> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mcp-atlassian.soomiles.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# CQL Guide

> Master Confluence Query Language for searching content with MCP Atlassian

CQL (Confluence Query Language) is used by `confluence_search` to find content. You can also use simple text queries that automatically use `siteSearch`.

## Basic Syntax

CQL queries follow the pattern: `field operator value`

```
type = page AND space = "DEV"
```

## Common Operators

| Operator             | Description       | Example                    |
| -------------------- | ----------------- | -------------------------- |
| `=`                  | Exact match       | `type = "page"`            |
| `!=`                 | Not equal         | `type != "comment"`        |
| `~`                  | Contains text     | `title ~ "meeting notes"`  |
| `IN`                 | Match any in list | `space IN ("DEV", "TEAM")` |
| `>`, `<`, `>=`, `<=` | Comparison        | `created >= "2024-01-01"`  |

## Common Fields

| Field          | Description      | Example                                |
| -------------- | ---------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| `type`         | Content type     | `type = "page"` or `type = "blogpost"` |
| `space`        | Space key        | `space = "DEV"`                        |
| `title`        | Page title       | `title ~ "architecture"`               |
| `text`         | Full text search | `text ~ "API documentation"`           |
| `label`        | Content label    | `label = "approved"`                   |
| `creator`      | Created by       | `creator = "john.doe"`                 |
| `created`      | Creation date    | `created >= "2024-01-01"`              |
| `lastModified` | Last modified    | `lastModified >= "2024-06-01"`         |
| `ancestor`     | Parent page ID   | `ancestor = "12345678"`                |
| `parent`       | Direct parent ID | `parent = "12345678"`                  |

## Search Types

### CQL Query

Pass a CQL string directly:

```
type=page AND space=DEV AND title~"Meeting Notes"
```

### Simple Text Search

Pass plain text — `confluence_search` auto-detects and uses `siteSearch`:

```
project documentation architecture
```

## Practical Patterns

### Pages in a Space

```
type = page AND space = "DEV" ORDER BY lastModified DESC
```

### Recently Modified Content

```
type = page AND lastModified >= "2024-06-01" ORDER BY lastModified DESC
```

### Content with Specific Label

```
type = page AND label = "architecture" ORDER BY title ASC
```

### Personal Space Search

```
space = "~username" AND type = page
```

<Warning>
  Personal space keys starting with `~` must be quoted in CQL: `space = "~username"`
</Warning>

### Pages Under a Parent

```
ancestor = "12345678" AND type = page ORDER BY title ASC
```

### Full Text Search in Space

```
space = "DEV" AND text ~ "database migration" ORDER BY lastModified DESC
```

## Tips

<Tip>
  For simple searches, just pass plain text to `confluence_search` — it uses `siteSearch` by default, which mimics the Confluence web UI search.
</Tip>

<Tip>
  Use `siteSearch` for relevance-ranked results: `siteSearch ~ "important concept"`
</Tip>

<Warning>
  CQL syntax can differ slightly between Cloud and Server/DC. Test your queries if migrating between platforms.
</Warning>