Data Catalog API methods that are related to Data Catalog search and metadata are deprecated and will be discontinued on January 30, 2026. See Transition from Data Catalog to Dataplex Universal Catalog . Methods that are related to policy tags and policy tag taxonomies are not deprecated.

Method: catalog.search

Searches Data Catalog for multiple resources like entries and tags that match a query.

This is a Custom Method that doesn't return all information on a resource, only its ID and high level fields. To get more information, you can subsequently call specific get methods.

Note: Data Catalog search queries don't guarantee full recall. Results that match your query might not be returned, even in subsequent result pages. Additionally, returned (and not returned) results can vary if you repeat search queries.

For more information, see Data Catalog search syntax .

HTTP request

POST https://datacatalog.googleapis.com/v1/catalog:search

Request body

The request body contains data with the following structure:

JSON representation
{ "scope" : { object ( `Scope` ) } , "query" : string , "pageSize" : integer , "pageToken" : string , "orderBy" : string , "adminSearch" : boolean }

Fields

scope

object ( Scope )

Required. The scope of this search request.

The scope is invalid if includeOrgIds , includeProjectIds are empty AND includeGcpPublicDatasets is set to false . In this case, the request returns an error.

query

string

Optional. The query string with a minimum of 3 characters and specific syntax. For more information, see Data Catalog search syntax .

An empty query string returns all data assets (in the specified scope) that you have access to.

A query string can be a simple xyz or qualified by predicates:

name:x
column:y
description:z

pageSize

integer

Upper bound on the number of results you can get in a single response.

Can't be negative or 0, defaults to 10 in this case. The maximum number is 1000. If exceeded, throws an "invalid argument" exception.

pageToken

string

Optional. Pagination token that, if specified, returns the next page of search results. If empty, returns the first page.

This token is returned in the SearchCatalogResponse.next_page_token field of the response to a previous SearchCatalogRequest call.

orderBy

string

Specifies the order of results.

Currently supported case-sensitive values are:

relevance that can only be descending
last_modified_timestamp [asc|desc] with descending ( desc ) as default
default that can only be descending

Search queries don't guarantee full recall. Results that match your query might not be returned, even in subsequent result pages. Additionally, returned (and not returned) results can vary if you repeat search queries. If you are experiencing recall issues and you don't have to fetch the results in any specific order, consider setting this parameter to default .

If this parameter is omitted, it defaults to the descending relevance .

adminSearch

boolean

Optional. If set, use searchAll permission granted on organizations from includeOrgIds and projects from includeProjectIds instead of the fine grained per resource permissions when filtering the search results. The only allowed orderBy criteria for adminSearch mode is default . Using this flags guarantees a full recall of the search results.

Response body

Response message for catalog.search .

If successful, the response body contains data with the following structure:

JSON representation
{ "results" : [ { object ( `SearchCatalogResult` ) } ] , "totalSize" : integer , "nextPageToken" : string , "unreachable" : [ string ] }

Fields
`results[]`	`object ( SearchCatalogResult )` Search results.
`totalSize`	`integer` The approximate total number of entries matched by the query.
`nextPageToken`	`string` Pagination token that can be used in subsequent calls to retrieve the next page of results.
`unreachable[]`	`string` Unreachable locations. Search results don't include data from those locations. To get additional information on an error, repeat the search request and restrict it to specific locations by setting the `SearchCatalogRequest.scope.restricted_locations` parameter.

Authorization scopes

Requires the following OAuth scope:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform

For more information, see the Authentication Overview .

Scope

The criteria that select the subspace used for query matching.

JSON representation
{ "includeOrgIds" : [ string ] , "includeProjectIds" : [ string ] , "includeGcpPublicDatasets" : boolean , "restrictedLocations" : [ string ] , "starredOnly" : boolean , "includePublicTagTemplates" : boolean }

JSON representation

 { 
 "includeOrgIds" 
 : 
 [ 
 string 
 ] 
 , 
 "includeProjectIds" 
 : 
 [ 
 string 
 ] 
 , 
 "includeGcpPublicDatasets" 
 : 
 boolean 
 , 
 "restrictedLocations" 
 : 
 [ 
 string 
 ] 
 , 
 "starredOnly" 
 : 
 boolean 
 , 
 "includePublicTagTemplates" 
 : 
 boolean 
 }

Fields
`includeOrgIds[]`	`string` The list of organization IDs to search within. To find your organization ID, follow the steps from Creating and managing organizations .
`includeProjectIds[]`	`string` The list of project IDs to search within. For more information on the distinction between project names, IDs, and numbers, see Projects .
`includeGcpPublicDatasets`	`boolean` If `true` , include Google Cloud public datasets in search results. By default, they are excluded. See Google Cloud Public Datasets for more information.
`restrictedLocations[]`	`string` Optional. The list of locations to search within. If empty, all locations are searched. Returns an error if any location in the list isn't one of the Supported regions . If a location is unreachable, its name is returned in the `SearchCatalogResponse.unreachable` field. To get additional information on the error, repeat the search request and set the location name as the value of this parameter.
`starredOnly`	`boolean` Optional. If `true` , search only among starred entries. By default, all results are returned, starred or not.
`includePublicTagTemplates (deprecated)`	`boolean` This item is deprecated! Optional. This field is deprecated. The search mechanism for public and private tag templates is the same.

SearchCatalogResult

Result in the response to a search request.

Each result captures details of one entry that matches the search.

JSON representation

JSON representation
{ "searchResultType" : enum ( `SearchResultType` ) , "searchResultSubtype" : string , "relativeResourceName" : string , "linkedResource" : string , "modifyTime" : string , "fullyQualifiedName" : string , "displayName" : string , "description" : string , // Union field `system` can be only one of the following: "integratedSystem" : enum ( `IntegratedSystem` ) , "userSpecifiedSystem" : string // End of list of possible types for union field `system` . }

 { 
 "searchResultType" 
 : 
 enum (  SearchResultType 
 
) 
 , 
 "searchResultSubtype" 
 : 
 string 
 , 
 "relativeResourceName" 
 : 
 string 
 , 
 "linkedResource" 
 : 
 string 
 , 
 "modifyTime" 
 : 
 string 
 , 
 "fullyQualifiedName" 
 : 
 string 
 , 
 "displayName" 
 : 
 string 
 , 
 "description" 
 : 
 string 
 , 
 // Union field system 
can be only one of the following: 
 "integratedSystem" 
 : 
 enum (  IntegratedSystem 
 
) 
 , 
 "userSpecifiedSystem" 
 : 
 string 
 // End of list of possible types for union field system 
. 
 }

Fields

searchResultType

enum ( SearchResultType )

Type of the search result.

You can use this field to determine which get method to call to fetch the full resource.

searchResultSubtype

string

Sub-type of the search result.

A dot-delimited full type of the resource. The same type you specify in the type search predicate.

Examples: entry.table , entry.dataStream , tagTemplate .

relativeResourceName

string

The relative name of the resource in URL format.

Examples:

projects/{PROJECT_ID}/locations/{LOCATION_ID}/entryGroups/{ENTRY_GROUP_ID}/entries/{ENTRY_ID}
projects/{PROJECT_ID}/tagTemplates/{TAG_TEMPLATE_ID}

linkedResource

string

The full name of the Google Cloud resource the entry belongs to.

For more information, see Full Resource Name .

Example:

//bigquery.googleapis.com/projects/PROJECT_ID/datasets/DATASET_ID/tables/TABLE_ID

modifyTime

string ( Timestamp format)

The last modification timestamp of the entry in the source system.

Uses RFC 3339, where generated output will always be Z-normalized and uses 0, 3, 6 or 9 fractional digits. Offsets other than "Z" are also accepted. Examples: "2014-10-02T15:01:23Z" , "2014-10-02T15:01:23.045123456Z" or "2014-10-02T15:01:23+05:30" .

fullyQualifiedName

string

Fully qualified name (FQN) of the resource.

FQNs take two forms:

For non-regionalized resources:

{SYSTEM}:{PROJECT}.{PATH_TO_RESOURCE_SEPARATED_WITH_DOTS}

For regionalized resources:

{SYSTEM}:{PROJECT}.{LOCATION_ID}.{PATH_TO_RESOURCE_SEPARATED_WITH_DOTS}

Example for a DPMS table:

dataproc_metastore:PROJECT_ID.LOCATION_ID.INSTANCE_ID.DATABASE_ID.TABLE_ID

displayName

string

The display name of the result.

description

string

Entry description that can consist of several sentences or paragraphs that describe entry contents.

Union field system . The source system of the entry. Applicable only when the search_result_type is ENTRY . system can be only one of the following:

integratedSystem

enum ( IntegratedSystem )

Output only. The source system that Data Catalog automatically integrates with, such as BigQuery, Cloud Pub/Sub, or Dataproc Metastore.

userSpecifiedSystem

string

Custom source system that you can manually integrate Data Catalog with.

SearchResultType

The resource types that can be returned in search results.

Enums
`SEARCH_RESULT_TYPE_UNSPECIFIED`	Default unknown type.
`ENTRY`	An `Entry` .
`TAG_TEMPLATE`	A `TagTemplate` .
`ENTRY_GROUP`	An `EntryGroup` .

Method: catalog.search Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

HTTP request

Request body

Response body

Authorization scopes

Scope

SearchCatalogResult

SearchResultType

Method: catalog.search