# Search creators

> Finds a creator by exact email or external id. Returns at most one creator, so you can check before creating.

```
GET https://api.sandbox.stridehq.ai/v1/creators/search
```


Scope: `read`

## Query parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `email` | string | No | Exact email address. Not case sensitive. |
| `external_id` | string | No | Your own reference for the creator. |

## Responses

- **200**: A list with the matching creator, or an empty list.
- **400**: `unknown_field`, `invalid_parameter` or `invalid_cursor`.
- **401**: `missing_api_key`, `invalid_api_key`, `revoked_api_key` or `wrong_environment`.

```json
{
  "object": "list",
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "cre_8f3a2c1d9b7e4f60a1b2c3d4e5f60718",
      "object": "creator",
      "name": "Maya Chen",
      "legal_name": "Maya Chen",
      "email": "maya@example.com",
      "type": "individual",
      "country": "GB",
      "tax_status": "self_employed",
      "vat_registered": false,
      "status": "active",
      "can_be_paid": true,
      "cannot_be_paid_reasons": [],
      "bank_account_last4": "4821",
      "payout_currency": "GBP",
      "external_id": "talent-1042",
      "metadata": {},
      "created_at": "2026-10-01T09:30:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-10-14T16:05:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "has_more": false
}
```