---
title: "iOS PDF Search Library: Search Across 1000s of PDFs | Nutrient"
canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/search/"
md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/search.md"
last_updated: "2026-05-15T17:18:57.913Z"
description: "Unlock hidden iOS search secrets! Learn how to optimize searching in your app with our expert guide. Master iOS search now."
---

# PDF Search Library for iOS

Search across PDF documents, pages, and annotations for matching text. PSPDFKit for iOS offers developers an API for programmatic full-text search, as well as a customizable UI for searching and highlighting relevant matches.

## Key Capabilities

- **Full-text search** — Programmatically or by using the UI

- **Indexed search** — Search inside multiple PDFs at once

- **Annotation search** — Find specific PDF annotations

- **Customizable UI** — Adjust the search form to match your look & feel

- **Extendable** — Add annotation, extraction, redaction, and more

## Guides for Search

**[Search for Text in a PDF](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/features/text-search.md)**\
How to search for text within a single PDF document

**[Search for Annotations in a PDF](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/search/search-in-a-pdf/annotation-search.md)**\
How to search for text contained in annotations

**[Index Multiple Documents](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/features/indexed-full-text-search.md)**\
How to index multiple PDF documents for use in indexed full-text search

**[Indexed Search Matching Options](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/search/indexed-full-text-search/matching-options.md)**\
How to configure matching options for indexed full-text search

**[Generate Indexed Search Previews](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/search/indexed-full-text-search/customize-results.md)**\
How to generate a preview containing ambient text surrounding a match

**[Encrypt the Search Index Database](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/security/encryption-in-pdflibrary.md)**\
How to encrypt the SQLite database created by PSPDFKit

**[Custom Tokenizer for Search Index](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/memory-and-storage/using-custom-tokenizers.md)**\
Learn about the default tokenizer and how to use a custom one

**[Custom SQLite Library](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/miscellaneous/custom-sqlite-library.md)**\
How to link your app to a custom build of SQLite

**[Spotlight Indexing](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/search/indexed-full-text-search/spotlight-indexing.md)**\
How to index documents with Spotlight for native device searching

**Call to Action**

Start your free trial for unlimited access and expert support.

[Learn More](https://www.nutrient.io/sdk/ios/getting-started.md)
---

## Related pages

- [Adding a Custom SQLite Library for PDF Search on iOS](/guides/ios/miscellaneous/custom-sqlite-library.md)
- [Custom Tokenizers for PDF Search on iOS](/guides/ios/memory-and-storage/using-custom-tokenizers.md)
- [Generate PDF Search Previews on iOS](/guides/ios/search/indexed-full-text-search/customize-results.md)
- [Indexing PDF Documents on iOS](/guides/ios/features/indexed-full-text-search.md)
- [Encrypt the PDF Search Database on iOS](/guides/ios/security/encryption-in-pdflibrary.md)
- [Index and Search PDFs Using iOS Spotlight](/guides/ios/search/indexed-full-text-search/spotlight-indexing.md)
- [PDF Search Matching Options on iOS](/guides/ios/search/indexed-full-text-search/matching-options.md)
- [Search PDF Annotations on iOS](/guides/ios/search/search-in-a-pdf/annotation-search.md)
- [Search for Text in PDFs on iOS](/guides/ios/features/text-search.md)