diff --git a/modules/indexer/code/internal/indexer.go b/modules/indexer/code/internal/indexer.go
index c259fcd26eb..440bd678f64 100644
--- a/modules/indexer/code/internal/indexer.go
+++ b/modules/indexer/code/internal/indexer.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ type SearchOptions struct {
 	Language string
 
 	IsKeywordFuzzy bool
+	IsHtmlSafe     bool
 
 	db.Paginator
 }
diff --git a/modules/indexer/code/search.go b/modules/indexer/code/search.go
index 74c957dde65..266eb81de3c 100644
--- a/modules/indexer/code/search.go
+++ b/modules/indexer/code/search.go
@@ -28,18 +28,19 @@ type Result struct {
 type ResultLine struct {
 	Num              int
 	FormattedContent template.HTML
+	RawContent       string
 }
 
 type SearchResultLanguages = internal.SearchResultLanguages
 
 type SearchOptions = internal.SearchOptions
 
-func indices(content string, selectionStartIndex, selectionEndIndex int) (int, int) {
+func indices(content string, selectionStartIndex, selectionEndIndex, numLinesBuffer int) (int, int) {
 	startIndex := selectionStartIndex
 	numLinesBefore := 0
 	for ; startIndex > 0; startIndex-- {
 		if content[startIndex-1] == '\n' {
-			if numLinesBefore == 1 {
+			if numLinesBefore == numLinesBuffer {
 				break
 			}
 			numLinesBefore++
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ func indices(content string, selectionStartIndex, selectionEndIndex int) (int, i
 	numLinesAfter := 0
 	for ; endIndex < len(content); endIndex++ {
 		if content[endIndex] == '\n' {
-			if numLinesAfter == 1 {
+			if numLinesAfter == numLinesBuffer {
 				break
 			}
 			numLinesAfter++
@@ -86,7 +87,22 @@ func HighlightSearchResultCode(filename, language string, lineNums []int, code s
 	return lines
 }
 
-func searchResult(result *internal.SearchResult, startIndex, endIndex int) (*Result, error) {
+func RawSearchResultCode(filename, language string, lineNums []int, code string) []*ResultLine {
+	// we should highlight the whole code block first, otherwise it doesn't work well with multiple line highlighting
+	rawLines := strings.Split(code, "\n")
+
+	// The lineNums outputted by highlight.Code might not match the original lineNums, because "highlight" removes the last `\n`
+	lines := make([]*ResultLine, min(len(rawLines), len(lineNums)))
+	for i := 0; i < len(lines); i++ {
+		lines[i] = &ResultLine{
+			Num:        lineNums[i],
+			RawContent: rawLines[i],
+		}
+	}
+	return lines
+}
+
+func searchResult(result *internal.SearchResult, startIndex, endIndex int, escapeHtml bool) (*Result, error) {
 	startLineNum := 1 + strings.Count(result.Content[:startIndex], "\n")
 
 	var formattedLinesBuffer bytes.Buffer
@@ -117,6 +133,13 @@ func searchResult(result *internal.SearchResult, startIndex, endIndex int) (*Res
 		index += len(line)
 	}
 
+	var lines []*ResultLine
+	if escapeHtml {
+		lines = HighlightSearchResultCode(result.Filename, result.Language, lineNums, formattedLinesBuffer.String())
+	} else {
+		lines = RawSearchResultCode(result.Filename, result.Language, lineNums, formattedLinesBuffer.String())
+	}
+
 	return &Result{
 		RepoID:      result.RepoID,
 		Filename:    result.Filename,
@@ -124,7 +147,7 @@ func searchResult(result *internal.SearchResult, startIndex, endIndex int) (*Res
 		UpdatedUnix: result.UpdatedUnix,
 		Language:    result.Language,
 		Color:       result.Color,
-		Lines:       HighlightSearchResultCode(result.Filename, result.Language, lineNums, formattedLinesBuffer.String()),
+		Lines:       lines,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -142,9 +165,14 @@ func PerformSearch(ctx context.Context, opts *SearchOptions) (int, []*Result, []
 
 	displayResults := make([]*Result, len(results))
 
+	nLinesBuffer := 0
+	if opts.IsHtmlSafe {
+		nLinesBuffer = 1
+	}
+
 	for i, result := range results {
-		startIndex, endIndex := indices(result.Content, result.StartIndex, result.EndIndex)
-		displayResults[i], err = searchResult(result, startIndex, endIndex)
+		startIndex, endIndex := indices(result.Content, result.StartIndex, result.EndIndex, nLinesBuffer)
+		displayResults[i], err = searchResult(result, startIndex, endIndex, opts.IsHtmlSafe)
 		if err != nil {
 			return 0, nil, nil, err
 		}
diff --git a/modules/structs/explore.go b/modules/structs/explore.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..db1250cd566
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/structs/explore.go
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+// Copyright 2024 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package structs // import "code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/structs"
+
+// ExploreCodeSearchItem A single search match
+// swagger:model
+type ExploreCodeSearchItem struct {
+	RepoName   string `json:"repoName"`
+	FilePath   string `json:"path"`
+	LineNumber int    `json:"lineNumber"`
+	LineText   string `json:"lineText"`
+}
+
+// ExploreCodeResult all returned search results
+// swagger:model
+type ExploreCodeResult struct {
+	Total   int                     `json:"total"`
+	Results []ExploreCodeSearchItem `json:"results"`
+}
diff --git a/routers/api/v1/api.go b/routers/api/v1/api.go
index be67ec1695b..c1ca119c7ed 100644
--- a/routers/api/v1/api.go
+++ b/routers/api/v1/api.go
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ import (
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/routers/api/v1/repo"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/routers/api/v1/settings"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/routers/api/v1/user"
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/routers/api/v1/explore"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/routers/common"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/services/actions"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/services/auth"
@@ -890,6 +891,14 @@ func Routes() *web.Router {
 		// Misc (public accessible)
 		m.Group("", func() {
 			m.Get("/version", misc.Version)
+			m.Group("/explore", func() {
+				m.Get("/code", func(ctx *context.APIContext) {
+					if unit.TypeCode.UnitGlobalDisabled() {
+						ctx.NotFound("Repo unit code is disabled", nil)
+						return
+					}
+				}, explore.Code)
+			})
 			m.Get("/signing-key.gpg", misc.SigningKey)
 			m.Post("/markup", reqToken(), bind(api.MarkupOption{}), misc.Markup)
 			m.Post("/markdown", reqToken(), bind(api.MarkdownOption{}), misc.Markdown)
diff --git a/routers/api/v1/explore/code.go b/routers/api/v1/explore/code.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2f9e2922c3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/routers/api/v1/explore/code.go
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+// Copyright 2021 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package explore
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/models/db"
+	repo_model "code.gitea.io/gitea/models/repo"
+	code_indexer "code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/indexer/code"
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/setting"
+	api "code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/structs"
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/services/context"
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/services/convert"
+)
+
+// Code explore code
+func Code(ctx *context.APIContext) {
+	if !setting.Indexer.RepoIndexerEnabled {
+		ctx.NotFound("Indexer not enabled")
+		return
+	}
+
+	language := ctx.FormTrim("l")
+	keyword := ctx.FormTrim("q")
+
+	isFuzzy := ctx.FormOptionalBool("fuzzy").ValueOrDefault(true)
+
+	if keyword == "" {
+		ctx.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, api.SearchError{OK: false, Error: "No keyword provided"})
+		return
+	}
+
+	page := ctx.FormInt("page")
+	if page <= 0 {
+		page = 1
+	}
+
+	var (
+		repoIDs []int64
+		err     error
+		isAdmin bool
+	)
+	if ctx.Doer != nil {
+		isAdmin = ctx.Doer.IsAdmin
+	}
+
+	// guest user or non-admin user
+	if ctx.Doer == nil || !isAdmin {
+		repoIDs, err = repo_model.FindUserCodeAccessibleRepoIDs(ctx, ctx.Doer)
+		if err != nil {
+			ctx.ServerError("FindUserCodeAccessibleRepoIDs", err)
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
+	var (
+		total         int
+		searchResults []*code_indexer.Result
+		repoMaps      map[int64]*repo_model.Repository
+	)
+
+	if (len(repoIDs) > 0) || isAdmin {
+		total, searchResults, _, err = code_indexer.PerformSearch(ctx, &code_indexer.SearchOptions{
+			RepoIDs:        repoIDs,
+			Keyword:        keyword,
+			IsKeywordFuzzy: isFuzzy,
+			IsHtmlSafe:     false,
+			Language:       language,
+			Paginator: &db.ListOptions{
+				Page:     page,
+				PageSize: setting.API.DefaultPagingNum,
+			},
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			if code_indexer.IsAvailable(ctx) {
+				ctx.ServerError("SearchResults", err)
+				return
+			}
+		}
+
+		loadRepoIDs := make([]int64, 0, len(searchResults))
+		for _, result := range searchResults {
+			var find bool
+			for _, id := range loadRepoIDs {
+				if id == result.RepoID {
+					find = true
+					break
+				}
+			}
+			if !find {
+				loadRepoIDs = append(loadRepoIDs, result.RepoID)
+			}
+		}
+
+		repoMaps, err = repo_model.GetRepositoriesMapByIDs(ctx, loadRepoIDs)
+		if err != nil {
+			ctx.ServerError("GetRepositoriesMapByIDs", err)
+			return
+		}
+
+		if len(loadRepoIDs) != len(repoMaps) {
+			// Remove deleted repos from search results
+			cleanedSearchResults := make([]*code_indexer.Result, 0, len(repoMaps))
+			for _, sr := range searchResults {
+				if _, found := repoMaps[sr.RepoID]; found {
+					cleanedSearchResults = append(cleanedSearchResults, sr)
+				}
+			}
+
+			searchResults = cleanedSearchResults
+		}
+	}
+
+	ctx.JSON(http.StatusOK, convert.ToExploreCodeSearchResults(total, searchResults, repoMaps))
+}
diff --git a/routers/web/explore/code.go b/routers/web/explore/code.go
index ecd7c33e016..a4c14d3c0df 100644
--- a/routers/web/explore/code.go
+++ b/routers/web/explore/code.go
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ func Code(ctx *context.Context) {
 			RepoIDs:        repoIDs,
 			Keyword:        keyword,
 			IsKeywordFuzzy: isFuzzy,
+			IsHtmlSafe:     true,
 			Language:       language,
 			Paginator: &db.ListOptions{
 				Page:     page,
diff --git a/routers/web/repo/search.go b/routers/web/repo/search.go
index 920a865555b..667bce249b8 100644
--- a/routers/web/repo/search.go
+++ b/routers/web/repo/search.go
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ func Search(ctx *context.Context) {
 			RepoIDs:        []int64{ctx.Repo.Repository.ID},
 			Keyword:        keyword,
 			IsKeywordFuzzy: isFuzzy,
+			IsHtmlSafe:			true,
 			Language:       language,
 			Paginator: &db.ListOptions{
 				Page:     page,
diff --git a/routers/web/user/code.go b/routers/web/user/code.go
index 785c37b1243..c3ac724accd 100644
--- a/routers/web/user/code.go
+++ b/routers/web/user/code.go
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ func CodeSearch(ctx *context.Context) {
 			Keyword:        keyword,
 			IsKeywordFuzzy: isFuzzy,
 			Language:       language,
+			IsHtmlSafe:     true,
 			Paginator: &db.ListOptions{
 				Page:     page,
 				PageSize: setting.UI.RepoSearchPagingNum,
diff --git a/services/convert/explore.go b/services/convert/explore.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ae548ee1f8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/convert/explore.go
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+// Copyright 2024 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package convert
+
+import (
+	repo_model "code.gitea.io/gitea/models/repo"
+	code_indexer "code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/indexer/code"
+	api "code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/structs"
+)
+
+func ToExploreCodeSearchResults(total int, results []*code_indexer.Result, repoMaps map[int64]*repo_model.Repository) api.ExploreCodeResult {
+	out := api.ExploreCodeResult{Total: total}
+	for _, res := range results {
+		if repo := repoMaps[res.RepoID]; repo != nil {
+			for _, r := range res.Lines {
+				out.Results = append(out.Results, api.ExploreCodeSearchItem{
+					RepoName:   repo.Name,
+					FilePath:   res.Filename,
+					LineNumber: r.Num,
+					LineText:   r.RawContent,
+				})
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}