+!!! danger "Deprecation warning"
+ The API can also be used with the URL
+ `https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search.php`. This is now deprecated
+ and will be removed in future versions.
+
+The query term can be given in two different forms: free-form or structured.
+
+### Free-form query
+
+| Parameter | Value |
+|-----------| ----- |
+| q | Free-form query string to search for |
+
+In this form, the query can be unstructured.
+Free-form queries are processed first left-to-right and then right-to-left if that fails. So you may search for
+[pilkington avenue, birmingham](https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=pilkington+avenue,birmingham) as well as for
+[birmingham, pilkington avenue](https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=birmingham,+pilkington+avenue).
+Commas are optional, but improve performance by reducing the complexity of the search.
+
+The free-form may also contain special phrases to describe the type of
+place to be returned or a coordinate to search close to a position.
+
+### Structured query
+
+| Parameter | Value |
+|----------- | ----- |
+| amenity | name and/or type of POI |
+| street | housenumber and streetname |
+| city | city |
+| county | county |
+| state | state |
+| country | country |
+| postalcode | postal code |
+
+The structured form of the search query allows to lookup up an address
+that is already split into its components. Each parameter represents a field
+of the address. All parameters are optional. You should only use the ones
+that are relevant for the address you want to geocode.
+
+!!! Attention
+ Cannot be combined with the `q=<query>` parameter. Newer versions of
+ the API will return an error if you do so. Older versions simply return
+ unexpected results.
+
+## Parameters
+
+The following parameters can be used to further restrict the search and
+change the output. They are usable for both forms of the search query.
+
+### Output format
+
+| Parameter | Value | Default |
+|-----------| ----- | ------- |
+| format | one of: `xml`, `json`, `jsonv2`, `geojson`, `geocodejson` | `jsonv2` |
+
+See [Place Output Formats](Output.md) for details on each format.
+
+!!! note
+ The Nominatim service at
+ [https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org](https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org)
+ has a different default behaviour for historical reasons. When the
+ `format` parameter is omitted, the request will be forwarded to the Web UI.
+
+
+| Parameter | Value | Default |
+|-----------| ----- | ------- |
+| json_callback | function name | _unset_ |
+
+When given, then JSON output will be wrapped in a callback function with
+the given name. See [JSONP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSONP) for more
+information.
+
+Only has an effect for JSON output formats.
+
+| Parameter | Value | Default |
+|-----------| ----- | ------- |
+| limit | number | 10 |
+
+Limit the maximum number of returned results. Cannot be more than 40.
+Nominatim may decide to return less results than given, if additional
+results do not sufficiently match the query.
+
+
+### Output details
+
+| Parameter | Value | Default |
+|-----------| ----- | ------- |
+| addressdetails | 0 or 1 | 0 |
+
+When set to 1, include a breakdown of the address into elements.
+The exact content of the address breakdown depends on the output format.