How to search Apple documentation well

Question

Created May ’22

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(Will answer my own question, for future self and others. Feel free to contribute!)

Recently, I’ve been trying to find info in Apple’s documentation, and it’s been a struggle.

For example, I wanted to know if I could start an Xcode project, then use Xcode to create a GitHub repository. And if so, how?

I dutifully went to Apple’s Developer site and its search bar (https://developer.apple.com/search/), then searched for xcode github, filtered by the Documentation tab. (https://developer.apple.com/search/?q=xcode%20github&type=Documentation)

No promising results.

My first thought was: Apple’s documentation is lacking! Or perhaps Apple’s search engine is lacking?

Tips?

BTW, Apple’s 2021 news about “Find the right documentation” (https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=6k6dy6z7) was not helpful.

Answered by geoffhom in 713519022

Even though it’s Apple’s search engine for Apple’s documentation, it’s very unintuitive. We’re all used to Google searches:

Conversely, Apple Developer searches are like this:

If there are a million matches, it shows only a few (~20)
- And it doesn’t tell you there are more matches, or give you any way to see them!
If the search terms are mentioned anywhere on a webpage, it still may not match
The Videos tab is inconsistent
- Looks like it will show max 5 matches, again implying there are no more matches, and certainly no way to see them
- (e.g., searching for xcode github gives 5 results, none of which are what I want) (https://developer.apple.com/search/?q=xcode%20github&type=Videos)
- (but searching in Apple’s Developer app gives 3 results, two of which are promising) (“Source Control Workflows in Xcode” from 2018, and a similar one from 2017)
The Forums tab is broken and inconsistent
- (e.g., searching for xcode github gives 0 results) (https://developer.apple.com/search/?q=xcode%20github&type=Forums)
- (but searching directly in the forums gives 63,000+ results) (https://developer.apple.com/forums/search/?q=xcode+github)

The answer is to use Google to search Apple’s documentation:

E.g., go to Google (https://www.google.com/) and search for xcode github site:apple.com/documentation
- (638 results!)
- (including the 3rd result: “Configuring Your Xcode Project to Use Source Control”) (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/configuring-your-xcode-project-to-use-source-control) (just what I wanted!)
Example searching videos: xcode github site:apple.com/videos (141 results)
Example searching forums: xcode github site:apple.com/forums (5,820 results)
All those examples use Google’s site: option to restrict results to that site.

So, Apple’s documentation may be okay! Just remember to search via Google!

Boost

Answer 1

May ’22

Accepted Answer

Even though it’s Apple’s search engine for Apple’s documentation, it’s very unintuitive. We’re all used to Google searches:

Conversely, Apple Developer searches are like this:

If there are a million matches, it shows only a few (~20)
- And it doesn’t tell you there are more matches, or give you any way to see them!
If the search terms are mentioned anywhere on a webpage, it still may not match
The Videos tab is inconsistent
- Looks like it will show max 5 matches, again implying there are no more matches, and certainly no way to see them
- (e.g., searching for xcode github gives 5 results, none of which are what I want) (https://developer.apple.com/search/?q=xcode%20github&type=Videos)
- (but searching in Apple’s Developer app gives 3 results, two of which are promising) (“Source Control Workflows in Xcode” from 2018, and a similar one from 2017)
The Forums tab is broken and inconsistent
- (e.g., searching for xcode github gives 0 results) (https://developer.apple.com/search/?q=xcode%20github&type=Forums)
- (but searching directly in the forums gives 63,000+ results) (https://developer.apple.com/forums/search/?q=xcode+github)

The answer is to use Google to search Apple’s documentation:

E.g., go to Google (https://www.google.com/) and search for xcode github site:apple.com/documentation
- (638 results!)
- (including the 3rd result: “Configuring Your Xcode Project to Use Source Control”) (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/configuring-your-xcode-project-to-use-source-control) (just what I wanted!)
Example searching videos: xcode github site:apple.com/videos (141 results)
Example searching forums: xcode github site:apple.com/forums (5,820 results)
All those examples use Google’s site: option to restrict results to that site.

So, Apple’s documentation may be okay! Just remember to search via Google!

1