How to Perform Free-Text Search on Issues in SonarQube (like in Qodana)?

SonarQube Server / Community Build
1

Dear community,

I’m currently using SonarQube running locally on localhost:9000, and I’m looking for a way to search for issues using a free-text input field — similar to what Qodana offers.

In Qodana, I can simply enter any string into a search field, and it returns all issues whose descriptions or names contain that string. I find this very useful when trying to quickly locate bugs or code smells related to a keyword.

Qodana
Qodana1895×990 96.7 KB

However, I haven’t found an equivalent feature in SonarQube. Is there a way to perform such a free-text search for issues in SonarQube? Ideally, I’d like to enter a keyword and see all issues whose titles or descriptions include it.

SonarQube
SonarQube1917×1056 244 KB

Any help or workarounds would be greatly appreciated.

With best regards,
Aaron

2

Hi Aaron,

You’re correct—SonarQube’s issue search interface is structured differently from Qodana and it does not currently provide a true free-text search feature that searches across issue titles or descriptions. The search options in SonarQube are primarily based on filters (by type, severity, rule, tag, status, etc.), and there is no native input where you can type arbitrary text to search through all issues’ details or summaries.

A few things you could consider trying instead:

  1. Search by Rule Name or Tag:
    If your keyword is part of a rule name, rule key, or tag, you can use the filter panel to narrow down issues.

  2. API Query + Local Search:
    SonarQube’s Web API allows you to export issues (see /api/issues/search). You can export issues as JSON and locally grep through descriptions or messages. For example:

    curl -u token: "http://localhost:9000/api/issues/search?ps=500" > issues.json

    Then search for your keyword in the exported file.

    This is all a bit simplified in SonarQube’s Enterprise Edition with the ability to download regulatory reports which contain all findings, or make use of GET api/project/export_findings.