Search & Filters

The search page is the heart of NH Reader. It compiles your structured filters and raw query text into native nhentai.net search syntax and runs it through the site’s API — server-side filtering (plus your blacklist on top). Quick search can also be launched directly from the in-app top bar.

🔍 The search box

Type anything nhentai’s own search understands. The full syntax you can use here:

Rules nhentai enforces (you cannot bypass them through the UI, we inherit them):

• Excluded terms use -.
• Multiple tokens are implicitly AND.
• There is no cross-token OR in the public search — block queries overlap instead.

🔍 The filter drawer (structured filters)

Click Filters (top-right of the Search page) to open a side drawer with structured controls. The URI built from the drawer is the same query language as the box above — they compose:

• Query — the free-text query.
• Included tags — per-type (artist, character, parody, group, tag, …) — added as type:name tokens.
• Excluded tags — per-type — added as -type:name tokens.
• Language — e.g. language:english.
• Category — e.g. category:doujinshi.
• Page count — pages:>N and/or pages:<M.
• Sort — date, popular-today, popular-week, popular-month, popular (all time). Nonexistent: a stable “total popularity” sort (the site only exposes recency).

The current composed query is shown as a pill next to the search title, so you always know exactly what was sent.

🚫 How your blacklist is combined

Every search automatically appends your global blacklist tag-exclusions (-tag:..., etc.) to the query via buildServerExcludes(). So Search results never show blacklisted tags even if the site would return them. Your blacklist is built in Blacklist.

Here is the whole journey of a search — from your controls to the rendered grid:

flowchart TD
    A[Filter drawer] -->|structured controls| C
    B[Search box] -->|raw syntax| C
    C[buildQuery compiles query] -->|compiled query| D
    D[Append blacklist excludes] -->|final query| E
    E[search_galleries via API] -->|results| F
    F[Results grid]

📄 Pagination

Results paginate via the site’s page model. The Pager at the bottom gives Previous / Next plus page numbers. Page transitions re-issue the query with page=N.

⚙️ Behavior details

• Typing in the search box does not auto-search; press Search (or Enter). The drawer applies instantly.
• The URL shows ?q=...; the app re-runs the current query if you navigate with a query present.
• Cancellation: an in-flight search is cancelled when you change the query — the app never shows a stale result for a fast retype.
• Loading spinner and an inline error banner (with retry) handle the network path.

🏗️ Query builder source-of-truth

The exact query-string compilation lives in src/lib/query.ts (buildQuery, tagQueryPart, SORT_OPTIONS). The backend search command is search_galleries in src-tauri/src/commands.rs.

• Previous: Getting Started · Next: Blacklist

📚 Documentation Index

• Core: Home · Getting Started · Installation & Maintenance
• App Features: Search & Filters · Blacklist · Favorites & History · Reader & Galleries · Settings & API Key · Localization
• Architecture & Development: Architecture · Backend (Rust) · Frontend (SvelteKit) · Packaging & Bundling · Development & Contributing
• Reference: Security · Privacy · Troubleshooting · FAQ

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