## Search employees

`POST /v1/humanresources/employees/search`

Returns employees in your Bitrix24 account whose name matches the provided search query. Useful for finding an employee identifier by name before calling other operations in this section.

## Request fields (body)

| Field | Type | Req. | Description |
|------|-----|:-----:|---------|
| `name` | string | yes | String to search by employee name |
| `nodeId` | number | no | Limit the search to employees of a single node. List: `GET /v1/humanresources/nodes?type=DEPARTMENT` |

## Examples

### curl — personal key

```bash
curl -X POST "https://vibecode.bitrix24.com/v1/humanresources/employees/search" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "name": "John" }'
```

### curl — OAuth app

```bash
curl -X POST "https://vibecode.bitrix24.com/v1/humanresources/employees/search" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_APP_KEY" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer USER_SESSION_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "name": "John" }'
```

### JavaScript — personal key

```javascript
const res = await fetch('https://vibecode.bitrix24.com/v1/humanresources/employees/search', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'X-Api-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ name: 'John' }),
})

const { success, data } = await res.json()
console.log(`Found ${data.items.length} employees`)
```

### JavaScript — OAuth app

```javascript
const res = await fetch('https://vibecode.bitrix24.com/v1/humanresources/employees/search', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'X-Api-Key': 'YOUR_APP_KEY',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer USER_SESSION_TOKEN',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ name: 'John' }),
})

const { success, data } = await res.json()
```

## Response fields

| Field | Type | Description |
|------|-----|---------|
| `success` | boolean | Always `true` on success |
| `data.items` | array | Array of found employees. Empty if there are no matches |
| `data.items[].userId` | number | Employee identifier |
| `data.items[].name` | string | Employee name |
| `data.items[].workPosition` | string | Employee position. Empty string if the position is not set |
| `data.items[].avatar` | string | URL of the employee's profile image |
| `data.items[].url` | string | Relative path to the employee's card in Bitrix24 |
| `data.items[].departments` | array | Departments the employee belongs to |
| `data.items[].departments[].id` | number | Department identifier |
| `data.items[].departments[].name` | string | Department name |
| `data.items[].teams` | array | Teams the employee belongs to. The element structure matches `departments` (`id`, `name`) |

## Response example

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "userId": 1,
        "name": "John Brown",
        "workPosition": "",
        "avatar": "https://cdn.bitrix24.com/.../avatar.jpg",
        "url": "/company/personal/user/1/",
        "departments": [
          { "id": 1, "name": "Company" },
          { "id": 9, "name": "Division" },
          { "id": 11, "name": "Work group" },
          { "id": 23, "name": "Sales department" }
        ],
        "teams": []
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

## Error response example

400 — the `name` field was not passed:

```json
{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_PARAMS",
    "message": "Request object validation failed",
    "validation": [
      {
        "field": "MISSING_NAME",
        "message": "Parameter \"name\" is required."
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

## Errors

| HTTP | Code | Description |
|------|-----|---------|
| 400 | `INVALID_PARAMS` | The `name` field is missing — `error.validation` carries a `MISSING_NAME` entry |
| 403 | `SCOPE_DENIED` | The key lacks the `humanresources` scope |
| 401 | `TOKEN_MISSING` | The API key has no Bitrix24 tokens configured |

Full list of common API errors — [Errors](/docs/errors).

## Known specifics

**An empty result is a success, not an error.** If there are no matches by name, the response stays successful (`success: true`) and `data.items` comes back as an empty array.

## See also

- [Employee subordinates](/docs/humanresources/employees/subordinates)
- [Employees](/docs/humanresources/employees)