| name | readthedocs-search-api |
| description | Query the Read the Docs Search API to find documentation across projects and repositories. Use when searching documentation, finding related docs, finding API documentation, or gathering information about projects on Read the Docs. |
| metadata | {"source":"https://docs.readthedocs.com/platform/stable/server-side-search/api.html"} |
Read the Docs Search API
Query the public Read the Docs Search API to find documentation across millions of pages.
This API is available on both Community and Business sites; the base URL changes by host.
Step-by-step instructions
1. Make a search request
Set RTD_HOST for your site:
- Community:
https://app.readthedocs.org
- Business:
https://app.readthedocs.com
Query the API using:
GET ${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q={query}&page={page}
Required parameters:
q: Your search query (e.g., "authentication", "API pagination")page: Result page number (default: 1)
Note on scoping: You will generally get better and more consistent results by scoping your query to a specific project. Use fielded search syntax inside q, for example project:{project-slug} your terms.
Examples: project:docs build, project:sphinx configuration.
2. Parse the response
The API returns JSON with this structure:
{
"count": 1234,
"next": "https://readthedocs.org/api/v3/search/?q=query&page=2",
"previous": null,
"results": [
{
"id": "project-name:doc-title",
"project": "project-name",
"version": "latest",
"title": "Documentation Title",
"path": "/en/latest/path/to/page.html",
"domain": "project-name.readthedocs.io",
"highlight": "snippet of matching <mark>text</mark>...",
"blocks": [
{
"id": "section-id",
"title": "Section Title",
"path": "/path#section-id"
}
]
}
]
}
3. Handle pagination
If there are more results, use the next URL to fetch the next page. Continue until next is null.
Examples
Search for authentication documentation
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=authentication"
Search within a specific project
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=project:docs%20authentication"
Project-scoped quick queries
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=project:sphinx%20configuration"
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=project:sphinx%20autodoc"
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=project:requests%20proxies"
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=project:requests%20authentication"
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=project:readthedocs%20build"
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=project:readthedocs%20redirects"
Search with pagination
curl "${RTD_HOST}/api/v3/search/?q=API&page=2"
Parse results with Python
import os
import requests
response = requests.get(
f"{os.environ['RTD_HOST']}/api/v3/search/",
params={"q": "REST API"}
)
data = response.json()
for result in data['results']:
print(f"{result['project']}: {result['title']}")
print(f" Domain: {result['domain']}")
print(f" Path: {result['path']}")
Get all paginated results
def search_all(query):
all_results = []
page = 1
while True:
response = requests.get(
f"{os.environ['RTD_HOST']}/api/v3/search/",
params={"q": query, "page": page}
)
data = response.json()
all_results.extend(data['results'])
if not data['next']:
break
page += 1
return all_results
Common edge cases
No authentication required: The Search API is public and does not require API keys or authentication.
Rate limiting: The API applies reasonable rate limits. If you receive HTTP 429, implement exponential backoff.
Private documentation excluded: Only publicly available documentation is searchable. Private projects are not included.
Search delay: The search index updates with a slight delay. New documentation may not appear immediately.
Empty results: If a query returns no results, try simpler keywords or browse the project directly on Read the Docs.
Project scoping recommended: The global index is large and queries can be broad. For most use cases, include a project:{project-slug} filter in q to scope results to the relevant documentation project.
Docs
