REST API docs inconsistency: "About search" says 9 requests/min, "Search code" endpoint section says 10 requests/min — same page, contradictory values #43865

Code of Conduct

• I have read and agree to the GitHub Docs project's Code of Conduct

What article on docs.github.com is affected?

Description

The GitHub REST API documentation page for search contains two contradictory statements about the rate limit for search requests on the same page:

Statement 1 — In the "About search" general section:

Unauthenticated requests are limited to 9 requests per minute

Statement 2 — In the "Search code" endpoint-specific section:

Rate limit: 10 requests per minute

These two values appear on the same documentation page (/en/rest/search/search) and directly contradict each other. Developers and AI agents reading this page cannot determine which rate limit to respect for GET /search/code.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Navigate to: https://docs.github.com/en/rest/search/search#search-code
2. Find the "About search" section near the top of the page
3. Note the rate limit stated there (9 requests per minute)
4. Scroll to the "Search code" endpoint section
5. Note the rate limit stated there (10 requests per minute)
6. Observe that both values appear on the same page and contradict each other

Expected Behavior

A single, consistent rate limit value for GET /search/code stated throughout the documentation page. If the rate limit differs between authenticated and unauthenticated requests, this should be clearly explained in both sections with the same values.

Actual Behavior

Two different values (9/min and 10/min) appear on the same page with no explanation of the discrepancy. It is unclear which is correct, whether one applies to authenticated vs unauthenticated requests, or whether one section is outdated.

Additional Context

• For comparison, all other search endpoints are documented at 30 requests/minute — GET /search/code is the only endpoint with a lower limit, making this inconsistency more impactful for developers who rely on the documented value to throttle their requests
• Page URL: https://docs.github.com/en/rest/search/search#search-code

What part(s) of the article would you like to see updated?

he "About search" general section and the "Search code" endpoint-specific section both state the rate limit for GET /search/code, but with contradictory values (9 req/min vs 10 req/min respectively).

One of the following changes is needed:

Update the "About search" section to match the endpoint-specific value (10/min), OR
Update the "Search code" endpoint section to match the general section value (9/min), OR
If the difference is intentional (e.g., authenticated vs unauthenticated), add a clear explanation in both sections so the distinction is explicit rather than contradictory.

Additional information

No response