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Search

The built in search system is used for:

Content Search - Index Rebuilding​

If you want to rebuild the search index (e.g. after updating/restore backup), you have two methods:

Browser

Log in to your HumHub with an administrator account and go to the following section: Administration -> Information -> Database.

On this page click on the button "Rebuild search index". The process can take several minutes.

Console

To start the rebuild job, you need to run following command:

docker compose exec humhub /app/yii content-search/rebuild

File Content Indexing​

In order to allow also indexing of file contents (e.g. PDF, Word or PowerPoint document) you can specify file parsers in your configuration.

We recommend Apache Tika as parser software which supports thousand of different file types.

Example configuration:

    return [
        // ...

        'modules' => [
            // ...

            'file' => [
                'converterOptions' => [
                    'humhub\modules\file\converter\TextConverter' => [
                        'converter' => [
                            [
                                'cmd' => '/usr/bin/pdftotext -q -enc UTF-8 {fileName} {outputFileName}',
                                'only' => ['pdf']
                            ],
                            [
                                 'cmd' => '/usr/bin/java -jar /srv/www/var/lib/tika-app-1.18.jar -maxFileSizeBytes=67108864 --text {fileName} 2>/dev/null',
                                 'except' => ['image/', 'application/x-tar', 'application/zip', ]
                            ],
                         ]
                    ]
                ]
            ],

        ],
    ];

Search Syntax Reference Cheat Sheet​

This cheat sheet lists search operators and explains what they do. It helps you build search queries so you can filter, combine, or adjust your searches with more control.

-word Exclusion Operator​

Function: Excludes any result that contains the given word.

Example:

report -draft

Explanation: Find results that contain report but do not include draft.

+word Required/AND Operator​

Function: Forces the word to be present in the result.

Example:

+budget +2024

Explanation: Find results that contain both budget and 2024.

NOT word Exclusion / Boolean NOT​

Function: Same as -word, excludes results that contain the term.

Example:

report NOT report

Explanation: Find results that contain report but not draft.

word* Wildcard​

Function: Matches any word that starts with the given characters, even if you don’t write the *.

Example:

report*

Explanation: Also matches: reports, reporting, reported, etc. Typing report* is the same as just report.

"word" Quoted Phrase Match​

Function: Matches the exact phrase, in exact order, without partial or fuzzy logic.

Example:

"Annual Report"

Explanation: Find results that contain Annual Report exactly as-is. Will not match: "Report for the Annual Review", for example.

Example Combinations & What They Mean​

Combination:​

"Home Policy" "Remote Work"

Meaning: Find results that contain both exact phrases Home Policy and Remote Work.

Combination:​

+report -draft

Meaning: Find results that contain report and must not contain draft.

Combination:​

+Annual +Report -Draft

Meaning: Find results that contain both Annual and Report, and must not contain Draft.

Combination:​

update +2025 -deprecated

Meaning: Find results that contain update and 2025, and must not contain deprecated.

Building Complex Search Queries​

You can freely combine multiple operators to create precise search queries. Each operator acts as a logic block: required words (+), excluded terms (- or NOT), exact phrases ("..."), and implicit wildcards (report matches reports, reporting, etc.). For example, a query like update +2025 +report -draft "annual report" will find results that mention update, must include 2025 and report, must not mention draft, and must contain the exact phrase annual report. These combinations help narrow down results significantly and let you search with high precision.