Search for data

Benchling offers several powerful ways to find, explore, and retrieve data, including across entries, Inventory, registered entities, and more. Whether you're looking for a specific sequence or reviewing all samples tied to a Study, Benchling’s search tools help you quickly surface the right information.

The power of these tools is driven by the structured data model created through schema configuration. By defining fields and relationships in your schemas, you enable more advanced filtering, sorting, and saved searches. This makes your data not only easier to find but also easier to report on, analyze, and reuse.

This guide outlines the key features and workflows for searching across Benchling, along with how to organize and interact with the data you retrieve.

Search throughout the whole tenant 

Benchling's integrated search to find data across the platform. Global search is useful when you want to see everything that relates to a specific search term, regardless of which application it might be located in. To perform a search of the entire tenant:

1. Click the Global search icon in the Navigation bar
2. Enter your search terms in the search bar
3. Press Enter to execute the search

Use filters (discussed later in this article) to narrow down results and customize the display settings for better visibility.

Local searches within an application 

In addition to global search, Benchling allows you to search within individual applications such as the Registry, Inventory, Studies, and more. Local (in-app) searches are especially useful when you're already working in a specific module and want to find, filter, or take action on a subset of items like viewing all samples in a location or identifying registered entities by schema. To search an application:

1. Navigate to the application you want to search
2. Use the search bar in the application to enter relevant terms
3. Apply filters to narrow down results

Each application may also allow bulk actions from the search result view. For example, after running a Registry or Inventory search, you can select multiple results and apply actions such as Export, Archive, or Edit depending on your permissions. To take actions on search results:

1. Click the directional arrow within the application to enter the expanded view of the application
2. Use the check boxes to select the desired samples
3. Choose actions such as Edit, Move, or Archive from the toolbar

Filter search results 

Customize the results of your search with filters to focus on relevant data and surface the most useful results. Filters are a key part of both global and local searches, allowing you to narrow your search by fields like schema, project, tag, author, or creation date. To use filters in a search (global or local): 

1. Click the Filters button in the search panel
2. Click Add filters to add a new filter
3. Click the Name dropdown to see a list of the filters you can add, select the one that you would like to use
4. Click the dropdown to the right and apply the parameters that you want to use to constraint your search results
5. Optionally add more filters if needed, then click Apply 

Customize search results 

Customize the results of your search with filters to focus on relevant data and surface the most useful results using the sort by menu. This allows you to define the number of results on the page, how they appear, and how they are sorted. To make adjustments to your search results:  

1. Click on the list icon
2. Use the menu to define the changes you want to make to the search results by clicking on the option you wish to select
   1. Sort by
      • Name (alphabetical or reverse alphabetical)
      • ID (alphabetical or reverse alphabetical)
      • Modified (newest or oldest)
      • Created (newest or oldest)
   2. Display density
      • Comfortable
      • Compact
   3. Results per page
      • 5
      • 10
      • 25
      • 50
      • 100
      • 500
      • 1000

You may only pick one option from each category, but you can make changes to all three of the categories if you wish. 

Note: The Created column is sortable and can replace the deprecated Entry Dates column.

Save your searches and share saved searches

You can also save searches after they’ve been created so that you can use the search again or share the search with someone else. To save a search:

1. Perform a search with your desired filters
2. Click Save
3. In the saved search settings modal, give your search a name and an optional description, then click Save 

To view a search that you have previously saved: 

1. Click the dropdown next to the Search header
2. Select the name of the search that you would like to view the results of 

Alternatively, click view all to open a menu that displays a list of all the searches that you’ve saved or have been shared with you. 

In this menu, you can take a few actions: 

• Search for specific saved searches
• Export an audit log of your searches
• Share, save a copy of, rename, or delete an existing search 

Edit saved searches 

As mentioned above, you have options to manage your saved searches after they’ve been created. To edit an existing search: 

1. Enter the search you’d like to edit
2. Update the filters, search criteria, etc.
3. Click Update 

Share saved searches

Save and share search queries for consistent data retrieval across your team. Sharing these saved queries ensures your collaborators can access consistent, validated views of important data, especially useful in regulated environments or team-wide workflows where data traceability and repeatability matter. To share a saved search:

1. Navigate to Saved Searches
2. Select the search you wish to share
3. If needed, update the name, owner, and optional description
4. Use the search bar to find the people, teams, and organizations that should have access to the saved search

5. Once you’ve selected who the search should be shared with, confirm the level of permissions they should have and click Save

   

    

Searching by type

Another way that you can filter your searches is by using the Type dropdown. This allows you to set your search parameters for a specific type of object (ex. Registry entity or Inventory object) or for a specific schema. 

In the example below, we show how to filter Notebook entries based on specific schema fields. This is especially valuable when working with standardized entry templates allowing you to search across entries by parameters like experiment type, strain, or batch ID. It makes schema-driven documentation more searchable and easier to analyze at scale. To search by entry schema fields:

1. Click the Global search icon on the Navigation bar
2. Change the Type to Entry
3. Select the desired Entry Schema
4. Click Filter and add the necessary field filters
5. Click Apply to view matching entries

Note: You can only search entries you have at least read access to.

Though the example above shows how to set the type for Entry, you can use the following types: 

• Any type
• Project or Folder
• Study
• Entity
• Entry
• Template Collection
• Template
• Workflow Task Group
• Request
• Workflow Task
• Run
• Assembly
• Dataset
• File
• Recipe Condition Replicate Run
• Recipe Unit Operation
• Recipe Step
• Container
• Plate
• Box
• Location
• Analysis
• Dashboard
• DNA / RNA Alignment
• AA Alignment
• Connection
• Worklist
• Worksheet

Note: You can only filter by Recipe Condition Replicate Run, Recipe Unit Operation, Recipe Step, or Worksheet if you are using Benchling Bioprocess. For more about Benchling Bioprocess, see the linked documentation. 

Displaying archived data

You can access archived objects for reference or restoration because archived data remains searchable and linked to related records, making it useful for historical context or compliance review. To search for archived data:

1. Navigate to the relevant search bar (e.g., Global Search, Project, Folder)
2. Click on Filters
3. From the left hand dropdown, select Archived and use the right hand dropdown to specify either All archived or specific archive reasons
4. Click Apply to view archived objects

Note: Archived objects are read-only and retain their original context.

Manage tags

Tags help categorize and filter entries and sequences. They’re especially useful when schemas alone don’t capture all the organizational details you need. For example, tags can distinguish between different experimental conditions, protocol versions, or research phases, helping you group and report on related items across projects or schemas. To view and filter by tags:

1. Expand the Global Search panel
2. Click the Filter icon
3. Click on the Custom field filter option
4. Enter in the name of the tag you wish to filter
5. Select the logical operator you want to use to filter the custom field
6. Click Apply to add the filter to your search

Note: Bulk tag updates can be performed in the Registry or Inventory views.

Star and hide projects to streamline navigation

Organize your project list by starring frequently used projects and hiding less relevant ones. This allows each user to personalize their workspace without impacting collaborators. Starring keeps your most important projects easily accessible at the top of the sidebar, while hiding helps reduce visual clutter for infrequent or archived work. frequently used projects and hiding less relevant ones.

Star a project

1. Click the star icon in the upper right-hand corner of the project.

Hide a project

1. Right-click on the project
2. Select Hide

Note: Starred projects appear at the top, while hidden projects are collapsed at the bottom of your project side panel.

Datasets

Datasets in Benchling are structured, permissioned collections of data used for visualization, reporting, or analysis. They allow teams to group related records such as Notebook results, assay outputs, or inventory activity into a single, queryable view.

Datasets are searchable, filterable, and can be shared with collaborators, making them an effective tool for cross-study comparisons or downstream interpretation. They also integrate with Benchling Insights for data aggregation and dashboarding.

Key features of Datasets:

• Aggregate data from various sources.
• Facilitate data analysis and visualization.
• Support integration with Benchling's Insights platform.

Note: Datasets can be created and managed within the Benchling platform to suit your research needs. To create a dataset, navigate to the Results tab or the Insights module, click + Create Dataset, and select the type of structured data you'd like to include (e.g., results tables, entity metadata, registration data). Depending on your permissions, datasets can be saved privately or shared across teams for collaborative filtering and reporting.

Scientifically aware searches

You can use Global Search to run searches that leverage scientific properties. For example you can search for chemical structures and substructures in Molecule entities as well as a variety of BLAST searches (including nucleotide, protein, blastx, tblastn, and tblastx). To learn more about this, see the linked articles.  

Permissions and access 

Your ability to view data in search results is determined by your access permissions in Benchling. You will only see objects—like entries, samples, entities, or studies—that you have at least Read access to. If you do not have permission to view an item, it will not appear in your search results.

This applies to:

• Global Search results
• Application-level search views (e.g., Registry, Inventory)
• Saved searches shared with you

Shared Searches and Permissions

When a saved search is shared with collaborators, they will only see results for which they already have access. If you create a saved search that spans multiple teams or projects, users will see a filtered version of the results based on their own access.

This ensures sensitive or restricted data is not inadvertently exposed, and that shared queries remain usable across teams with different roles. The table below summarizes the permissions that you need to take each action.

Note: Shared searches do not grant access to restricted objects—they only return results the user is already permissioned to view. If you create a saved search that spans multiple teams or projects, users will see a filtered version of the results based on their own access.

This ensures sensitive or restricted data is not inadvertently exposed, and that shared queries remain usable across teams with different roles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I restore an archived object?

A: Navigate to the archived object, right-click, and select Unarchive.

Q: Can I customize the columns displayed in my Global Search?

A: No. Instead, you can use the Filter Columns option to narrow down search results by several criteria.

Q: How do I perform a BLAST search in Benchling?

A: Access the Registry, select the BLAST option, and input your sequence to find similarities.

Q: Can I share saved searches with my team?

A: Yes, saved searches can be shared with collaborators who have the appropriate permissions.

Q: What is the difference between the Registry and Inventory?

A: The Registry contains registered entities like plasmids or cell lines, while the Inventory tracks physical samples and their locations.