---
title: Search and Discovery
description: Overview of the NEAR BOS search experience
sidebar_position: 3
---


# Universal Search


## Highlights



* A comprehensive search experience that is able to help users quickly find everything apps and components to people to connect with.
* It increases discoverability and usability in BOS by providing users with a Web2 style search experience.


### What it is:

Universal Search is a comprehensive search experience that allows users to navigate and explore the Blockchain Operating System (BOS) in a way that feels familiar and intuitive. With Universal Search,  users can explore every part of the BOS to quickly discover what they need using the integrated search bar, filtering, and sorting panels. This enables users to easily discover people to connect with, apps to explore, relevant posts, reference docs, and components that can help them accelerate building.


### Why it matters: 

One of Web3’s greatest benefits, decentralization, has also made it difficult to easily search and explore everything the space has to offer, creating information gaps for many users. It has been a challenge to find interesting projects to try, thought leaders to follow, people to connect with, and Web3 events to attend. Users often currently rely on the “Alphas” they know as a jumping off point for referrals, this is both  inefficient, and can often lead to questions about the accuracy and quality of the information. 

Universal Search removes the Web3 information gap, by providing a simple, intuitive way to explore the BOS. Rather than having to dig through “Alphas”, threads, and forums to try to find information, users now have one trusted place to turn. This provides an easier, more accessible exploration and navigation experience for anyone in  Web3, as well as those interested in entering the space. It also benefits developers, entrepreneurs, and projects across the BOS because it  brings their work to a larger audience by making it easier to discover.. 


### Who it’s for:



* Developers - Having a unified search function helps developers onboard to NEAR with easily accessible guides, tutorials and docs, explore components and templates to jump start development, dig through transactions and actions for full project visibility, and follow and connect with other open web builders.
* Users - Universal search increases Web3 accessibility for users by making it easy to discover and explore interesting apps and products, connect with like minded people, and find trusted information and answers to questions.


### How it works:



* Type ahead and trending search
    * Users tap the search bar and immediately see a typeahead dropdown showing the categories of information they would be able to search along with trending searches on alpha.near.org.
    * As users type their search query, they see instant results displaying in the typeahead so that they can directly navigate to their destination. 
* Full page results filtering
    * When results are not immediately available in typeahead, or users want to see all related results from their search, they land a full page result view with a mix of data types and options to drill down. 
    * The filtering panel allows users to set parameters for their search to get results that best fit their needs, or use the sort mechanism to identify the most relevant results based on criteria like the most recent posts, most used component, or most followed users. 
* Tech Stack
    * There is extensive data indexing from the on-chain data that is structured in the carefully designed schema to power the fastest search experience. 
    * Query tagging is used to ensure the relevancy of the results and provide related search queries that users might be interested to use and explore. 
    * The search algorithm is constantly tuned to provide the most relevant results for users in the top of the list of results returned. 


### What’s coming next:



* Content in app search
* New Data Types including gigs, events, and groups
* Discovery and recommendation experience