mw:Skin:MonoBook|Monobook]] it was in the middle of the sidebar on the left of the screen.

[[JavaScript]], and thus possibly [[Wikipedia:User scripts|user scripts]], and [[WP:skin|skin]]s have an effect on the search/navigate default behavior. Monobook's default is to navigate, and Vector's default is search; however, when JavaScript is on, the Vector skin will navigate. Monobook's {{button|Go}} will navigate, and is the default, but Monobook has a {{button|Search}} button.

== Search string ==
{{anchor|search query}}

Whatever you type into the [[Search box#|search box]] is called the "search string". It may also be referred to as the "search query".

A basic search string is simply the topic you are interested in reading about. A direct match of a basic search string will navigate you directly to Wikipedia's article that has that title. A non-match, or any other type of search string will take you to Wikipedia's search results page, where the results of your search are displayed.

Terms in the search string are subject to [[#Stem matching|stem matching]], except for anything included between double quotation marks.

You can include in your search string [[#Special characters|special characters]] and [[#Parameters|parameters]] that activate specific search capabilities. Using any of these will take you to Wikipedia's search results page with the results of your search displayed. 

The maximum search string is 300 characters long.{{efn|name=Phabricator}}

The format of the text that is entered is called [[#Search string syntax|search string syntax]].

== Search string syntax ==

Search is case insensitive, that is, upper and lowercase is ignored.

Search "folds" character families, matching similar-looking letters across alphabets, to match foreign terms. So, you don't have to type in [[diacritical]] letters, and your terms will still match. For example, a search on [[Citroen|{{kbd|Citroen}}]] will also match [[Citroën|{{samp|Citroën}}]], and [[Aeroskobing|{{kbd|Aeroskobing}}]] matches [[Ærøskøbing|{{samp|Ærøskøbing}}]].

Characters that are not numbers or letters (punctuation marks, brackets and slashes, math and other symbols) are generally ignored. For example, {{kbd|Credit&nbsp;(finance)}} will return articles with the words {{samp|credit}} and {{samp|finance}}, ignoring the parentheses, unless an article with exact title [[Credit (finance)|<code>Credit (finance)</code>]] exists. Similarly, a search for the string {{kbd|{{!}}LT{{!}}}} (letters {{kbd|LT}} between two pipe symbols) will only return articles with {{samp|lt}}. In order to search for terms that contain non-alphanumeric characters, a [[#insource:|regex search]] must be used instead (using the {{kbd|\}} [[escape character]] if required); for example, {{kbd|insource:/\{{!}}LT\{{!}}/}} will successfully return all instances of {{samp|{{!}}LT{{!}}}}.

The source text is what is searched, which is not always what is displayed on the screen. This distinction is relevant for [[Wikipedia:Piped link|piped links]], for [[Wikipedia:interlanguage link|interlanguage links]] (to find links to Chinese articles, search for {{kbd|zh}}, not for {{kbd|Zhongwen}}), [[Help:Special characters|special characters]] (if {{samp|ê}} is coded as <code>&amp;ecirc;</code> it is found searching for {{kbd|ecirc}}), etc. 

{{crossref|pw=y|For [[regex]] searches, see the [[#insource:|<code>insource:</code>]] parameter below.}}

=== Namespaces ===
{{anchor|Namespace}}
The default search domain is the article space, but any namespace may be specified in a query. 

At the search results page, any number of [[WP:NAMESPACE|namespaces]] can be specified, and [[Wikipedia:Users|users]] can keep those namespaces as their own default search domain. Partial namespace searches can be made by specifying the initial letters of a page name.

=== Spaces ===

The use of spaces is, in general, intuitive. Unnecessary spaces, and all non-alphanumeric characters except <code>"</code> are ignored, which makes for flexibility; it is simplest and best to avoid typing unnecessary spaces, although the tolerance for grey space simplifies copying and pasting search terms without the need for cleanup. For example, {{kbd|credit card}} is obviously reasonable; copying and pasting {{kbd|<nowiki>[[Credit(?!)card]]</nowiki>}} is equivalent and convenient; {{kbd|"credit card""payment card"}} is actually correct and minimal, but {{kbd|"credit card" "payment card"}} is an intuitive equivalent.

Any of the following characters will be treated as a [[space character]]: <code><nowiki>!@#$%^&()_+-=~`{}[]|\:;'<>,.?/</nowiki></code>. The double quotation mark <code>"</code> is not one of these characters, because it has the special purpose of specifying an exact phrase search, and <code>-</code> and <code>!</code> can be used to exclude results if either occurs at the beginning of a word or phrase (see more below). We use the term ''grey-space'' instead of ''[[Whitespace character|whitespace]]'' here to include the space character itself and all these characters. Multiple [grey-]spaces are equivalent to a single space.

Grey-space is ignored between the words of exact-phrase searches, between adjacent items in the query, and in starting characters of the search box query. All filters can have grey-space between them without affecting search results. Most operators, such as <code>intitle:</code> and <code>incategory:</code>, ignore unnecessary spaces, or grey-space, after the colon.

Where spaces are significant: single search terms cannot have embedded spaces; {{kbd|work space}}, {{kbd|"work space"}}, and {{kbd|workspace}} are all different. The particular keywords <code>prefix</code> and <code>insource</code> must be followed immediately by a colon <code>:</code> and their arguments, without intervening [grey-]spaces.

=== Special characters ===
{{shortcut|H:SPCHAR}}

For [[regex]] searches, see the [[#insource:|<code>insource:</code>]] parameter below.

==== Double quotes for exact phrase search ====
<!-- 'WP:Exact search' redirects here; see MOS:HIDDENLINKADVICE. -->
{{anchor|double quotes}}

A [[phrase]] can be matched by enclosing it in double quotes, {{kbd|"like this"}}. Double quotes can define a single search term that contains spaces. For example, {{kbd|{{Search link|"holly dolly"}}}} where the space is quoted as a character, differs much from {{kbd|{{Search link|holly dolly}}}} where the space is interpreted as a logical AND.

==== Suffixed tilde character for fuzzy search ====
{{anchor|fuzzy search|respell}}<!-- Please leave anchors in place. Section redirects point to them. -->
{{short|H:FUZZY}}

[[Approximate string matching|Spelling relaxation]] is requested by suffixing a tilde {{kbd|~}}, like {{kbd|this~}} to match results like {{samp|thus}} and {{samp|thins}}. It covers any two character-changes for any character except the first: it returns addition, exchange, or subtraction. This search technique is sometimes called a "sounds-like" search. For example, searching for {{kbd|{{search link|charlie~ parker~}}}} returns {{samp|Charlie Parker}}, {{samp|Charles Palmer}}, {{samp|Charley Parks}}, etc.

==== Prefixed tilde character for forced search ====
{{anchor|forced search}}<!-- Please leave anchors in place. Section redirects point to them. -->
{{short|H:FORCE}}

To force a search rather than navigate directly to a matching page, include a tilde character {{kbd|~}} anywhere in the query. It always takes you to the search results page, never jumping to a single title. For example, the misspelling {{kbd|similiar}} is [[WP:Redirect|redirected]] to the [[:Similarity]]<!--Intentional disambiguation link.--> article (or, in this case, disambiguation page); but prefixing a tilde, {{kbd|{{search link|~similiar prefix:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|~similiar}}}}, lists pages containing that misspelling.

==== Prefixed hyphen or exclamation point for exclusion ====
{{anchor|exclusion|hyphen}}<!-- Please leave anchors in place. Section redirects point to them. -->
{{shortcut|H:EXCLUDE}} 

Pages matching a search term can be excluded by prefixing an exclamation point ({{kbd|!}}) or a hyphen ({{kbd|-}}) to the term. This is the [[logical NOT]]. For example, {{kbd|{{Search link|credit card -"credit card"}}}} finds all articles with {{samp|credit}} and {{samp|card}} {{em|except}} those with the phrase {{samp|credit card}}.

==== Wildcard characters ====
{{anchor|wildcard|wildcard search}}<!-- Please leave anchors in place. Section redirects point to them. -->
{{shortcut|H:WLD}}

The two wildcard characters are {{kbd|*}} and {{kbd|\?}}, and both can come in the middle or end of a word. The escaped question mark stands for one character and the star stands for any number of characters. Because many users ask questions when searching, question marks are ignored by default, and the escaped question mark ({{kbd|\?}}) must be used for a wildcard.

{{clear}}

==== Non-alphabetic characters ====
For non-alphabetic characters, regex expressions are needed. {{crossref|pw=y|(See [[#insource:|<code>insource:</code>]] below.)}}

==== Logical operators ====
{{shortcut|H:BOOLEAN|H:LOPS}}

The search engine supports {{em|limited}} boolean logic in searches. [[Negation|Logical NOT (negation)]] can be indicated by a "{{kbd|-}}" (minus sign) or a "{{kbd|!}}" (exclamation point) character prefixed to a search term, or by the {{kbd|NOT}} keyword.

Parentheses {{kbd|(…)}} are ignored by the search engine and have no effect.

Search terms are implicitly joined by [[Logical conjunction|logical AND (conjunction)]]. For example {{kbd|"credit card" housecat}} searches for pages containing both "credit card" and "housecat". An {{kbd|OR}} operator is supported, but will only give intuitive results (corresponding to [[logical disjunction]]) if ''all'' search terms are separated by {{kbd|OR}} (e.g. {{kbd|red OR green OR blue}} has the expected behaviour, but {{kbd|red OR green blue}} does not). {{kbd|OR}} also does not behave predictably with special keywords (like <code>intitle:</code>) or namespaces. {{crossref|pw=y|(See [[:mw:Help:CirrusSearch/Logical operators]] for a more detailed explanation.)}}

=== Parameters ===
{{anchor|Parameter searches}}<!-- Please leave anchors in place. Section redirects point to them. -->
{{about|search parameters|template parameters|Help:Template#Parameters|section=yes}}
{{shortcut|H:PARAM}}

Parameters function as name filters, each followed by the search term it operates on. Their search term may be a word or a phrase. The main parameters are '''<code>{{var|namespace}}:</code>''', '''<code>intitle:</code>''', '''<code>insource:</code>''', '''<code>incategory:</code>''', and '''<code>prefix:</code>''' ({{var|namespace}} as used here isn't literal – use the name of the actual namespace desired).

<code>prefix:</code> differs from the other parameters in that it can only be used at the end of a search string.

A single <code>{{var|namespace}}:</code> filter can go first, and a single <code>prefix:</code> filter can go last.
<!-- Note that the [[space character]]s are {{em|not}} very important except around <code>prefix:</code>. The query string of <code>incategory:</code> is a [[WP:Page name|page name]] (or "a category name"), and in a page name, the [[underscore]] <code>_</code> is equivalent to space, and so underscore will suffice instead of the double quotes around the page name with spaces in it. The <code>intitle:</code> query is not a page name, but it also treats space and underscore equally, treating them as AND. (It even treats multiple spaces, and even mixes of spaces and underscores that way.) All filters can have between them multiple spaces (or underscores) (or a mix) without affecting search results.  Multiple spaces are treated as a single space everywhere except around <code>prefix:</code>. (Namely, within and around Boolean operated terms, even if inside double quotes; in between adjacent filters; in page names; in starting characters of the search box query; in between the colon and the prefix parameter names <code>incategory:</code>, <code>intitle:</code>, or <code>all:</code>, or after that colon). <code>prefix:</code> or a namespace name (or its alias) can have no space between its name and the following colon. And remember that <code>prefix:</code> is entirely literal after its colon, and so accepts no space character, except as a literal space.-->

==== <code><var>namespace</var>:</code> ====
{{anchor|namespace name:}}
Only articles are searched by default because most users are only readers. Given only at the {{em|beginning}} of the query, a [[Wikipedia:Namespace|namespace]] name followed by a colon limits search results to that namespace. It is a filter without a query string. The namespace can also be selected at [[Special:Search]].

Namespace [[WP:Namespace#Aliases|aliases]] like <code>WP:</code> or <code>wp:</code> instead of <code>Wikipedia:</code> are accepted.

<code>User:</code> will normally go directly to a user page even if it doesn't exist. To search userspace, use [[Special:Search]] or click "{{int:searchsuggest-containing}}" below the search box.

<code>all:</code> will search all namespaces.

To search multiple namespaces but not all, use "{{int:advancedsearch-namespaces-search-in}}" at [[Special:Search]].

==== <code>all:</code> ====
{{shortcut|H:ALL}}
{{anchor|All|all|all:}}

Prefixing <code>all:</code> (in lower case) searches all namespaces, sorted by namespace, and with substring matches at the end.{{efn|1=The upper-cased <code>All:</code> was previously documented as distinct from <code>all:</code>, in doing such namespace sorting while the lower-case version did not. But {{as of|2024|lc=y|post=,}} <code>All:</code> is no longer functional, and tends to produce unexpected results (e.g. no matches, or those containing the word {{samp|all}}).}}

==== <code>intitle:</code> ====
{{anchor|intitle}}
{{shortcut|H:INTIT|H:INTITLE}}

[[Help:Page name|Page titles]] and redirects can be searched with <code>intitle:{{var|query}}</code>, where {{var|query}} is the search string. The search results highlight occurrences in both the title and page content. Multiple <code>intitle:</code> filters may be used to search for words in titles regardless of order, or in different titles (i.e., redirects) for the same article. [[Help:Searching/Regex|Regular expression]]s can be used with <code>intitle:/{{var|regexp}}/</code> or the case insensitive <code>intitle:/{{var|regexp}}/i</code>. {{crossref|pw=y|(See more in the [[#insource:|insource]] section.)}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Query
! Description
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|intitle:airport}}}}
| All articles with the word {{samp|airport}} (or {{samp|Airport}} – this is case-insensitive) in their titles.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|parking intitle:airport}}}}
| Articles with {{samp|parking}} in their text and {{samp|airport}} in their titles.
|-
|style=white-space: nowrap | {{kbd|{{search link|intitle:international intitle:airport}}}}
| Articles containing both {{samp|international}} and {{samp|airport}} in their titles (including, e.g., {{samp|Airports Council International}})
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|intitle:"international airport"}}}}
| Articles with the phrase {{samp|international airport}} in their titles.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|airport -intitle:airport}}}}
| Articles with {{samp|airport}} in their text but not in their titles.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|intitle:/airport/i -intitle:airport}}}}
| Articles with the string {{samp|airport}} (case-insensitive) but not the word {{samp|airport}} in their titles.
|}

==== <code>insource:</code> ====
{{shortcut|H:INSOURCE}}
{{anchor|insource}}

This can find template arguments, URLs, links, html, etc. It has two forms, one is an indexed search, and the other is [[Help:Searching/Regex|regex-based]].
{{clear}}
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Query
! Description
|-
| {{kbd|insource:{{var|word}}}}<br />{{kbd|insource:"{{var|word1&nbsp;word2}}"}}
| Like word searches and exact-phrase searches, non-alphanumeric characters are ignored, and proximity and fuzziness are options.
|-
| {{kbd|insource:/{{var|regexp}}/}}<br />{{kbd|insource:/{{var|regexp}}/i}}
| These are [[Help:Searching/Regex|regular expressions]]. They use a lot of processing power, so we can only allow a few at a time on the search cluster, but they are very powerful. The version with the extra <code>i</code> runs the expression case-insensitive, and is even less efficient. Regex searches are likely to time out unless you further limit the search in some way, such as by including another parameter or a search term outside of the insource component of the search string. (For example, {{kbd|X* intitle:/X/}} to restrict the search to initial position.) {{crossref|pw=y|For more details, see [[mw:Help:CirrusSearch#Regular expression searches]].}}
|}

==== <code>incategory:</code> ====
{{anchor|incategory|Incategory}}<!-- Please leave anchors in place. Section redirects point to them. -->
{{shortcut|H:INCAT|H:INCATEGORY}}

Given as {{kbd|incategory:{{var|category}}}}, where [[Help:Category|{{var|category}}]] is the [[Help:Page name|page name]] of a category page, it lists pages assigned to the given category by methods including the addition of {{kbd|<nowiki>[[Category:</nowiki>{{var|page name}}<nowiki>]]</nowiki>}} to their wikitext. (Editors searching in namespaces other than mainspace will need to know [[WP:TCAT|the limitations]] these search results may contain.) If the category page name includes space characters; replace the spaces with underscores (e.g. {{kbd|incategory:Pages_of_interest}}), surround the page name with double quotes (e.g. {{kbd|incategory:"Pages of interest"}}) or both (but not on the [[Wikimedia Commons]] site). <code>incategory:</code> will also return pages in the adjacent subcategory {{crossref|pw=y|(see for example, {{nowrap|{{kbd|{{search link|category: incategory:History}}}}}})}}. Multiple <code>incategory:</code> filters may be applied. A more graphical alternative to a single filter is at [[Special:CategoryTree]]. Because categories are important structures for {{em|searching}} for related articles, any use of this prefix is particularly effective for searching. {{crossref|pw=y|(For more on using the categories themselves to find articles, see [[Wikipedia:FAQ/Categories]].)}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Query
! Description
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|Berlin incategory:German_chemists}}}}
| Starting with the articles listed at [[:Category: German chemists]], only the ones that have the word {{samp|Berlin}} in their text.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|incategory:"Suspension bridges in the United States" incategory:"Bridges in New York City"}}}}
| Articles that are [[WP:CI|common to both categories]] – the suspension bridges in New York City. This will return nothing since all NYC bridges are categorized in subcategories, and <code>incategory:</code> doesn't search in subcategories. {{crossref|pw=y|(For the probably desired result, see usage of <code>deepcategory:</code> in the next section.)}}
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|incategory:"Suspension bridges in New York City" incategory:"Bridges in Brooklyn"}}}}
| Suspension bridges of Brooklyn.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|"feral cat" -incategory:"Category:Cats in the United Kingdom"}}}}
| Articles that contain the phrase {{samp|feral cat}}, but not listed in [[:Category:Cats in the United Kingdom]].
|}

==== <code>deepcategory:</code> ====
{{anchor|deepcategory}}
{{shortcut|H:DEEPCAT}}

Also <code>deepcat:</code>, this allows you to search in a category and all its subcategories. The depth of the tree is currently limited to 5 levels, and the overall number of categories is limited to 1000.

Examples:

{| class="wikitable"
! Query
! Description
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|deepcat:"Musicals by topic"}}}}
| All musicals of any topic. (Finds articles that are in [[:Category:Musicals by topic]] or any of its subcategories.)
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|Berlin deepcat:German_chemists}}}}
| Starting with the articles listed at [[:Category: German chemists]], only the ones that have the word {{samp|Berlin}} in their text.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|deepcat:"Suspension bridges in the United States" deepcat:"Bridges in New York City"}}}}
| Articles that are [[WP:CI|common to both categories]] – the suspension bridges in New York City. This will work since all NYC bridges are categorized in subcategories, and <code>incategory:</code> doesn't search in subcategories but <code>deepcat:</code> does.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|deepcat:"Suspension bridges in New York City" deepcat:"Bridges in Brooklyn"}}}}
| Suspension bridges of Brooklyn.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|"feral cat" -deepcat:"Category:Cats in the United Kingdom"}}}}
| Articles that contain the phrase {{samp|feral cat}}, but not listed in [[:Category:Cats in the United Kingdom]] or its subcategories.
|}

==== <code>prefix:</code> ====
{{shortcut|H:PREFIX}}
{{anchor|prefix}}

<code>prefix:{{var|page name}}</code> patterns {{em|only the beginning characters}} of a [[WP:Page name|page name]]. Because the "beginning" characters can, if you need, go on to include the characters all the way to the end of the page name, prefix must include spaces, since page names often include spaces. For this reason <code>prefix:</code> must only ever be given as the {{em|last part}} of a search box query, and next character after the colon cannot be a space. <code>prefix:</code> does not search for partial namespace names, but requires at least a full namespace name to start to find pages, but <code>prefix:</code> also recognizes an [[WP:Namespace#Aliases|alias]] of a namespace, and it recognizes redirects (or shortcut). Prefix is the most widely used and powerful filter as it can mimic the namespace filter, and because <code>intitle:</code> cannot easily target a single page, even together with other filters. [[Special:PrefixIndex]] is a MediaWiki, graphical, version, using only <code>prefix:</code> to find pages.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Query
! Description
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|Salvage wreck prefix:USS}}}}
| Articles containing the words {{samp|salvage}} and {{samp|wreck}} whose title starts with the characters {{samp|USS}}.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|wave particle prefix:Talk:Speed of light}}}}
| The [[Speed of light]] article's talk pages containing the terms {{samp|particle}} and {{samp|wave}}, including the current and the [[WP:Archive|archived]] talk [[WP:Subpage|subpages]].
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|wave particle prefix:Talk:Speed of light/}}}}
| Same search, but only in the archived talk subpages.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|"portal namespace"  readers prefix:Wikipedia talk:}}}}
| Is equivalent to {{samp|Wikipedia talk:"portal namespace" readers}}.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|language prefix:Portal:Chi}}}}
| Portal namespace page names that begin with {{samp|Portal:Chi}} and have the word {{samp|language}} in the page.
|}

==== <code>linksto:</code> ====
{{shortcut|H:LINKSTO}}
{{anchor|linksto}}

<code>linksto:{{var|page name}}</code> searches in pages that link to the given page. Can be used negatively by prefixing a hyphen, which will return pages that {{em|do not}} link to the given page. Unlike with some other keywords, the page name is case-sensitive.

{{clear}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Query
! Description
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|linksto:Airport}}}}
| All articles containing internal link to [[Airport]].
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|parking linksto:Airport}}}}
| Articles with {{samp|parking}} in their text linking to [[Airport]]
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|-linksto:"Albert Einstein" "Albert Einstein"}}}}
| Articles containing {{samp|Albert Einstein}} NOT linking to [[Albert Einstein]]
|}

==== <code>subpageof:</code> ====
{{shortcut|H:SUBOF}}
{{anchor|subpageof}}

This limits searches to [[Wikipedia:Subpages|subpages]] of the specified page. You can also negate the subpages from a search by preceding subpageof: with a hyphen. Note that articles on Wikipedia don't have subpages, but the pages of the other namespaces do. Therefore, use the [[#namespace name:|namespace parameter]] also, or select the namespace at [[Special:Search]]. Here are some examples:

For <code>User:</code> searches, click "Search for pages containing" or use [[Special:Search]]. This is not needed for other namespaces. To look at all the subpages of a user, try this:

{{kbd|User:subpageof:AzaToth}}

That will display all the subpages of [[User:AzaToth]]. They can also be seen at [[Special:PrefixIndex/User:AzaToth/]] but [[Special:PrefixIndex]] cannot be combined with a search.

To make sure Articles for deletion pages do not show up in the results of a Wikipedia namespace search, try this:

{{kbd|Wikipedia:"Hi there" -subpageof:"Articles for deletion"}}

That will show pages from the Wikipedia namespace with "Hi there" in them, and the list of results will not be cluttered with any [[WP:Articles for deletion]] debates (there are hundreds of thousands). Notice the use of the hyphen (that makes it mean "not subpages of").

==== <code>hastemplate:</code> ====
{{anchor|hastemplate}}
{{shortcut|H:HASTEMP}}

This finds pages that use the specified [[Wikipedia:template|template]]. Input the canonical page name to find all usage of the template, but use any of its redirect page names finds just that naming. Namespace aliases are accepted, capitalization is entirely ignored, and redirects are found, all in one name-search.

This is more thorough than <code>insource:</code>, in that it will find meta-templates (templates called by another template). Meta-templates don't show up in the local page's wikitext.

Example of <code>hastemplate:</code> usage:

{{kbd|hastemplate:"Article for deletion/dated"}}

This lets you find all the articles being considered for deletion.

{{kbd|intitle:"Outline of " -hastemplate:"Outline footer"}}

This lets you find [[Wikipedia:Outlines|Wikipedia outlines]] that lack the outline footer template. (Notice the use of the hyphen to indicate "NOT").

==== <code>articletopic:</code> ====
{{anchor|articletopic}}

This keyword allows filtering search results by topic. {{crossref|pw=y|(For possible topics see [[mw:Help:CirrusSearch/articletopic]].)}} E.g. {{kbd|articletopic:books}} will filter the search results to articles about books. {{kbd|articletopic:books{{!}}films}} will filter to articles about books or films. {{kbd|articletopic:books articletopic:films}} will filter to articles which are about both books and films.

Only mainspace articles belong to topics. Unlike most other filters, <code>articletopic:</code> also does page weighting: articles which are a stronger match for a topic will be higher in the search results (while articles which aren't about that subject at all will be removed from the result set completely).

Topic models are derived via machine learning from [[mw:ORES#Topic routing|ORES]]. Any given article receives a score on dozens of different topics, and therefore may appear under different keywords. For instance, the article on Albert Einstein may appear as a "physics" article and a "biography" article. Topic-related search data is updated weekly, so recently created articles might not show up in topic-based search queries.

==== <code>inproject:</code> ====
{{anchor|inproject}}

Allows filtering of search results to pages in given [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProjects]]. Examples:

* {{kbd|inproject:Cricket}} filters to pages in [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Cricket|WikiProject Cricket]]
* {{kbd|inproject:Cricket{{!}}Football}} filters to pages in either WikiProject Cricket or WikiProject Football.
* {{kbd|inproject:Football inproject:Cricket}} filters to only pages which are in both WikiProjects
* {{kbd|inproject:"Africa/Seychelles work group"}} filters to pages in the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Africa/Seychelles work group|Seychelles work group]] of WikiProject Africa.

A list of [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&list=projects&pjsubprojects=true all possible projects and subprojects] can be obtained via the API.

''Note this filter only works on wikis with [[mw:Extension:PageAssessments|Extension:PageAssessments]] installed (which includes English Wikipedia)''

== Search page ==
[[File:Search page.PNG|thumb|300px|alt=Wikipedia special search box|The search page.]]

The search page features a search box, with some links to search domains beneath it. {{crossref|pw=y|(For information on what can by typed into the search box, see [[#Search string syntax|Search string syntax]] above.)}}

The main difference between this search box and the one that appears on article pages is that exact matches on this one will not navigate you directly to an article page. This search box will produce the [[#Search results page|search results page]] showing what all matches your search on Wikipedia.

To get to the search page, perform an empty search (press {{keypress|Enter}} while in the [[#Search box|search box]] before typing anything else in), or click on the {{Button|Search}} button. The link [[Special:Search]], which can be inserted onto user pages or project pages, for example, also leads to the search page.

While the entire contents of the search page is included in the [[#Search results page|search results page]], it is a distinct page. User scripts might be designed to work on the search results page but not the search page, for example.

{{crossref|pw=y|(For an explanation of the controls available on the search page, see [[#Refining results|Refining results]] below.)}}

== Search results page ==
{{shortcut|H:RESULTS}}

The search results page looks just like the [[#Search page|search page]], with the results for your search query presented below it. {{crossref|pw=y|(For information on what can by typed into the search box, see [[#Search string syntax|Search string syntax]] above.)}}

The search results page is displayed when a search is done from the search page, when a search from the regular [[#Search box|search box]] does not exactly match a page title, or when any parameters or special characters are included in a [[#Search string|search string]].

=== Understanding search results ===

The search string entered will be displayed in the search box on the page, in case you wish to modify it.

Spelling corrections and query corrections are offered at the top of the results {{crossref|pw=y|(see [[#Preliminary reports|Preliminary reports]], below)}}.

Note that search results include content from templates displayed on the pages searched.

The order that search results are presented in is based on the page ranking software.

Results match word stems, along with their various tenses (past tense, plural tense, etc.), except for anything included between double quotation marks. {{crossref|pw=y|See [[#Stem matching|Stem matching]], below.}}

Throughout the results, matching terms are highlighted in bold. All matches in the title show for sure, while matches within the details may show, but not if they are far apart on the page.

Matches are included for section headings, members of matching categories, and destination pages of redirects. These will show off to the side of the page name, parenthetically.

A single result (one each) from selected sister projects appears on the right side of the page (the most likely relevant match for each). This feature may be permanently turned off in [[Special:Preferences|Preferences]].

Files from Wikimedia Commons are included within the results when the <code>File:</code> namespace has been selected. You can prepend search terms with <code>local:</code> to limit results to locally uploaded files.

==== Preliminary reports ====

Search results will often be accompanied by a preliminary report.
* '''There is a page named "{{font color|#0645AD|{{var|Page name}}}}"''' (a wikilink to an existing page)
* {{font color|#CC2200|Did you mean:}} {{font color|#0645AD|{{var|spelling correction}}}} (either a wikilink or a search-link)
* ''You may create the page "{{font color|#CC2200|{{var|New title}}}}"'' (a redlink to a new page name)
The ''Did you mean'' report corrects dictionary word spellings and gives a link that is either a wikilink that will navigate to an article or a search link that will perform a query. The distinction can be made by observing the presence of a ''You may create the page'' report.
Another report corrects "spellings" to coincide with any "word" found in a search index (any word on the wiki):
{{block indent|{{font color|#CC2200|Showing results for}} {{font color|#0645AD|'''{{var|query correction}}'''}}. {{font color|#CC2200|Search instead for}} {{font color|#0645AD|{{var|your query}}}} (two search links).}}<!--
--><section end="Search results page" /><section begin="Refining results" />

=== Refining results ===
{{redirect|WP:REFINE|refining a redirect|WP:TARGET}}
{{shortcut|H:REFINE}}

The ''Search'' page is designed for presenting and refining results in a re-search loop controlled by modifying the query or the search parameters, such as namespace.

==== Namespaces ====
[[File:Wiki search namespaces.png|thumb|upright=1.25|By default only the Article namespace is searched, but these checkboxes can be used to add other types of Wikipedia pages such as talk pages or user pages.]]
[[WP:article|Articles]] are in the main [[Help:Namespace|namespace]], or "article space", but ''[[Special:Statistics]]'' will show that there are many times more ''pages'' on Wikipedia than there are ''articles'' on Wikipedia. Other ''types'' of pages are in other ''namespaces'', and these can be selected using the checkboxes that appear when expanding the section labelled ''Search in:'' under the search box.
* "{{int:advancedsearch-namespaces-preset-default}}": Only search encyclopedia articles (also called [[WP:MAINSPACE|mainspace]]).
* "{{int:advancedsearch-namespaces-preset-discussion}}": Search [[Help:Talk pages|talk pages]]. Some discussions are in the <code>Wikipedia:</code> namespace, which can be included by also selecting "General help" (which also adds help pages) or by selecting "Wikipedia" under "{{int:advancedsearch-namespaces-placeholder}}".
* "{{int:advancedsearch-namespaces-preset-general-help}}": Search the [[Wikipedia:Help namespace|<code>Help:</code> namespace]] and [[Wikipedia:Project namespace|<code>Wikipedia:</code> namespace]] (also called project namespace). The latter contains various types of pages including many help pages.
** Unfortunarely, there is no reliable way to exclude discussion pages from the results, but you can try adding to your query {{kbd|-insource:/\(UTC\)/}} (which would also exclude help pages containing "(UTC)"); or try something more delicate like [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=interwiki+wikidata+-intitle%3A%2F%5B0-9%5D%7B4%7D%7C%5BAa%5Dssessm%7C%5BCc%5Dandi%7C%5BPp%5Dropos%7C+%5BFf%5Dor+%7C%5C%2F%5BAa%5Drchive%7CRRA%7C%5BRr%5Dequest%28s%7Ced%29%7CR%5BFf%5DC%7CMeetu%7Cticeb%7C%28Recent+%7CiProj%7CMediat%7C%5BSs%5Dock+%3Fp%7Csancti%7Ceview%7Ctigations%7Cslation%7Ckf%7Ce+wee%7CUsu%7CGL%7Cse+re%7Cifun%29.%2A%5C%2F%2F&title=Special:Search&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&ns4=1&ns12=1 this] (which would also exclude help subpages of WikiProjects).
* "{{int:advancedsearch-namespaces-preset-all}}": Search every page on the entire wiki, for example also drafts and user pages.

Click "{{int:advancedsearch-namespaces-placeholder}}" to select [[Wikipedia:Namespace|namespaces]] individually. 

In order to fully interpret the search results page, check which search domains are checked off, but also remember to check for a namespace name at the beginning or a <code>prefix:</code> parameter at the end of the search box query. A namespace entered in a query always takes priority for determination of the search domain of a query, and will at any time override your default search domain, or any displayed ''profile''. A <code>prefix:</code> parameter at {{em|the end}} of a query in the search box, furthermore, will override any namespace there, or any ''profile'' underneath that. Equivalently, you could check the [[WP:URL|URL]] in your browser's address bar for profile and namespace parameter settings, because the search query was sent to the search engine by way of that URL.

==== Sorting ====
By default, results are ordered by [[Relevance (information retrieval)|relevance]]. The "Sorting order" control in the "Advanced search" section allows you to select two other sort orders: most recently edited, and most recently created.

An advanced technique is to manually modify the URL to achieve other sort orders. For example, adding <code>&sort=incoming_links_desc</code> to the end of the URL will sort pages with the most incoming links to the top, and <code>&sort=random</code> will randomly order results. For a full list of available sort orders, see [[mw:Help:CirrusSearch#Explicit sort orders]].

== Search settings ==
{{anchor|User preferences}}
{{main|Help:User preferences}}

There is a {{myprefs|Search}} tab. (You must be logged in.)

The ''default search domain'' is article space, but any user can change this default, and have their own ''default search domain'' for all the queries they run. In any case a query always can specify a namespace to make the search domain explicit and override any default. At the search results page, [[Special:Search]], ''Advanced'' dialog, a search can specify any number of namespaces, and [[Wikipedia:Why create an account|logged-in users]] can set their ''default search domain'' there by clicking "Remember selection for future searches".{{efn|1=Because the default search domain is a settable preference, any query you intend to share, publish, or save in a search link might need the search domain explicitly given in the search link in order to ensure consistent search results among all users, at any time. {{tlx|Search link}} defaults to article space but can specify multiple namespaces in its query.}}

Visit your {{myprefs|Gadgets}} page (requires JavaScript) to set up:
* several external search engines' views of Wikipedia. The search results page will then have a pull down list to the left of its search box, offering your choice as, say, a modification of a word or phrase search, or a page ranking refinement. Go to {{myprefs|Gadgets}} ''Appearance'', and see "Add a selector to the Wikipedia search page allowing the use of external search engines."
* a wider search box. Go to ''Appearance'' and find "Widen the search box in the Vector skin."
* {{myprefs|Search|Completion}}. Spell-correct titles dropped-down from the search box as you type, or not. Or go to {{myprefs|Appearance}} and see "Disable the suggestions dropdown-lists of the search fields".

The search results page can open in a new tab. See {{myprefs|Gadgets}} ''Browsing''
There are also custom user-scripts to make all search results always open in a new tab. (See the scripts available in ''[[#See also|See also]]''.)<!--
--><section end="User preferences" /><section begin="Redirects" />

To hide/opt-out the search results snippets from sister projects, go to {{myprefs|Gadgets|Appearance}} and see "Do not show search results for sister projects on the search results page".

== Tips and tricks ==

=== Searching within a page ===
The internal search engine cannot locate occurrences of a string within the page you are viewing but browsers can usually do this with {{keypress|Ctrl|F}}, or {{keypress|Command|F}} on a Mac.

=== Searching for a specific person's contributions ===
Due to the way the wikimedia database is indexed, there's no direct way to search for something like {{kbd|insource:foo author:person}}.   But, you can come close in some situations.  If you're looking for something on a talk (or, sometimes, project) page, people tend to leave a signature after each edit, and such pages are usually set up so old edits roll off onto archive pages.  In this case, the [[:mw:Help:CirrusSearch#Words,_phrases,_and_modifiers|proximity search]] operator can find instances of your search term near the user's name.  Something like {{kbd|foo person ~50}} might find what you are looking for.

=== Search Wikipedia from any web page ===
To get Wikipedia search results while on any ''[[web page]]'', you can temporarily set your web browser's search box to become a Wikipedia search search box, even though you're on another web site {{crossref|pw=y|(see [[Help:Searching from a web browser]])}}. This trick removes the need to first navigate to Wikipedia from a web page, and {{em|then}} do the search or navigation. It is a temporary change, and then you put it back to your preferred web-search engine.

You can just drag items on the page the name up to the web browser search box {{em|while on any web site}}, even in the lower sections of a Wikipedia page, where no search box is immediately available.

You can reach all twelve [[WP:SISTER|sister projects]] the same way by using interwiki prefixes in the web browser's search box. For example, you can go straight to a [[Wiktionary]] entry by using the prefix <code>wikt:</code> from your web-search box.<!--
-->

=== SQL searches / Quarry ===
The entire wikipedia database (with some redactions for privacy) is exposed for SQL queries at the experimental [[quarry:|Quarry service]].  Using this requires a high degree of technical skill; you must not only know SQL, but also be able to navigate the complex (and not always well documented) database schema.  For those who are so equipped, it may provide another option for searches which would be impossible to do via the standard search interface.<!--
--><section end="Other uses" /><section begin="User preferences" />

== Other search tools ==

Other search tools include:
* Your own browser, to search the current page only. Try {{keypress|Ctrl|F}}, {{keypress|F3}}, or {{keypress|Command|F}}.
* https://www.wikipedia.org<nowiki />, to search other language editions of Wikipedia.
* Search-related templates {{nomirror|{{crossref|pw=y|See the [[WP:Nav box|navigation box]] below.}} }}

Internal search tools:
* [[Special:BookSources|ISBN]]
* [[Special:PrefixIndex|Prefix]]
* And many other [[Special:SpecialPages|SpecialPages]]

{{anchor|grep}}
External tools dedicated to Wikipedia Database searches include:
* '''[https://grep.toolforge.org/index.php?lang=en&wiki=wikipedia&ns=0 Article title grep]''': searches page titles using [[regular expression]]s. This search is much slower than standard search. In particular this tool can search for exact [[String (computer science)|strings of characters]], including punctuation and with [[case sensitivity]]. For example the pattern {{kbd|\(&&nbsp;Co\.&nbsp;Ltd\.}} will find only titles containing {{kbd|(&&nbsp;Co.&nbsp;Ltd.}} exactly as shown. Regular expressions are precisely defined, and not intuitively obvious.
* '''[https://petscan.wmflabs.org/ PetScan]''': about 20 search parameters, three for categories
* '''[http://wikipedia.ramselehof.de/wikiblame.php WikiBlame]''': search for text in the revision history of a page
* '''[https://sigma.toolforge.org/usersearch.py User Contribution Search]''': reports anyone's contributions to a page
* '''[[:toolforge:sigma/summary.py|Edit summary search]]''': search for text in anyone's edit summaries
* '''[https://whichsub.toolforge.org/ whichsub]''': finds transcluded templates of a given page which contain a given string.

== If you cannot find what you are looking for ==
If you're looking for a place where wine comes from pronounced "Bordo", you can try searching for a more general article such as "Wine", "Wine regions" (returning "List of wine-producing regions") or other wine types such as "Burgundy" and see if it's mentioned there or follow links (in this case, to "Burgundy wine", which has several mentions of "Bordeaux", and links to "French wine" and "Bordeaux wine"). If you know it's in France, look at "France" or the [[:Category:Cities in France]], from where you can easily find Bordeaux. You can try various things depending upon the particular case; for "Bordo" wine, it's quite likely that the first letters are "bord", so search an article you've landed on for these letters. If you [[Wikipedia:Search engine test|use Google to search Wikipedia]], and click on "cache" at the bottom of any result in the search engine results page, you'll see the word(s) that you searched for highlighted in context.

{{crossref|pw=y|(For an overview of how to find and navigate Wikipedia content, see [[Wikipedia:Contents]]. If you're looking for a straight definition of a word, try our sister project [[:en:wiktionary|Wiktionary]].)}}

If there is no appropriate page on Wikipedia, consider [[Wikipedia:How to start a page|creating a page]], since [[Wikipedia:Introduction|you can edit]] Wikipedia right now. Or consider adding what you were looking for to the [[Wikipedia:Requested articles|Requested articles]] page.

If you have a question, then see [[Wikipedia:Questions|Where to ask questions]], which is a list of departments where our volunteers answer questions, any question you can possibly imagine.

A common mistake is to type a natural-language question into the search box and expect an answer. While some Web search tools support this, the Wikipedia search is a text search only; questions, as such, can be asked at the [[WP:REFDESK|reference desk]] and similar places. A search for {{kbd|how do clocks work?}} will return articles with the words {{samp|how}}, {{samp|do}}, {{samp|clocks}}, and {{samp|work}}, ignoring the question mark (in practice this can lead to articles answering simple questions).

===Delay in updating the search index===
{{anchor|Delay}}
Because people like to see their work in search results, the search engine attempts to update in [[Real-time computing#Near real-time|near real-time]]. Edits made to pages via templates can take a little longer to propagate. If you see the index lagging more than a day or so, [[wmfblog:2013/03/18/how-to-create-a-good-first-bug-report/|report it]]. For other technical issues with the search engine, please leave a message on [[Wikipedia talk:Searching|the talk page]].

== Under the hood ==

To power its search feature, Wikipedia uses [[mw:Help:CirrusSearch|CirrusSearch]], a MediaWiki extension that uses [[Elasticsearch]] to provide enhanced search features.

=== Stem matching ===
{{shortcut|H:STEM}}

Search results will include the roots of words included in the search string, and their various tenses (plural, past-tense, etc.). If stem matching is not wanted, use double quotes around the word or phrase you want to match verbatim. Here are some examples:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Query
! Description
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|stem prefix:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|stem}}}}
| Matches {{samp|stem}}, {{samp|stemming}}, {{samp|stems}}, etc.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|cloud prefix:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|cloud}}}}
| Matches {{samp|cloud}}, {{samp|clouds}}, {{samp|clouding}}, or {{samp|clouded}}, etc., but not {{samp|cloudy}}.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|"stemming" prefix:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|"stemming"}}}}
| Matches {{samp|stemming}} but not {{samp|stemmed}} or {{samp|stems}}, etc.
|-
| {{kbd|{{search link|"clouds" prefix:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|"clouds"}}}}
| Matches {{samp|clouds}}, but not {{samp|clouding}}, or {{samp|cloud}}, etc.
|}

== Custom search boxes==
{{shortcut|H:CSB}}
{{seealso|Template:Search box}}
Custom  search boxes are made by {{tag|inputbox|o}} tags. See '''[[mw:Extension:InputBox]]''' for more information.
===Content namespaces===
{{seealso|Special:Search}}
[[Wikipedia:Administration#Content namespaces|Content namespaces]] are intended for use by readers as part of the encyclopedia.
<inputbox>
type=search
width=55
searchbuttonlabel=Content namespaces
namespaces=Main**,Portal**,Category**
searchbuttonlabel=Search
break=yes
</inputbox>
<br>

===Administrative namespaces===
{{see|Template:Editor search boxes|Template:Search prefixes}}
{{seealso|Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines#Finding policies and guidelines}}

[[WP:ADMINPS|Administrative namespaces]] are intended for use by editors or by automated tools for the administration and governance of the encyclopedia.

<inputbox>
type=search
width=55
searchbuttonlabel=Administration namespaces
namespaces=Wikipedia**,Help**,Template**
searchbuttonlabel=Search
break=yes
</inputbox>

==See also==
{{Help desk}}

* {{section link|Help:Navigation#Using the search box to navigate}}
* [[Help:Searching from a web browser]]
* [[Help:Searching/Features]]
* [[Help:Searching/feedback]]
* [[mediawikiwiki:Help:Searching|MediaWiki:Help:Searching]]
* [[MediaWikiWiki:Search|MediaWiki:Search]]
* [[mw:Help:CirrusSearch]]
** [[mw:Help:Extension:WikibaseCirrusSearch]]
* [[Wikipedia:Search engine test]]
* {{section link|Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts#Search}}
** [[User talk:The Transhumanist/SearchSuite.js|SearchSuite]]
* [[Wikipedia:Overreliance upon Google]]
* [[Wikipedia:Article name search]]
* [[Wikipedia:External search engines]]
* [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/List of talk page search boxes]]
* [[Wikipedia:United States government document search tools]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Geographical coordinates/coordinates search tool]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/Google search]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/Multi-NS search]] 
* [[Wikipedia:Reference desk]]: Ask a question here and Wikipedia volunteers will try to answer it
* [[phab:T204089]] – why you can't specifically include or exclude redirects from your search results

'''The alternative to searching = browsing''' {{aka}}: looking it up

* [[Wikipedia:Editor's index to Wikipedia]] – an enormous list of the Wikipedia community, intended to help find anything not in the encyclopedia itself.

'''Advanced search methods'''

* [[Help:Searching/Regex]]
* [[Help:Searching/Regex/Sandboxing]]
* {{section link|Wikipedia:Tools#Searching}}
* {{section link|Wikipedia:User scripts/List#Search}}
* [[Wikipedia:Advanced source searching]]
* [[Wikipedia:External search engines]]
* [[Help:Linksearch]] &ndash; to search external links (URLs)
* [[Wikipedia:PetScan]]
* [[Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser/Database Scanner]]
* [https://global-search.toolforge.org Global search]. [https://github.com/wikimedia/tools-global-search]. "A tool to do keyword and source regex searches across all Wikimedia Foundation wikis."

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

{{Search templates|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Searching in Wikipedia| ]]
[[Category:Reader help]]
[[Category:Wikipedia features]]
[[Category:Wikipedia how-to|Searching]]
[[Category:Wikipedia interface help]]