---
title: "Full-text search across page transcriptions"
method: GET
path: "/transcriptions/search.json"
tags: ["Transcriptions"]
---

# Full-text search across page transcriptions

`GET /transcriptions/search.json`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api.openarchieven.nl/1.1`
- URL: `https://api.openarchieven.nl/1.1/transcriptions/search.json`
- Auth: none declared

Performs a full-text search across the page transcriptions of historical documents indexed by Open Archives. Mirrors the search UI at `/transcripties/zoek.php`. Results are ordered by Elasticsearch relevance (the order is fixed and cannot be overridden) and are returned paginated. Each match includes a source citation, page identifier and up to five highlighted text fragments. The set of facets returned depends on the supplied filters.

## Query parameters

- `q` string, required
- `archive_code` string
- `archive_number` string
- `inventory_number` string
- `year_start` integer
- `year_end` integer
- `number_show` integer
- `start` integer
- `lang` 'nl' | 'en' | 'de' | 'fr'
- `callback` string

## Response `200`

Successful search response

- TranscriptionSearchResponse: Response returned by `/transcriptions/search.json`.
  - `query` object, required: Echo of the parameters supplied by the caller.
    - `q` string
    - `archive_code` string, nullable
    - `archive_number` string, nullable
    - `inventory_number` string, nullable
    - `year_start` integer, nullable
    - `year_end` integer, nullable
    - `start` integer
    - `number_show` integer
    - `language` string
  - `response` object, required
    - `number_found` integer: Total number of matches across all pages.
    - `docs` TranscriptionMatch[]
      - `id` string, required: Page identifier in the form `<ISIL>_<archive_number>_<page>`.
      - `uri` string, uri, required: Open Archives URL where the transcription can be viewed.
      - `source_archive` TranscriptionSourceArchive, required: Source archive holding the transcribed page.
        - `isil` string, required: International Standard Identifier for Libraries (ISIL).
        - `archive_code` string, nullable: openarch archive code (matches the codes used elsewhere in this API).
        - `name` string, nullable: Localised name of the source archive.
      - `archive_number` TranscriptionArchiveNumber: Archive number (archieftoegang) information for a transcription.
        - `nr` string, required: Archive number as used by the source institution.
        - `title` string: Title of the archive.
        - `url` string, uri: External URL describing the archive on the source institution's website.
      - `inventory_number` TranscriptionInventoryNumber: Inventory number information for a transcription.
        - `nr` string, required
        - `title` string
        - `url` string, uri
      - `page` string: Page number with leading zeros stripped.
      - `snippets` string[]: Up to five highlighted text fragments showing where the search terms appear. Each fragment wraps the matching terms in `<em>…</em>` tags.
    - `facets` object: The set of facets returned depends on the supplied filters. With no `archive_code`: `source_archive`. With `archive_code` only: `archive_number`. With both `archive_code` and `archive_number`: `inventory_number`.
      - `source_archive` TranscriptionFacetSourceArchive[]
        - `isil` string
        - `archive_code` string, nullable
        - `name` string, nullable
        - `count` integer
      - `archive_number` TranscriptionFacetNumberedTitle[]
        - `nr` string
        - `title` string
        - `count` integer
      - `inventory_number` TranscriptionFacetNumberedTitle[]
        - `nr` string
        - `title` string
        - `count` integer

## Other responses

- `400`: Invalid or missing parameters
- `429`: Too Many Requests — rate limit of 4 requests per second per IP exceeded.

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/openarchieven/apis/open-archives-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/openarchieven/apis/open-archives-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/openarchieven/apis/open-archives-api/revisions/4ff4685dd9e9?raw)