Stack Exchange Search API

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: Stack Exchange Answers Search API
  description: The Stack Exchange API v2.3 provides programmatic access to the Stack Exchange network of Q&A sites, including Stack Overflow, Server Fault, Super User, and hundreds of other communities. The API supports reading and writing questions, answers, comments, tags, users, and other content. Authentication is via OAuth 2.0 with access tokens. All responses are JSON-encoded and support GZIP compression.
  version: '2.3'
  contact:
    name: Stack Exchange API Support
    url: http://stackapps.com/
    email: team+api@stackexchange.com
  termsOfService: https://stackexchange.com/legal/api-terms-of-use
servers:
- url: https://api.stackexchange.com/2.3
  description: Stack Exchange API v2.3
security:
- oauth2: []
- {}
tags:
- name: Search
  description: Operations for searching questions and content across the Stack Exchange network.
paths:
  /search:
    get:
      operationId: searchQuestions
      summary: Search Questions
      description: Searches for questions based on a query string. Returns questions that match the search terms in the title, body, or tags. At least one of tagged, nottagged, or intitle must be specified.
      tags:
      - Search
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/site'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/page'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/pagesize'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/order'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/sort'
      - name: intitle
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        description: Search within question titles
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/tagged'
      - name: nottagged
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        description: Exclude questions with these semicolon-delimited tags
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/filter'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Questions matching the search query
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/QuestionsResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
  /search/advanced:
    get:
      operationId: searchAdvanced
      summary: Advanced Question Search
      description: Searches for questions using advanced filtering options including accepted answers, minimum score, body text, and view count filters.
      tags:
      - Search
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/site'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/page'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/pagesize'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/order'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/sort'
      - name: q
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        description: Full-text search query
      - name: accepted
        in: query
        schema:
          type: boolean
        description: Filter for questions that have accepted answers
      - name: answers
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
        description: Minimum number of answers
      - name: body
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        description: Text that must appear in the question body
      - name: closed
        in: query
        schema:
          type: boolean
        description: Filter for closed or open questions
      - name: migrated
        in: query
        schema:
          type: boolean
        description: Filter for migrated questions
      - name: notice
        in: query
        schema:
          type: boolean
        description: Filter for questions with a post notice
      - name: nottagged
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        description: Exclude questions with these tags (semicolon-delimited)
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/tagged'
      - name: title
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
        description: Text that must appear in the question title
      - name: user
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
        description: Filter by user ID of the question owner
      - name: views
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
        description: Minimum number of question views
      - name: wiki
        in: query
        schema:
          type: boolean
        description: Filter for community wiki questions
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/filter'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Questions matching the advanced search criteria
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/QuestionsResponse'
  /similar:
    get:
      operationId: findSimilarQuestions
      summary: Find Similar Questions
      description: Returns questions that are similar to the question with the given title. Useful for finding existing related questions before asking a new one.
      tags:
      - Search
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/site'
      - name: title
        in: query
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
        description: The title of the question to find similar questions for
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/page'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/pagesize'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/order'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/sort'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/tagged'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/filter'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Questions similar to the provided title
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/QuestionsResponse'
components:
  schemas:
    Question:
      type: object
      description: A question on a Stack Exchange site
      properties:
        question_id:
          type: integer
          description: Unique identifier of the question
        title:
          type: string
          description: The title of the question
        body:
          type: string
          description: The HTML body of the question
        body_markdown:
          type: string
          description: The Markdown body of the question
        score:
          type: integer
          description: The net vote score of the question
        view_count:
          type: integer
          description: Number of times the question has been viewed
        answer_count:
          type: integer
          description: Number of answers the question has received
        accepted_answer_id:
          type: integer
          description: ID of the accepted answer if one exists
        is_answered:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether the question has an accepted answer
        creation_date:
          type: integer
          description: Unix timestamp of when the question was created
        last_activity_date:
          type: integer
          description: Unix timestamp of the last activity on the question
        last_edit_date:
          type: integer
          description: Unix timestamp of the last edit
        owner:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/ShallowUser'
        tags:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
          description: Tags associated with the question
        link:
          type: string
          format: uri
          description: Link to the question page
        closed_reason:
          type: string
          description: Reason the question was closed if applicable
        closed_date:
          type: integer
          description: Unix timestamp of when the question was closed
        bounty_amount:
          type: integer
          description: Bounty amount if an active bounty exists
        bounty_closes_date:
          type: integer
          description: Unix timestamp when the bounty closes
    QuestionsResponse:
      allOf:
      - $ref: '#/components/schemas/Wrapper'
      - type: object
        properties:
          items:
            type: array
            items:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/Question'
    ErrorResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        error_id:
          type: integer
          description: Numeric error identifier
        error_message:
          type: string
          description: Human-readable error description
        error_name:
          type: string
          description: Machine-readable error name
    ShallowUser:
      type: object
      description: A shallow representation of a Stack Exchange user
      properties:
        user_id:
          type: integer
          description: Unique identifier of the user
        display_name:
          type: string
          description: The user's display name
        reputation:
          type: integer
          description: The user's reputation score
        user_type:
          type: string
          enum:
          - unregistered
          - registered
          - moderator
          - named_moderator
          - team_admin
          description: The type of user account
        profile_image:
          type: string
          format: uri
          description: URL of the user's profile image
        link:
          type: string
          format: uri
          description: Link to the user's profile page
        accept_rate:
          type: integer
          description: Percentage of questions the user has accepted answers for
    Wrapper:
      type: object
      description: Standard Stack Exchange API response wrapper containing items, pagination info, and backoff/quota information.
      properties:
        items:
          type: array
          description: The list of items returned
          items:
            type: object
        has_more:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether there are more results available
        quota_max:
          type: integer
          description: Maximum number of requests allowed per day
        quota_remaining:
          type: integer
          description: Number of requests remaining for today
        backoff:
          type: integer
          description: Number of seconds to wait before making additional requests if the API has asked for backoff
        total:
          type: integer
          description: Total number of items available
        page:
          type: integer
          description: Current page number
        page_size:
          type: integer
          description: Number of items per page
        type:
          type: string
          description: The type of items in the response
        error_id:
          type: integer
          description: Error identifier if an error occurred
        error_message:
          type: string
          description: Human-readable error description
        error_name:
          type: string
          description: Machine-readable error name
  parameters:
    order:
      name: order
      in: query
      schema:
        type: string
        enum:
        - asc
        - desc
        default: desc
      description: Sort order for results
    site:
      name: site
      in: query
      required: true
      schema:
        type: string
        default: stackoverflow
      description: The Stack Exchange site to query. Use the API name of the site, e.g., stackoverflow, serverfault, superuser.
      example: stackoverflow
    filter:
      name: filter
      in: query
      schema:
        type: string
      description: A filter to control which fields are returned in the response. Use the /filter endpoint to create custom filters.
    page:
      name: page
      in: query
      schema:
        type: integer
        minimum: 1
        default: 1
      description: The page number to return (1-indexed)
    pagesize:
      name: pagesize
      in: query
      schema:
        type: integer
        minimum: 0
        maximum: 100
        default: 30
      description: Number of results to return per page (max 100)
    sort:
      name: sort
      in: query
      schema:
        type: string
      description: The field to sort results by (varies by endpoint)
    tagged:
      name: tagged
      in: query
      schema:
        type: string
      description: Semicolon-delimited list of tags to filter by
  responses:
    BadRequest:
      description: Bad request due to missing or invalid parameters
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
  securitySchemes:
    oauth2:
      type: oauth2
      description: OAuth 2.0 authentication for Stack Exchange API. Register an application at http://stackapps.com/apps/oauth to obtain client credentials.
      flows:
        authorizationCode:
          authorizationUrl: https://stackoverflow.com/oauth
          tokenUrl: https://stackoverflow.com/oauth/access_token/json
          scopes:
            no_expiry: Issues an access token that does not expire
            write_access: Allows write access to a user's data
            private_info: Access a user's private information
externalDocs:
  description: Stack Exchange API Documentation
  url: https://api.stackexchange.com/docs