Canvas Search API

openapi: 3.2.0
info:
  title: Canvas LMS REST Search API
  version: v1
  summary: The complete Canvas LMS REST API, converted from the Swagger 1.2 documents Instructure publishes under https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/.
  description: The Canvas LMS REST API covers courses, assignments, quizzes, grades, users, enrollments, accounts, files, modules, rubrics, submissions, SIS imports, LTI, analytics and account administration.
  contact:
    name: Instructure Canvas
    url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/
  license:
    name: AGPL-3.0
    url: https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms/blob/master/LICENSE
servers:
- url: https://canvas.instructure.com/api
  description: Instructure-hosted Canvas (canvas.instructure.com)
- url: https://{canvas_host}/api
  description: Any Canvas instance; Canvas is multi-tenant and self-hostable, so the host is the institution's Canvas domain.
  variables:
    canvas_host:
      default: canvas.instructure.com
      description: Your institution's Canvas hostname, e.g. school.instructure.com
security:
- bearerAuth: []
- oauth2: []
tags:
- name: Search
  x-resource: search
  externalDocs:
    url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/search.html
paths:
  /v1/conversations/find_recipients:
    get:
      tags:
      - Search
      operationId: find_recipients_conversations
      summary: Find recipients
      description: 'Find valid recipients (users, courses and groups) that the current user

        can send messages to. The /api/v1/search/recipients path is the preferred

        endpoint, /api/v1/conversations/find_recipients is deprecated.


        Pagination is supported.'
      parameters:
      - name: search
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        required: false
        description: 'Search terms used for matching users/courses/groups (e.g. "bob smith"). If

          multiple terms are given (separated via whitespace), only results matching

          all terms will be returned.'
      - name: context
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        required: false
        description: Limit the search to a particular course/group (e.g. "course_3" or "group_4").
      - name: exclude
        in: query
        schema:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
        required: false
        description: 'Array of ids to exclude from the search. These may be user ids or

          course/group ids prefixed with "course_" or "group_" respectively,

          e.g. exclude[]=1&exclude[]=2&exclude[]=course_3'
      - name: type
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - user
          - context
        required: false
        description: Limit the search just to users or contexts (groups/courses).
      - name: user_id
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
          format: int64
        required: false
        description: 'Search for a specific user id. This ignores the other above parameters,

          and will never return more than one result.'
      - name: from_conversation_id
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
          format: int64
        required: false
        description: 'When searching by user_id, only users that could be normally messaged by

          this user will be returned. This parameter allows you to specify a

          conversation that will be referenced for a shared context -- if both the

          current user and the searched user are in the conversation, the user will

          be returned. This is used to start new side conversations.'
      - name: permissions
        in: query
        schema:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
        required: false
        description: 'Array of permission strings to be checked for each matched context (e.g.

          "send_messages"). This argument determines which permissions may be

          returned in the response; it won''t prevent contexts from being returned if

          they don''t grant the permission(s).'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Success, no content returned
      externalDocs:
        url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/search.html
  /v1/search/recipients:
    get:
      tags:
      - Search
      operationId: find_recipients_search
      summary: Find recipients
      description: 'Find valid recipients (users, courses and groups) that the current user

        can send messages to. The /api/v1/search/recipients path is the preferred

        endpoint, /api/v1/conversations/find_recipients is deprecated.


        Pagination is supported.'
      parameters:
      - name: search
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        required: false
        description: 'Search terms used for matching users/courses/groups (e.g. "bob smith"). If

          multiple terms are given (separated via whitespace), only results matching

          all terms will be returned.'
      - name: context
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        required: false
        description: Limit the search to a particular course/group (e.g. "course_3" or "group_4").
      - name: exclude
        in: query
        schema:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
        required: false
        description: 'Array of ids to exclude from the search. These may be user ids or

          course/group ids prefixed with "course_" or "group_" respectively,

          e.g. exclude[]=1&exclude[]=2&exclude[]=course_3'
      - name: type
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - user
          - context
        required: false
        description: Limit the search just to users or contexts (groups/courses).
      - name: user_id
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
          format: int64
        required: false
        description: 'Search for a specific user id. This ignores the other above parameters,

          and will never return more than one result.'
      - name: from_conversation_id
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
          format: int64
        required: false
        description: 'When searching by user_id, only users that could be normally messaged by

          this user will be returned. This parameter allows you to specify a

          conversation that will be referenced for a shared context -- if both the

          current user and the searched user are in the conversation, the user will

          be returned. This is used to start new side conversations.'
      - name: permissions
        in: query
        schema:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
        required: false
        description: 'Array of permission strings to be checked for each matched context (e.g.

          "send_messages"). This argument determines which permissions may be

          returned in the response; it won''t prevent contexts from being returned if

          they don''t grant the permission(s).'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Success, no content returned
      externalDocs:
        url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/search.html
  /v1/search/all_courses:
    get:
      tags:
      - Search
      operationId: list_all_courses
      summary: List all courses
      description: A paginated list of all courses visible in the public index
      parameters:
      - name: search
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        required: false
        description: 'Search terms used for matching users/courses/groups (e.g. "bob smith"). If

          multiple terms are given (separated via whitespace), only results matching

          all terms will be returned.'
      - name: public_only
        in: query
        schema:
          type: boolean
        required: false
        description: Only return courses with public content. Defaults to false.
      - name: open_enrollment_only
        in: query
        schema:
          type: boolean
        required: false
        description: Only return courses that allow self enrollment. Defaults to false.
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Success, no content returned
      externalDocs:
        url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/search.html
components:
  securitySchemes:
    bearerAuth:
      type: http
      scheme: bearer
      description: 'Canvas OAuth2 access token sent as "Authorization: Bearer <token>". See https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.oauth.html'
    oauth2:
      type: oauth2
      description: Canvas OAuth2. See https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.oauth.html and https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.oauth_endpoints.html
      flows:
        authorizationCode:
          authorizationUrl: https://canvas.instructure.com/login/oauth2/auth
          tokenUrl: https://canvas.instructure.com/login/oauth2/token
          refreshUrl: https://canvas.instructure.com/login/oauth2/token
          scopes: {}
externalDocs:
  description: Canvas LMS REST API Documentation
  url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/
x-generated-from: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/api-docs.json
x-provenance:
  method: derived
  derived_by: API Evangelist enrichment pipeline (Swagger 1.2 -> OpenAPI 3.1 conversion)
  source: openapi/_original/swagger-1.2/*.json (144 verbatim first-party Swagger 1.2 documents)
  source_url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/api-docs.json
  fetched: '2026-09-05'
  http_status: 200