GitHub · pull requests · search API · Checked October 24, 2026

GitHub: the search for pull requests answered 422 "Validation Failed"

Pull requests across repositories come from GET /search/issues, with a query such as is:pr is:open repo:OWNER/REPO review-requested:@me. When GitHub will not run the query, it answers 422 with the message Validation Failed, and the reason is in errors[].message. The messages below are GitHub's answers on github.com, checked on October 24, 2026, with the rules from GitHub's documentation behind them.

HTTP/1.1 422 Unprocessable Entity

{"message":"Validation Failed","errors":[{"message":"The listed users and repositories cannot be searched either because the resources do not exist or you do not have permission to view them.","resource":"Search","field":"q","code":"invalid"}],"status":"422"}

422: what GitHub says, and why

The listed users and repositories cannot be searched either because the resources do not exist or you do not have permission to view them.: the query has a repo:, user: or org: that does not exist, or that your account cannot see. Without a token, every private repository is one you cannot see. GitHub's documentation says the same: you need to authenticate and have access to the repositories in your query.
The listed users cannot be searched either because the users do not exist or you do not have permission to view the users.: the query has @me (for example review-requested:@me or author:@me) and no token, so GitHub does not know who "me" is. A user name in author: that does not exist answers this too.
The search is longer than 256 characters.: the words of the query are too long. Operators and qualifiers do not count: a query of 757 characters that was all repo: qualifiers was answered.
More than five AND / OR / NOT operators were used.
A GitHub App's user access token cannot search issues and pull requests together: GitHub's documentation says a query without is:issue or is:pull-request answers 422.

200, but pull requests are missing

Several repo: qualifiers: GitHub leaves out the repositories you cannot see, without an error. With one missing repository and one public one, the answer was 200 with the public one's pull requests. GitHub's documentation: the response contains only the resources you have access to, and does not list the ones that were not returned.
incomplete_results: true: the query ran out of time, and GitHub returned the matches found before then. More may exist, or may not.
Limits: up to 100 results a page, up to 1,000 results a search, and up to 4,000 repositories searched for one query.

What to do

A repository or owner GitHub cannot see: check the spelling, then sign in as the token's account and open it in the browser. If you see it there, the token needs access to it (see which permission to add).
@me: send a token with the query.
Too long, or too many operators: use fewer words, or split it into several searches.
Several repositories: when one looks empty, search it on its own: a 422 then says that the token cannot see it.

GitHub pull requests in IntelliJ IDEA

Pull Request Inbox for GitHub, a plugin by Lesstep for JetBrains IDEs 2024.1 or later, uses GitHub's search for the lists "Waiting for my review", "I am a reviewer" and "Created by me", and for the scopes "Their owner" and "Everywhere": with a repo: for each open repository, a user: for the owner, and @me for you. Without a token it lists all open pull requests, and for "Everywhere" it asks for a token instead of searching. When GitHub refuses a search, it shows GitHub's words, the reason from errors included; when the limit is reached, it says when it opens again. Each list holds up to 200 pull requests, most recently updated first. The review inbox, diffs and conversations are free; approving, commenting and merging are Pro (US$1.50 a month, with a 30-day trial).

GitHub is a trademark of GitHub, Inc.; IntelliJ IDEA is a trademark of JetBrains s.r.o. This page is not affiliated with or endorsed by GitHub, Inc. or JetBrains.

GitHub: the search for pull requests answered 422 "Validation Failed"

422: what GitHub says, and why

Other answers

200, but pull requests are missing

What to do

GitHub pull requests in IntelliJ IDEA