Deep Search API

Programmatic access to Sourcegraph's agentic code search capabilities.

The Deep Search API is available in Sourcegraph version 6.7+. This API allows you to programmatically create and manage Deep Search conversations.

The Deep Search API provides programmatic access to Sourcegraph's agentic code search capabilities. Use this API to integrate Deep Search into your development workflows, build custom tools, or automate code analysis tasks.

Authentication

All API requests require authentication using a Sourcegraph access token. You can generate an access token from your user settings.

BASH
# Set your access token
export SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-token-here"

Base URL

All Deep Search API endpoints are prefixed with /.api/deepsearch/v1 and require the X-Requested-With header to identify the client:

BASH
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0'

The X-Requested-With header is required and should include your client name and version number.

Creating conversations

Create a new Deep Search conversation by asking a question:

BASH
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0' \
  -d '{"question":"Does github.com/sourcegraph/sourcegraph have a README?"}'

The API returns a complete conversation object including the generated answer:

JSON
{
	"id": 332,
	"questions": [
		{
			"id": 4978,
			"conversation_id": 332,
			"question": "Does github.com/sourcegraph/sourcegraph have a README?",
			"status": "completed",
			"title": "Check for README in sourcegraph/sourcegraph",
			"answer": "Yes, [github.com/sourcegraph/sourcegraph](/github.com/sourcegraph/sourcegraph/) has a [README.md](/github.com/sourcegraph/sourcegraph/-/blob/README.md) file in the root directory.",
			"sources": [
				{
					"type": "Repository",
					"link": "/github.com/sourcegraph/sourcegraph",
					"label": "github.com/sourcegraph/sourcegraph"
				}
			],
			"suggested_followups": [
				"What is the purpose of the README.md file in the sourcegraph repository?"
			]
		}
	],
	"created_at": "2025-08-18T21:16:49Z",
	"updated_at": "2025-08-18T21:16:49Z",
	"user_id": 1,
	"read_token": "fb1f21bb-07e5-48ff-a4cf-77bd2502c8a8",
	"share_url": "https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/deepsearch/fb1f21bb-07e5-48ff-a4cf-77bd2502c8a8"
}

Asynchronous processing

For complex questions that might take longer to process, you can request asynchronous processing by adding the Prefer: respond-async header:

BASH
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0' \
  -H 'Prefer: respond-async' \
  -d '{"question":"Analyze the authentication patterns across all our microservices"}'

This returns a 202 Accepted status with the conversation object showing a processing status. You can then poll the conversation endpoint to check for completion:

BASH
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1/333' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0'

Adding follow-up questions

Continue a conversation by adding follow-up questions:

BASH
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1/332/questions' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0' \
  -d '{"question":"What does the README file contain?"}'

Listing conversations

Get all your conversations with optional filtering:

BASH
# List all conversations
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0'
 
# List with pagination and filtering
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1?page_first=10&sort=created_at' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0'

Available query parameters:

filter_id - Filter by conversation ID
filter_user_id - Filter by user ID
page_first - Number of results per page
page_after - Pagination cursor
sort - Sort order: created_at, -created_at, updated_at, -updated_at

Managing conversations

Get a specific conversation:

BASH
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1/332' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0'

Delete a conversation:

BASH
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1/332' \
  -X DELETE \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0'

Cancel a processing question:

BASH
curl 'https://your-sourcegraph-instance.com/.api/deepsearch/v1/332/questions/4978/cancel' \
  -X POST \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: token $SRC_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H 'X-Requested-With: my-client 1.0.0'

Response structure

Conversation object:

id - Unique conversation identifier
questions - Array of questions and answers
created_at/updated_at - Timestamps
user_id - Owner user ID
read_token - Token for sharing access
share_url - URL for sharing the conversation

Question object:

id - Unique question identifier
question - The original question text
status - Processing status: pending, processing, completed, failed
title - Generated title for the question
answer - The AI-generated answer (when completed)
sources - Array of sources used to generate the answer
suggested_followups - Suggested follow-up questions

Error handling

The API returns standard HTTP status codes with descriptive error messages:

200 - Success
202 - Accepted (for async requests)
400 - Bad Request
401 - Unauthorized
404 - Not Found
500 - Internal Server Error