search_text

[semantic]

Searches loaded source documents, declared additional files, and analyzer configuration for literal or regex matches.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
query	string	No	Search query (literal string by default). Preferred argument name.
pattern	string	No	Backward-compatible alias for query.
useRegex	boolean	No	Treat pattern as a regex (.NET dialect). Default is false. Default: `false`
caseSensitive	boolean	No	Case-sensitive match. Default is false. Default: `false`
scope	json	No	Optional scope. Omit scope to search the solution. When supplied, set mode to solution, project, document, or pathPrefix. project requires projectName. document requires filePath. pathPrefix requires pathPrefix. Paths can be absolute or relative to solutionRoot. Set includeExternal to true when the tool supports external symbols. The file filter intersects this scope.
fileGlobs	json	No	Optional array of file globs relative to solutionRoot. Maximum 64 patterns, with 1024 characters per pattern, including the ! prefix. Use * within a segment, ? for one character, or a whole segment across directories. /.cs includes root files; .cs selects root files only. Positive patterns form a union; ! exclusions win. An exclusion-only list starts with all scoped documents. Globs ignore case. Paths accept either directory separator. Glob case rules do not widen the loaded-root boundary. Content caseSensitive remains independent. Omit or use [] to preserve the loaded-document set. With a filter, linked files outside solutionRoot are excluded. Empty patterns, absolute paths, parent traversal, brackets, and braces are invalid.
skip	number	No	Pagination offset. Default is 0. Default: `0`
take	number	No	Pagination size. Default is 200. Default: `200`
maxLineTextChars	number	No	Max characters for lineText. Use 0 for unlimited. Default is 200. Default: `200`
pathStyle	string	No	Path style: 'absolute' (default) or 'relative' (to solution root). Default: `"absolute"`
responseDetail	string	No	compact returns results and actionable state. full adds diagnostic metadata under responseDiagnostics. Default: `"compact"`

Examples

Replace sample paths and symbol keys with values from your workspace.

Find TODO comments

Arguments 
{
  "query": "TODO"
}

Full MCP request

Full MCP request 
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "search_text",
    "arguments": {
      "query": "TODO"
    }
  }
}

Illustrative response 
{
  "success": true,
  "coverage": "loadedDocuments",
  "pattern": "TODO",
  "useRegex": false,
  "caseSensitive": false,
  "scopeUsed": {
    "mode": "solution"
  },
  "fileGlobs": [],
  "projectsSearched": 2,
  "totalProjectsInWorkspace": 2,
  "documentsMatchedScope": 120,
  "documentsMatchedFileGlobs": 120,
  "documentsExcludedByFileGlobs": 0,
  "documentsSearched": 120,
  "documentsWithMatches": 1,
  "documentsUnreadable": 0,
  "totalDocumentsInWorkspace": 120,
  "paging": {
    "total": 2
  },
  "matches": [
    {
      "filePath": "/path/to/Program.cs",
      "lineNumber": 12,
      "column": 1,
      "lineText": "// TODO: refactor this",
      "projectName": "MyProject"
    }
  ]
}

Find TODO comments in test files outside Generated directories

Arguments 
{
  "query": "TODO",
  "fileGlobs": [
    "**/*Tests.cs",
    "!**/Generated/**"
  ],
  "take": 50
}

Full MCP request

Full MCP request 
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "search_text",
    "arguments": {
      "query": "TODO",
      "fileGlobs": [
        "**/*Tests.cs",
        "!**/Generated/**"
      ],
      "take": 50
    }
  }
}

Response Notes

The loaded set includes source, declared additional files, and analyzer config. The file watcher keeps results current with saved files; sync and reload force a refresh. Use fileGlobs to filter paths within the existing scope. Requires a completed workspace load. Use Scout to search files that no loaded project references.

Returns text occurrences with skip/take pages after both filters. coverage remains 'loadedDocuments'. The response echoes fileGlobs. documentsMatchedScope counts documents before the file filter; documentsMatchedFileGlobs counts eligible documents after it. documentsExcludedByFileGlobs reports the difference. Compare documentsSearched with documentsMatchedFileGlobs and check documentsUnreadable. hints.scopeNote explains an empty scope; hints.fileGlobsNote explains when the file filter removes every scoped document. hints.noMatchNote explains zero text matches among eligible documents. Use Scout for text outside the loaded-document set. Results use top-level fields with success. Compact is the default; full adds responseDiagnostics. Both modes retain errors, coverage, partial state, and recovery advice.