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Overview

OWASP Nest provides advanced search capabilities powered by Algolia, enabling you to quickly discover projects, chapters, events, and community members across the platform.

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Search Indexes

Nest maintains searchable indexes for:
  • Projects - Active OWASP projects with metadata
  • Chapters - OWASP chapters worldwide with location data
  • Events - Upcoming and past OWASP events
  • Members - Community members and contributors
  • Committees - OWASP committees and working groups

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Structured Query Syntax

Nest supports structured search queries that allow you to filter results using field-specific criteria.

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Query Format

Queries use the format field:value or field>value for comparisons. Multiple conditions are combined with implicit AND logic. 
name:security stars:>100

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Supported Field Types

String Fields

Use : operator for text matching
name:owasp
name:"web security"

Number Fields

Supports comparison operators: =, >, <, >=, <=
stars:>100
stars:>=50

Date Fields

Use YYYY-MM-DD or YYYYMMDD format
created_at:>2024-01-01
updated_at:>=20240101

Boolean Fields

Accepts: true, false, 1, 0, yes, no, on, off
is_active:true
track_issues:yes

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Available Fields

The project search API supports structured queries with these fields:
FieldTypeDescriptionExample
namestringProject name (case-insensitive)name:zap
starsnumberGitHub stars countstars:>500

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Search Examples

curl "https://nest.owasp.org/api/v0/projects?q=name:security stars:>100&level=flagship"

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Sorting Projects

Projects can be sorted by:
  • created_at / -created_at (newest/oldest)
  • updated_at / -updated_at (recently updated)
  • Default: by level, stars, and forks

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Location-Based Filtering

Chapters support geographic filtering using latitude and longitude bounds: 
curl "https://nest.owasp.org/api/v0/chapters?latitude_gte=40&latitude_lte=45&longitude_gte=-75&longitude_lte=-70"
All active chapters include geocoded location data (latitude/longitude) for proximity-based search.

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Country Filtering

Filter chapters by country: 
curl "https://nest.owasp.org/api/v0/chapters?country=United States"

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Upcoming Events

Filter for upcoming events only: 
curl "https://nest.owasp.org/api/v0/events?is_upcoming=true"
Events also support geographic filtering: 
curl "https://nest.owasp.org/api/v0/events?is_upcoming=true&latitude_gte=40&latitude_lte=50"

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Event Sorting

Available sorting options:
  • start_date / -start_date
  • end_date / -end_date
  • latitude / -latitude
  • longitude / -longitude

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Frontend Search Interface

The Nest frontend provides an intuitive search experience using Algolia’s instant search:

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Features

Real-time Results

Instant search results as you type

Faceted Filtering

Filter by project level, location, dates

Pagination

Navigate through large result sets

Sorting Options

Sort by relevance, date, popularity

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Algolia Configuration

Search requests use these parameters: 
type AlgoliaRequest = {
  indexName: string              // e.g., "projects", "chapters"
  query: string                  // Search query
  page: number                   // Page number (0-indexed)
  hitsPerPage: number           // Results per page
  attributesToRetrieve: string[] // Fields to return
  attributesToHighlight: string[] // Fields to highlight
  filters?: string               // Additional filters
  aroundLatLngViaIP?: boolean   // Auto-detect user location
}

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Query Parser Implementation

The structured search is powered by a custom query parser located at: 
backend/apps/common/search/query_parser.py

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Parser Features

  • Field validation - Enforces field schema with type checking
  • Operator support - Comparison operators for numbers and dates
  • Quoted strings - Multi-word values with escape sequences
  • Error handling - Detailed error messages for invalid queries
  • Case sensitivity - Optional case-sensitive matching
The parser uses pyparsing for robust tokenization and supports quoted strings with escape sequences for complex queries.

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Advanced Usage

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Combining Filters

All conditions in a query are combined with AND logic: 
# Projects named "security" with more than 100 stars at flagship level
curl "https://nest.owasp.org/api/v0/projects?q=name:security stars:>100&level=flagship"

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Quote Handling

Use quotes for multi-word values: 
# Search for projects with "web application" in the name
q=name:"web application"

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Pagination

API responses include pagination metadata: 
{
  "items": [...],
  "count": 150,
  "next": "https://nest.owasp.org/api/v0/projects?page=2",
  "previous": null
}

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Performance Considerations

Database Indexes

All searchable fields use GIN (Generalized Inverted Index) indexes with trigram support for fast full-text search:
  • Project name: project_name_gin_idx
  • Project leaders: project_leaders_raw_gin_idx

Caching

Search API endpoints use response caching to improve performance for frequently accessed queries.
  • Projects - Discover and explore OWASP projects
  • Chapters - Find local OWASP chapters
  • Events - Browse upcoming events

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