---
title: Search Syntax
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: Docs > Product Analytics > Charts > Analytics Explorer > Search Syntax
---

# Search Syntax

## Overview{% #overview %}

A query is composed of terms and operators.

There are two types of terms:

- A **single term** is a single word such as `test` or `hello`.

- A **sequence** is a group of words surrounded by double quotes, such as `"hello dolly"`.

To combine multiple terms into a complex query, you can use any of the following Boolean operators:

| **Operator** | **Description**                                                                                        |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `AND`        | **Intersection**: Both terms are in the selected views (if nothing is added, AND is taken by default). |
| `OR`         | **Union**: Either term is contained in the selected views.                                             |
| `-`          | **Exclusion**: The following term is not in the view.                                                  |

## Autocomplete{% #autocomplete %}

Use the search bar's autocomplete functionality to complete your queries with existing values.

{% image
   source="https://datadog-docs.imgix.net/images/real_user_monitoring/explorer/search/search_bar_autocomplete2.c68a6de437d8b60a3f4d0747de2cf233.png?auto=format"
   alt="Search bar autocomplete" /%}

## Escape special characters{% #escape-special-characters %}

Searching on a facet value that contains special characters requires escaping or double quotes. The following characters are considered special: `?`, `>`, `<`, `:`, `=`,`"`, `~`, `/`, and `\` requires escaping with the `\` character.

The same logic is applied to spaces within views facet names. Views facets should not contain spaces, but if they do, spaces must be escaped.

For example, if a facet is named `user.first name`, perform a facet search by escaping the space: `@user.first\ name:myvalue`.

## Wildcards{% #wildcards %}

To perform a multi-character wildcard search, use the `*` symbol. For example, `@http.url:https:\/\/*` matches every view that has a URL starting with `https://`.

## Numerical values{% #numerical-values %}

Use `<`,`>`, `<=`, or `>=` to perform a search on numerical attributes. For example, retrieve all sessions with more than five errors: `@session.error.count:>5`.

You can search for a numerical attribute within a specific range. For example, retrieve all sessions with an error count between three and ten: `@session.error.count:[3 TO 10]`.

## Search examples{% #search-examples %}

{% dl %}

{% dt %}
`@view.url_path:"/department/sofas"`
{% /dt %}

{% dd %}
Searches all views containing `/department/sofas` in the attribute `@view.path`.
{% /dd %}

{% dt %}
`@view.url_path:\/department\/sofas\/*`
{% /dt %}

{% dd %}
Searches all views containing a value in `view.path` attribute that start with `/department/sofas/`.
{% /dd %}

{% dt %}
`@view.loading_time:[1s TO 3s] @view.url_path:\/department\/sofas\/*`
{% /dt %}

{% dd %}
Searches all views with a `loading_time` between one and three seconds with a value in the `@view.url_path` attribute that starts with `/department/sofas/`.
{% /dd %}

{% /dl %}

## Saved searches{% #saved-searches %}

[Saved Views](https://docs.datadoghq.com/real_user_monitoring/explorer/saved_views) contain your search query, columns, sort order, time range, and facets.

## Further Reading{% #further-reading %}

- [Getting Started with Search in Datadog](https://docs.datadoghq.com/getting_started/search/)
- [Search for your events](https://docs.datadoghq.com/real_user_monitoring/explorer/search/)