Apache Solr

Query Syntax: Escaping Special Characters

When constructing queries for the Solr search endpoint (GET /api/v2013/index), certain characters are reserved and have special meanings. To have them treated as literal characters rather than operators, escape them. For comprehensive details, refer to the Apache Solr documentation.

Special Characters in Solr Queries

The following characters have special meanings in Solr queries:

• + (plus sign)
• - (minus sign)
• && (AND operator)
• || (OR operator)
• ! (NOT operator)
• ( and ) (parentheses for grouping)
• { and } (braces)
• [ and ] (brackets)
• ^ (boosting)
• " (double quotes for phrases)
• ~ (fuzzy search)
• * (wildcard)
• ? (single character wildcard)
• : (colon for field queries)
• / (slash for path queries)

How to Escape Special Characters

Precede each special character with a backslash (\). For example, to search for the exact text (1+1):2 without Solr interpreting the parentheses, plus sign and colon as query syntax:

\(1\+1\)\:2

By escaping these characters, Solr treats them as literal characters in the search query.