> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/9001/copyparty/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Search & Discovery

> File search, metadata search, content search, and ID3 tag queries

## Overview

copyparty provides powerful search capabilities: find files by name/path, size, date, content hash, or metadata tags like artist and title.

## File Search by Content

Find duplicate files by dropping them into the browser.

### How It Works

1. Drag files into the **Search** dropzone (or toggle `[🔎]` on mobile)
2. Files are hashed client-side
3. Hash sent to server
4. Server checks database for matching content
5. Results show where identical files exist

<Note>
  Requires `-e2dsa` to index file hashes. Files that match go into `[ok]`, unknown files into `[ng]`.
</Note>

### Wark Search

Search by file identifier (wark/checksum) directly:

```
raw: w = kFpDiztbZc8Z1Lzi
```

Enter this in the `[🔎] Search` tab → `raw` field.

## Metadata Search

Search by file attributes and media tags.

### Enable Indexing

```bash theme={null}
# Enable file indexing and tag scanning
copyparty -e2dsa -e2ts
```

```yaml theme={null}
[global]
  e2dsa  # index all files (size, date, hash)
  e2ts   # index audio/video tags
```

### Search Interface

Click `[🔎]` in the top navigation to open the search tab.

### Search Fields

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Basic">
    **Path**

    * Space-separated AND search
    * `-` prefix to negate (exclude)
    * Example: `music shibayan -bossa`
      * ✅ Matches: `/music/shibayan/album/song.mp3`
      * ❌ Rejects: `/music/shibayan/bossa-nova/track.flac`

    **Name**

    * Search filename only (not full path)
    * Example: `demetori styx`

    **Size**

    * Range: `10m-100m` (10-100 MiB)
    * Min: `>5g` or `5g-`
    * Max: `<1k` or `-1k`
    * Suffixes: `b`, `k`, `m`, `g`

    **Date**

    * Range: `2023-01-01-2023-12-31`
    * After: `>2023-06-01` or `2023-06-01-`
    * Before: `<2023-01-01` or `-2023-01-01`
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Tags">
    Search indexed metadata (requires `-e2ts`):

    **Tag Fields**

    * `artist:`, `title:`, `album:`
    * `genre:`, `date:`, `key:`
    * `.bpm:`, `.dur:`, `.tn:` (numeric)

    **Examples**

    ```
    artist: nhato
    title: *dream*
    .bpm: 128-140
    genre: *trance*
    ```

    **Wildcards**

    * `*` matches any characters
    * `artist:*nhato*` finds "nhato", "Nhato", "NHATO"
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Raw SQL">
    Advanced queries using SQLite syntax:

    **Complex Queries**

    ```sql theme={null}
    (tags like *nhato* or tags like *taishi*) 
    and (not tags like *nhato* or not tags like *taishi*)
    ```

    Finds songs by nhato OR taishi, excluding collabs.

    ```sql theme={null}
    substr(w,1,4) = 'abcd'
    ```

    Search by partial hash.

    **Available Columns**

    * `w` - file hash (wark)
    * `sz` - file size
    * `mt` - modified time (unix timestamp)
    * `at` - access time
    * `tags` - concatenated metadata
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Tag Search Examples

### Find Specific Artist

```
artist: demetori
```

### Find Songs in BPM Range

```
.bpm: 170-180
```

### Find Long Songs

```
.dur: 600-
```

(Duration 600+ seconds = 10+ minutes)

### Complex Tag Query

```
artist: *sound* -artist: *souledge*
genre: trance
.bpm: 138-142
```

Finds:

* Artist contains "sound" but not "souledge"
* Genre is trance
* BPM between 138-142

### Raw SQL: Exclude Collabs

```sql theme={null}
tags like *artist1* and tags like *artist2*
and (not tags like *artist1* or not tags like *artist2*)
```

## Search Configuration

### Control What's Searchable

```yaml theme={null}
[global]
  # Exclude patterns from search results
  srch-excl: password|logs/[0-9]|backup
```

### Dotfiles in Search

Hidden files (`.filename`) require special permission:

```yaml theme={null}
[/music]
  /mnt/music
  accs:
    r.: alice  # alice can see dotfiles
  flags:
    dotsrch    # dotfiles appear in search results
```

Without `dotsrch`, dotfiles are excluded from search even if user has `.` permission.

### Per-Volume Search

Search behavior can differ per volume:

```yaml theme={null}
[/public]
  /srv/public
  flags:
    e2dsa      # index everything
    
[/private]
  /srv/private  
  flags:
    d2d        # disable all indexing
    
[/media]
  /srv/media
  flags:
    e2d        # index files
    d2t        # but not tags
```

## Search Performance

### Indexing Options

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Full Index">
    ```bash theme={null}
    copyparty -e2dsa -e2ts
    ```

    * **e2dsa**: Index all files (writable + readonly)
    * **e2ts**: Scan tags in all files without tags
    * Best search performance
    * Slow initial startup
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="On Upload Only">
    ```bash theme={null}
    copyparty -e2d -e2t
    ```

    * Only index new uploads
    * Fast startup
    * Won't find existing files until uploaded again
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Partial Index">
    ```bash theme={null}
    copyparty -e2dsa --no-hash '\.iso$'
    ```

    * Index metadata but skip hashing `.iso` files
    * Faster scanning
    * Cannot deduplicate or content-search skipped files
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Exclude from Indexing

```yaml theme={null}
[/downloads]
  /mnt/downloads
  flags:
    noidx: '\.tmp$|\.part$'  # skip temporary files
    nohash: '\.iso$'          # hash-less indexing for ISOs
```

## Database Location

Searches query the `up2k.db` SQLite database.

```yaml theme={null}
[global]
  hist: /fast/ssd/copyparty  # put db on SSD for speed
  
[/music]
  /slow/nas/music
  flags:
    hist: -                   # or per-volume: use volume's .hist/
    dbpath: /fast/ssd/music   # db only (thumbnails stay in volume)
```

<Tip>
  Placing the database on an SSD dramatically improves search performance, especially for large libraries.
</Tip>

## API Access

### Search via HTTP API

```bash theme={null}
# Search by name
curl 'http://localhost:3923/?q=demetori'

# Search with filters
curl 'http://localhost:3923/?q=styx&artist=demetori'

# JSON output
curl 'http://localhost:3923/?j&q=demetori'
```

### Raw SQL via API

```bash theme={null}
curl --data-urlencode "q=w like 'abc%'" \
  'http://localhost:3923/?raw'
```

## Search Results

Results display:

* File path (click to navigate)
* File size
* Last modified date
* Metadata tags (if indexed)
* Upload time (if `-e2d` and `-mte +.up_at`)

### Show Upload Time

```yaml theme={null}
[global]
  e2d
  mte: +.up_at  # append to existing tags
```

Or per-volume:

```yaml theme={null}
flags:
  e2d
  mte: +.up_at
```

## Advanced: Periodic Rescans

Keep index current if other software modifies files:

```yaml theme={null}
[global]
  re-maxage: 3600  # rescan every hour
  
[/uploads]
  /mnt/uploads
  flags:
    scan: 300      # this volume: every 5 minutes
```

<Warning>
  Rescans disable uploads temporarily. Delayed by `--db-act` (default 10s) during active uploads.
</Warning>

## Filesystem Guards

Prevent indexing across filesystems:

```yaml theme={null}
[/music]
  /mnt/music
  flags:
    xdev   # don't cross filesystem boundaries
    xvol   # don't follow symlinks outside volume
```

* `xdev`: Skip bind-mounts and separate filesystems
* `xvol`: Skip symlinks outside volume top directory

## Example: Music Library Search

```yaml theme={null}
[global]
  e2dsa                  # full file indexing
  e2ts                   # tag indexing
  mte: artist,title,album,.tn,.bpm,key
  mth: .dur,fmt,genre    # hidden but searchable
  hist: /fast/ssd/db     # fast database location
  
[/music]
  /mnt/nas/music
  accs:
    r: *
  flags:
    dotsrch              # include dotfiles in search
    scan: 3600           # hourly rescan
    srch_excl: 'temp|\._' # exclude temp and macOS files
```

**Search examples:**

```
artist: demetori .bpm: 170-180
title: *touhou* genre: *metal*
.dur: 300- artist: *sound* -artist: *collaboration*
```