> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.opensoutheners.com/oss/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.opensoutheners.com/oss/flex-url/building-urls/search.md).

# Search

Build q= full-text search and q\[filter]\[]= search-scoped filter query parameters.

`search(term)` sets the top-level `q=term`, apiable's full-text search parameter (Laravel Scout integration). `searchFilter(attribute, values)` narrows a search within `q[filter][attribute]=`.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="TypeScript" %}

```ts
flexUrl('/posts').search('laravel');
// /posts?q=laravel

flexUrl('/posts').search('laravel').searchFilter('status', 'published');
// /posts?q=laravel&q[filter][status]=published
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="PHP" %}

```php
FlexUrl::make('/posts')->search('laravel');
// /posts?q=laravel

FlexUrl::make('/posts')->search('laravel')->searchFilter('status', 'published');
// /posts?q=laravel&q[filter][status]=published
```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

## `whereIn()` semantics for multiple values

A single value uses the plain key. **Multiple** values use apiable's repeated-`[]` `whereIn()` convention rather than the comma list used elsewhere in the grammar — this differs from `filter()`/`sort()`/`include()` deliberately, because apiable's own search-filter parsing expects it:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="TypeScript" %}

```ts
flexUrl('/posts').search('laravel').searchFilter('status', ['published', 'draft']).toString();
// /posts?q=laravel&q[filter][status][]=published&q[filter][status][]=draft
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="PHP" %}

```php
FlexUrl::make('/posts')->search('laravel')->searchFilter('status', ['published', 'draft'])->toString();
// /posts?q=laravel&q[filter][status][]=published&q[filter][status][]=draft
```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

{% hint style="info" %}
An explicit `[]` on the wire stays a list even with a single value: parsing `q[filter][status][]=published` back reports `["published"]`, not `"published"` — the `[]` suffix itself is the signal, not the value count.
{% endhint %}

## Reading search back

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="TypeScript" %}

```ts
const parsed = flexUrl('/posts?q=laravel&q[filter][status]=published');

parsed.getSearch();               // "laravel"
parsed.getSearchFilter('status'); // "published"
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="PHP" %}

```php
$parsed = FlexUrl::from('/posts?q=laravel&q[filter][status]=published');

$parsed->getSearch();               // "laravel"
$parsed->getSearchFilter('status'); // "published"
```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

Because `q` is a scalar param, a comma inside a search term stays literal — it is not split into several values the way `filter`/`sort`/`include`/`fields`/`appends` are. See [Encoding Contract](/oss/flex-url/advanced/encoding-contract.md).


---

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