Search API returns partial matches instead of exact filename match.

[Inte-Takeuchi]

I'm using Box Java SDK 10.1.0.

Issue
I'm trying to search for a file by its exact name in Box and retrieve the file information, but I'm not getting the expected results.

Code Example

String fileName = "Test01_20251225.txt";
SearchManager searchManager = client.getSearch();
SearchForContentQueryParams queryParams = new SearchForContentQueryParams.Builder()
    .query(fileName)
    .ancestorFolderIds(java.util.Arrays.asList(folderId))
    .contentTypes(java.util.Arrays.asList(
        new EnumWrapper(SearchForContentQueryParamsContentTypesField.NAME)))
    .type(SearchForContentQueryParamsTypeField.FILE)
    .build();
SearchResultsResponse response = searchManager.searchForContent(queryParams);
SearchResults results = response.getSearchResults();
List items = results.getEntries();
for (SearchResultItem item : items) {
    if (item.isFileFull()) {
        String name = item.getFileFull().getName();
        debug("   item:[%s]", name);
        if (fileName.equals(name)) {
            fileFull = item.getFileFull();
            break;
        }
    }
}

Actual Results

• response.getLimit() = 30
• response.getOffset() = 0
• response.getTotalCount() = 10
• The Entries contain 10 files with similar names like "Test02_20251224.txt"

Expected Behavior
I would like to search for a file by its exact name and retrieve only that single matching file.

What I've Tried
I tried wrapping the query with double quotes (query("\"" + fileName + "\"")), but the results remained the same.

Question
Is it possible to retrieve only one file by specifying an exact filename match?

[arjankowski]

Hi @Inte-Takeuchi,
I've checked the behavior of the search endpoint via SDK and directly via the API, and I can confirm that in both cases the results are the same, so there is no issue with the SDK itself.

I asked the team owning the search endpoint about the behavior of the search endpoint and I'll let you know when I get the answer.

Regards,
Artur

[arjankowski]

@Inte-Takeuchi

1. Can you confirm that when for the query param you use wrapped in double quotes the "Test01_20251225.txt" value, then in the response you get the file Test02_20251224.txt (starting with TEST02 but not TEST01)?

2. Could you test the same request via curl?

curl --location 'https://api.box.com/2.0/search?ancestor_folder_ids=<YOUR_FOLDER_ID>&content_types=name&query=%22Test01_20251225.txt%22' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN>' 

and compare the response with the response from the SDK?

3. Could you also send to my email ajankowski@box.com the the response from that curl request, the the folder_id used for the request in ancestor_folder_ids, the box-request-id from the response header and your enterprise_id ?

That would help our team to investigate the issue.

[Inte-Takeuchi]

Hi arjankowski

Thank you for your reply and suggestions.
I can confirm the issue has been resolved. The root cause was that the double quotes within the parameter were not specified correctly in my implementation.

Best regards,
Takeuchi