Should I change the 'jira.search.views.default.max' parameter to unlimited to get all results from a search each time
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Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
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How the number of search results returned is determined
When performing a search in Jira there are two major parameters governing how many results you get back in total for each search.
The "maxResults" parameter to /rest/api/2/search?jql= in the search, for example example /rest/api/2/search?jql=&maxResults=200
The "jira.search.views.default.max" configuration property
They work as follows
If no "maxResults" parameter is given /rest/api/2/search?jql= will by default return the first 50 issues.
If a "maxResults" parameter is given it will return that many issues as long as it is lower than the value of property jira.search.views.default.max. The default value of this property is 1000.
Examples: If 'jira.search.views.default.max' is 1000 then
/rest/api/2/search?jql=&maxResults=200 will return the first 200 issues
/rest/api/2/search?jql=&maxResults=2000 will return the first 1000 issues
When the limit is reached you will see this at the bottom of the last search result page:
So can I then change the "jira.search.views.default.max" to be, say, 100 000 to not get that "Too many search results" message?
You can but there is a very good reason why you shouldn't.
If "jira.search.views.default.max" is set to 100000 then a request to /rest/api/2/search?jql=&maxResults=100000 will indeed return 100k results. The issues are stored in an array inside the search results object and since it will contain the data of each issue (excluding attachments) this object can become very large and can potentially fill up your Jira memory space.
This is precisely the reason why /rest/api/2/search?jql= returns only 50 issues if no "maxResults" parameter is given and the default value of "jira.search.views.default.max" is 1000. It is there to protect Jira's resources and should only be used with caution.
We would recommend to not change the "jira.search.views.default.max" property unless you have a very good reason to. There are specific circumstances where it could make sense to do so, provided that there is a business need for it and the machine's resources are dimensioned to handle it, which is why the property exists and can be changed. But we advise to not change this variable unless you really need to and it is thoroughly tested first.
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