diff --git a/mod/dirfind.php b/mod/dirfind.php
deleted file mode 100644
index a5b77312f..000000000
--- a/mod/dirfind.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,265 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-/**
- * @file mod/dirfind.php
- */
-
-use Friendica\App;
-use Friendica\Content\ContactSelector;
-use Friendica\Content\Pager;
-use Friendica\Content\Widget;
-use Friendica\Core\Config;
-use Friendica\Core\L10n;
-use Friendica\Core\Protocol;
-use Friendica\Core\Renderer;
-use Friendica\Core\System;
-use Friendica\Core\Worker;
-use Friendica\Database\DBA;
-use Friendica\Model;
-use Friendica\Module;
-use Friendica\Network\Probe;
-use Friendica\Protocol\PortableContact;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
-use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
-use Friendica\Util\Strings;
-
-
-function dirfind_init(App $a) {
-
-	if (! local_user()) {
-		notice(L10n::t('Permission denied.') . EOL );
-		return;
-	}
-
-	if (empty($a->page['aside'])) {
-		$a->page['aside'] = '';
-	}
-
-	$a->page['aside'] .= Widget::findPeople();
-
-	$a->page['aside'] .= Widget::follow();
-}
-
-function dirfind_content(App $a, $prefix = "") {
-
-	$community = false;
-	$discover_user = false;
-
-	$local = Config::get('system','poco_local_search');
-
-	$search = $prefix.Strings::escapeTags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'search', '')));
-
-	$header = '';
-
-	if (strpos($search,'@') === 0) {
-		$search = substr($search,1);
-		$header = L10n::t('People Search - %s', $search);
-		if ((filter_var($search, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL) && Network::isEmailDomainValid($search)) ||
-			(substr(Strings::normaliseLink($search), 0, 7) == "http://")) {
-			$user_data = Probe::uri($search);
-			$discover_user = (in_array($user_data["network"], [Protocol::ACTIVITYPUB, Protocol::DFRN, Protocol::OSTATUS, Protocol::DIASPORA]));
-		}
-	}
-
-	if (strpos($search,'!') === 0) {
-		$search = substr($search,1);
-		$community = true;
-		$header = L10n::t('Forum Search - %s', $search);
-	}
-
-	$o = '';
-
-	if ($search) {
-		$pager = new Pager($a->query_string);
-
-		if ($discover_user) {
-			$j = new stdClass();
-			$j->total = 1;
-			$j->items_page = 1;
-			$j->page = $pager->getPage();
-
-			$objresult = new stdClass();
-			$objresult->cid = 0;
-			$objresult->name = $user_data["name"];
-			$objresult->addr = $user_data["addr"];
-			$objresult->url = $user_data["url"];
-			$objresult->photo = $user_data["photo"];
-			$objresult->tags = "";
-			$objresult->network = $user_data["network"];
-
-			$contact = Model\Contact::getDetailsByURL($user_data["url"], local_user());
-			$objresult->cid = $contact["cid"];
-			$objresult->pcid = $contact["zid"];
-
-			$j->results[] = $objresult;
-
-			// Add the contact to the global contacts if it isn't already in our system
-			if (($contact["cid"] == 0) && ($contact["zid"] == 0) && ($contact["gid"] == 0)) {
-				Model\GContact::update($user_data);
-			}
-		} elseif ($local) {
-			if ($community) {
-				$extra_sql = " AND `community`";
-			} else {
-				$extra_sql = "";
-			}
-
-			$pager->setItemsPerPage(80);
-
-			if (Config::get('system','diaspora_enabled')) {
-				$diaspora = Protocol::DIASPORA;
-			} else {
-				$diaspora = Protocol::DFRN;
-			}
-
-			if (!Config::get('system','ostatus_disabled')) {
-				$ostatus = Protocol::OSTATUS;
-			} else {
-				$ostatus = Protocol::DFRN;
-			}
-
-			$search2 = "%".$search."%";
-
-			/// @TODO These 2 SELECTs are not checked on validity with DBA::isResult()
-			$count = q("SELECT count(*) AS `total` FROM `gcontact`
-					WHERE NOT `hide` AND `network` IN ('%s', '%s', '%s', '%s') AND
-						((`last_contact` >= `last_failure`) OR (`updated` >= `last_failure`)) AND
-						(`url` LIKE '%s' OR `name` LIKE '%s' OR `location` LIKE '%s' OR
-						`addr` LIKE '%s' OR `about` LIKE '%s' OR `keywords` LIKE '%s') $extra_sql",
-					DBA::escape(Protocol::ACTIVITYPUB), DBA::escape(Protocol::DFRN), DBA::escape($ostatus), DBA::escape($diaspora),
-					DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)), DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)), DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)),
-					DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)), DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)), DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)));
-
-			$results = q("SELECT `nurl`
-					FROM `gcontact`
-					WHERE NOT `hide` AND `network` IN ('%s', '%s', '%s', '%s') AND
-						((`last_contact` >= `last_failure`) OR (`updated` >= `last_failure`)) AND
-						(`url` LIKE '%s' OR `name` LIKE '%s' OR `location` LIKE '%s' OR
-						`addr` LIKE '%s' OR `about` LIKE '%s' OR `keywords` LIKE '%s') $extra_sql
-						GROUP BY `nurl`
-						ORDER BY `updated` DESC LIMIT %d, %d",
-					DBA::escape(Protocol::ACTIVITYPUB), DBA::escape(Protocol::DFRN), DBA::escape($ostatus), DBA::escape($diaspora),
-					DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)), DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)), DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)),
-					DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)), DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)), DBA::escape(Strings::escapeHtml($search2)),
-					$pager->getStart(), $pager->getItemsPerPage());
-			$j = new stdClass();
-			$j->total = $count[0]["total"];
-			$j->items_page = $pager->getItemsPerPage();
-			$j->page = $pager->getPage();
-			foreach ($results AS $result) {
-				if (PortableContact::alternateOStatusUrl($result["nurl"])) {
-					continue;
-				}
-
-				$urlparts = parse_url($result["nurl"]);
-
-				// Ignore results that look strange.
-				// For historic reasons the gcontact table does contain some garbage.
-				if (!empty($urlparts['query']) || !empty($urlparts['fragment'])) {
-					continue;
-				}
-
-				$result = Model\Contact::getDetailsByURL($result["nurl"], local_user());
-
-				if ($result["name"] == "") {
-					$result["name"] = end(explode("/", $urlparts["path"]));
-				}
-
-				$objresult = new stdClass();
-				$objresult->cid = $result["cid"];
-				$objresult->pcid = $result["zid"];
-				$objresult->name = $result["name"];
-				$objresult->addr = $result["addr"];
-				$objresult->url = $result["url"];
-				$objresult->photo = $result["photo"];
-				$objresult->tags = $result["keywords"];
-				$objresult->network = $result["network"];
-
-				$j->results[] = $objresult;
-			}
-
-			// Add found profiles from the global directory to the local directory
-			Worker::add(PRIORITY_LOW, 'DiscoverPoCo', "dirsearch", urlencode($search));
-		} elseif (strlen(Config::get('system','directory'))) {
-			$p = (($pager->getPage() != 1) ? '&p=' . $pager->getPage() : '');
-
-			$x = Network::fetchUrl(get_server() . '/lsearch?f=' . $p .  '&search=' . urlencode($search));
-
-			$j = json_decode($x);
-			$pager->setItemsPerPage($j->items_page);
-		}
-
-		if (!empty($j->results)) {
-			$id = 0;
-
-			$entries = [];
-			foreach ($j->results as $jj) {
-
-				$alt_text = "";
-
-				$contact_details = Model\Contact::getDetailsByURL($jj->url, local_user());
-
-				$itemurl = (($contact_details["addr"] != "") ? $contact_details["addr"] : $jj->url);
-
-				// If We already know this contact then don't show the "connect" button
-				if ($jj->cid > 0) {
-					$connlnk = "";
-					$conntxt = "";
-					$contact = DBA::selectFirst('contact', [], ['id' => $jj->cid]);
-					if (DBA::isResult($contact)) {
-						$photo_menu = Model\Contact::photoMenu($contact);
-						$details = Module\Contact::getContactTemplateVars($contact);
-						$alt_text = $details['alt_text'];
-					} else {
-						$photo_menu = [];
-					}
-				} else {
-					$connlnk = System::baseUrl().'/follow/?url='.(!empty($jj->connect) ? $jj->connect : $jj->url);
-					$conntxt = L10n::t('Connect');
-
-					$contact = DBA::selectFirst('contact', [], ['id' => $jj->pcid]);
-					if (DBA::isResult($contact)) {
-						$photo_menu = Model\Contact::photoMenu($contact);
-					} else {
-						$photo_menu = [];
-					}
-
-					$photo_menu['profile'] = [L10n::t("View Profile"), Model\Contact::magicLink($jj->url)];
-					$photo_menu['follow'] = [L10n::t("Connect/Follow"), $connlnk];
-				}
-
-				$jj->photo = str_replace("http:///photo/", get_server()."/photo/", $jj->photo);
-
-				$entry = [
-					'alt_text' => $alt_text,
-					'url' => Model\Contact::magicLink($jj->url),
-					'itemurl' => $itemurl,
-					'name' => $jj->name,
-					'thumb' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($jj->photo, false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
-					'img_hover' => $jj->tags,
-					'conntxt' => $conntxt,
-					'connlnk' => $connlnk,
-					'photo_menu' => $photo_menu,
-					'details'       => $contact_details['location'],
-					'tags'          => $contact_details['keywords'],
-					'about'         => $contact_details['about'],
-					'account_type'  => Model\Contact::getAccountType($contact_details),
-					'network' => ContactSelector::networkToName($jj->network, $jj->url),
-					'id' => ++$id,
-				];
-				$entries[] = $entry;
-			}
-
-			$tpl = Renderer::getMarkupTemplate('viewcontact_template.tpl');
-			$o .= Renderer::replaceMacros($tpl,[
-				'title' => $header,
-				'$contacts' => $entries,
-				'$paginate' => $pager->renderFull($j->total),
-			]);
-		} else {
-			info(L10n::t('No matches') . EOL);
-		}
-
-	}
-
-	return $o;
-}
diff --git a/mod/search.php b/mod/search.php
index 1416f1d89..4144e2608 100644
--- a/mod/search.php
+++ b/mod/search.php
@@ -12,13 +12,11 @@ use Friendica\Core\Config;
 use Friendica\Core\L10n;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Core\Renderer;
-use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Item;
+use Friendica\Module\BaseSearchModule;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
-require_once 'mod/dirfind.php';
-
 function search_saved_searches() {
 
 	$o = '';
@@ -150,10 +148,10 @@ function search_content(App $a) {
 		$search = substr($search,1);
 	}
 	if (strpos($search,'@') === 0) {
-		return dirfind_content($a);
+		return BaseSearchModule::performSearch();
 	}
 	if (strpos($search,'!') === 0) {
-		return dirfind_content($a);
+		return BaseSearchModule::performSearch();
 	}
 
 	if (!empty($_GET['search-option']))
@@ -164,11 +162,9 @@ function search_content(App $a) {
 				$tag = true;
 				break;
 			case 'contacts':
-				return dirfind_content($a, "@");
-				break;
+				return BaseSearchModule::performSearch('@');
 			case 'forums':
-				return dirfind_content($a, "!");
-				break;
+				return BaseSearchModule::performSearch('!');
 		}
 
 	if (!$search)
diff --git a/src/App/Router.php b/src/App/Router.php
index f7d2a2640..be81c143d 100644
--- a/src/App/Router.php
+++ b/src/App/Router.php
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ class Router
 			$collector->addRoute(['GET'], '/ignored',                            Module\Contact::class);
 		});
 		$this->routeCollector->addRoute(['GET'],         '/credits',             Module\Credits::class);
+		$this->routeCollector->addRoute(['GET'],         '/dirfind',             Module\Search\Directory::class);
 		$this->routeCollector->addRoute(['GET'],         '/directory',           Module\Directory::class);
 		$this->routeCollector->addGroup('/feed', function (RouteCollector $collector) {
 			$collector->addRoute(['GET'], '/{nickname}',                         Module\Feed::class);
diff --git a/src/Core/Search.php b/src/Core/Search.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bd4a81a5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Core/Search.php
@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Friendica\Core;
+
+use Friendica\BaseObject;
+use Friendica\Database\DBA;
+use Friendica\Model\Contact;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPException;
+use Friendica\Network\Probe;
+use Friendica\Object\Search\ContactResult;
+use Friendica\Object\Search\ResultList;
+use Friendica\Protocol\PortableContact;
+use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Util\Strings;
+
+/**
+ * Specific class to perform searches for different systems. Currently:
+ * - Probe for contacts
+ * - Search in the local directory
+ * - Search in the global directory
+ */
+class Search extends BaseObject
+{
+	const DEFAULT_DIRECTORY = 'https://dir.friendica.social';
+
+	const TYPE_PEOPLE = 0;
+	const TYPE_FORUM  = 1;
+	const TYPE_ALL    = 2;
+
+	/**
+	 * Search a user based on his/her profile address
+	 * pattern: @username@domain.tld
+	 *
+	 * @param string $user The user to search for
+	 *
+	 * @return ResultList|null
+	 * @throws HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 * @throws \ImagickException
+	 */
+	public static function getContactsFromProbe($user)
+	{
+		if ((filter_var($user, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL) && Network::isEmailDomainValid($user)) ||
+		    (substr(Strings::normaliseLink($user), 0, 7) == "http://")) {
+
+			$user_data = Probe::uri($user);
+			if (empty($user_data)) {
+				return null;
+			}
+
+			if (!(in_array($user_data["network"], [Protocol::ACTIVITYPUB, Protocol::DFRN, Protocol::OSTATUS, Protocol::DIASPORA]))) {
+				return null;
+			}
+
+			$contactDetails = Contact::getDetailsByURL(defaults($user_data, 'url', ''), local_user());
+			$itemUrl        = defaults($contactDetails, 'addr', defaults($user_data, 'url', ''));
+
+			$result = new ContactResult(
+				defaults($user_data, 'name', ''),
+				defaults($user_data, 'addr', ''),
+				$itemUrl,
+				defaults($user_data, 'url', ''),
+				defaults($user_data, 'photo', ''),
+				defaults($user_data, 'network', ''),
+				defaults($contactDetails, 'cid', 0),
+				0,
+				defaults($user_data, 'tags', '')
+			);
+
+			return new ResultList(1, 1, 1, [$result]);
+
+		} else {
+			return null;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Search in the global directory for occurrences of the search string
+	 *
+	 * @see https://github.com/friendica/friendica-directory/blob/master/docs/Protocol.md#search
+	 *
+	 * @param string $search
+	 * @param int    $type specific type of searching
+	 * @param int    $page
+	 *
+	 * @return ResultList|null
+	 * @throws HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 */
+	public static function getContactsFromGlobalDirectory($search, $type = self::TYPE_ALL, $page = 1)
+	{
+		$config = self::getApp()->getConfig();
+		$server = $config->get('system', 'directory', self::DEFAULT_DIRECTORY);
+
+		$searchUrl = $server . '/search';
+
+		switch ($type) {
+			case self::TYPE_FORUM:
+				$searchUrl .= '/forum';
+				break;
+			case self::TYPE_PEOPLE:
+				$searchUrl .= '/people';
+				break;
+		}
+		$searchUrl .= '?q=' . urlencode($search);
+
+		if ($page > 1) {
+			$searchUrl .= '&page=' . $page;
+		}
+
+		$red        = 0;
+		$resultJson = Network::fetchUrl($searchUrl, false, $red, 0, 'application/json');
+
+		$results = json_decode($resultJson, true);
+
+		$resultList = new ResultList(
+			defaults($results, 'page', 1),
+			defaults($results, 'count', 1),
+			defaults($results, 'itemsperpage', 1)
+		);
+
+		$profiles = defaults($results, 'profiles', []);
+
+		foreach ($profiles as $profile) {
+			$contactDetails = Contact::getDetailsByURL(defaults($profile, 'profile_url', ''), local_user());
+			$itemUrl        = defaults($contactDetails, 'addr', defaults($profile, 'profile_url', ''));
+
+			$result = new ContactResult(
+				defaults($profile, 'name', ''),
+				defaults($profile, 'addr', ''),
+				$itemUrl,
+				defaults($profile, 'profile_url', ''),
+				defaults($profile, 'photo', ''),
+				Protocol::DFRN,
+				defaults($contactDetails, 'cid', 0),
+				0,
+				defaults($profile, 'tags', ''));
+
+			$resultList->addResult($result);
+		}
+
+		return $resultList;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Search in the local database for occurrences of the search string
+	 *
+	 * @param string $search
+	 * @param int    $type
+	 * @param int    $start
+	 * @param int    $itemPage
+	 *
+	 * @return ResultList|null
+	 * @throws HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 */
+	public static function getContactsFromLocalDirectory($search, $type = self::TYPE_ALL, $start = 0, $itemPage = 80)
+	{
+		$config = self::getApp()->getConfig();
+
+		$diaspora = $config->get('system', 'diaspora_enabled') ? Protocol::DIASPORA : Protocol::DFRN;
+		$ostatus  = !$config->get('system', 'ostatus_disabled') ? Protocol::OSTATUS : Protocol::DFRN;
+
+		$wildcard = Strings::escapeHtml('%' . $search . '%');
+
+		$count = DBA::count('gcontact', [
+			'NOT `hide`
+			AND `network` IN (?, ?, ?, ?)
+			AND ((`last_contact` >= `last_failure`) OR (`updated` >= `last_failure`))
+			AND (`url` LIKE ? OR `name` LIKE ? OR `location` LIKE ? 
+				OR `addr` LIKE ? OR `about` LIKE ? OR `keywords` LIKE ?)
+			AND `community` = ?',
+			Protocol::ACTIVITYPUB, Protocol::DFRN, $ostatus, $diaspora,
+			$wildcard, $wildcard, $wildcard,
+			$wildcard, $wildcard, $wildcard,
+			($type === self::TYPE_FORUM),
+		]);
+
+		if (empty($count)) {
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		$data = DBA::select('gcontact', ['nurl'], [
+			'NOT `hide`
+			AND `network` IN (?, ?, ?, ?)
+			AND ((`last_contact` >= `last_failure`) OR (`updated` >= `last_failure`))
+			AND (`url` LIKE ? OR `name` LIKE ? OR `location` LIKE ? 
+				OR `addr` LIKE ? OR `about` LIKE ? OR `keywords` LIKE ?)
+			AND `community` = ?',
+			Protocol::ACTIVITYPUB, Protocol::DFRN, $ostatus, $diaspora,
+			$wildcard, $wildcard, $wildcard,
+			$wildcard, $wildcard, $wildcard,
+			($type === self::TYPE_FORUM),
+		], [
+			'group_by' => ['nurl', 'updated'],
+			'limit'    => [$start, $itemPage],
+			'order'    => ['updated' => 'DESC']
+		]);
+
+		if (!DBA::isResult($data)) {
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		$resultList = new ResultList($start, $itemPage, $count);
+
+		while ($row = DBA::fetch($data)) {
+			if (PortableContact::alternateOStatusUrl($row["nurl"])) {
+				continue;
+			}
+
+			$urlParts = parse_url($row["nurl"]);
+
+			// Ignore results that look strange.
+			// For historic reasons the gcontact table does contain some garbage.
+			if (!empty($urlParts['query']) || !empty($urlParts['fragment'])) {
+				continue;
+			}
+
+			$contact = Contact::getDetailsByURL($row["nurl"], local_user());
+
+			if ($contact["name"] == "") {
+				$contact["name"] = end(explode("/", $urlParts["path"]));
+			}
+
+			$result = new ContactResult(
+				$contact["name"],
+				$contact["addr"],
+				$contact["addr"],
+				$contact["url"],
+				$contact["photo"],
+				$contact["network"],
+				$contact["cid"],
+				$contact["zid"],
+				$contact["keywords"]
+			);
+
+			$resultList->addResult($result);
+		}
+
+		DBA::close($data);
+
+		// Add found profiles from the global directory to the local directory
+		Worker::add(PRIORITY_LOW, 'DiscoverPoCo', "dirsearch", urlencode($search));
+
+		return $resultList;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/Database/DBA.php b/src/Database/DBA.php
index 85bdbbb62..2327e4a7f 100644
--- a/src/Database/DBA.php
+++ b/src/Database/DBA.php
@@ -1507,6 +1507,15 @@ class DBA
 	 */
 	public static function buildParameter(array $params = [])
 	{
+		$groupby_string = '';
+		if (isset($params['group_by'])) {
+			$groupby_string = " GROUP BY ";
+			foreach ($params['group_by'] as $fields) {
+				$groupby_string .= "`" . $fields . "`, ";
+			}
+			$groupby_string = substr($groupby_string, 0, -2);
+		}
+
 		$order_string = '';
 		if (isset($params['order'])) {
 			$order_string = " ORDER BY ";
@@ -1531,7 +1540,7 @@ class DBA
 			$limit_string = " LIMIT " . intval($params['limit'][0]) . ", " . intval($params['limit'][1]);
 		}
 
-		return $order_string.$limit_string;
+		return $groupby_string . $order_string . $limit_string;
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/src/Module/BaseSearchModule.php b/src/Module/BaseSearchModule.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..226a4da4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Module/BaseSearchModule.php
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Friendica\Module;
+
+use Friendica\BaseModule;
+use Friendica\Content\ContactSelector;
+use Friendica\Content\Pager;
+use Friendica\Core\L10n;
+use Friendica\Core\Renderer;
+use Friendica\Core\Search;
+use Friendica\Model;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPException;
+use Friendica\Object\Search\ContactResult;
+use Friendica\Object\Search\ResultList;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
+use Friendica\Util\Strings;
+
+/**
+ * Base class for search modules
+ */
+class BaseSearchModule extends BaseModule
+{
+	/**
+	 * Performs a search with an optional prefix
+	 *
+	 * @param string $prefix A optional prefix (e.g. @ or !) for searching
+	 *
+	 * @return string
+	 * @throws HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 * @throws \ImagickException
+	 */
+	public static function performSearch($prefix = '')
+	{
+		$a      = self::getApp();
+		$config = $a->getConfig();
+
+		$type = Search::TYPE_ALL;
+
+		$localSearch = $config->get('system', 'poco_local_search');
+
+		$search = $prefix . Strings::escapeTags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'search', '')));
+
+		if (!$search) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		$header = '';
+
+		if (strpos($search, '@') === 0) {
+			$search  = substr($search, 1);
+			$type    = Search::TYPE_PEOPLE;
+			$header  = L10n::t('People Search - %s', $search);
+			$results = Search::getContactsFromProbe($search);
+		}
+
+		if (strpos($search, '!') === 0) {
+			$search = substr($search, 1);
+			$type   = Search::TYPE_FORUM;
+			$header = L10n::t('Forum Search - %s', $search);
+		}
+
+		$pager = new Pager($a->query_string);
+
+		if ($localSearch && empty($results)) {
+			$pager->setItemsPerPage(80);
+			$results = Search::getContactsFromLocalDirectory($search, $type, $pager->getStart(), $pager->getItemsPerPage());
+
+		} elseif (strlen($config->get('system', 'directory')) && empty($results)) {
+			$results = Search::getContactsFromGlobalDirectory($search, $type, $pager->getPage());
+			$pager->setItemsPerPage($results->getItemsPage());
+		}
+
+		return self::printResult($results, $pager, $header);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Prints a human readable search result
+	 *
+	 * @param ResultList $results
+	 * @param Pager      $pager
+	 * @param string     $header
+	 *
+	 * @return string The result
+	 * @throws HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 * @throws \ImagickException
+	 */
+	protected static function printResult(ResultList $results, Pager $pager, $header = '')
+	{
+		if (empty($results) || empty($results->getResults())) {
+			info(L10n::t('No matches') . EOL);
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		$a = self::getApp();
+
+		$id      = 0;
+		$entries = [];
+		foreach ($results->getResults() as $result) {
+
+			// in case the result is a contact result, add a contact-specific entry
+			if ($result instanceof ContactResult) {
+
+				$alt_text    = '';
+				$location    = '';
+				$about       = '';
+				$accountType = '';
+				$photo_menu  = [];
+
+				// If We already know this contact then don't show the "connect" button
+				if ($result->getCid() > 0 || $result->getPCid() > 0) {
+					$connLink = "";
+					$connTxt  = "";
+					$contact  = Model\Contact::getById(
+						($result->getCid() > 0) ? $result->getCid() : $result->getPCid()
+					);
+
+					if (!empty($contact)) {
+						$photo_menu  = Model\Contact::photoMenu($contact);
+						$details     = Contact::getContactTemplateVars($contact);
+						$alt_text    = $details['alt_text'];
+						$location    = $contact['location'];
+						$about       = $contact['about'];
+						$accountType = Model\Contact::getAccountType($contact);
+					} else {
+						$photo_menu = [];
+					}
+				} else {
+					$connLink = $a->getBaseURL() . '/follow/?url=' . $result->getUrl();
+					$connTxt  = L10n::t('Connect');
+
+					$photo_menu['profile'] = [L10n::t("View Profile"), Model\Contact::magicLink($result->getUrl())];
+					$photo_menu['follow']  = [L10n::t("Connect/Follow"), $connLink];
+				}
+
+				$photo = str_replace("http:///photo/", get_server() . "/photo/", $result->getPhoto());
+
+				$entry     = [
+					'alt_text'     => $alt_text,
+					'url'          => Model\Contact::magicLink($result->getUrl()),
+					'itemurl'      => $result->getItem(),
+					'name'         => $result->getName(),
+					'thumb'        => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($photo, false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
+					'img_hover'    => $result->getTags(),
+					'conntxt'      => $connTxt,
+					'connlnk'      => $connLink,
+					'photo_menu'   => $photo_menu,
+					'details'      => $location,
+					'tags'         => $result->getTags(),
+					'about'        => $about,
+					'account_type' => $accountType,
+					'network'      => ContactSelector::networkToName($result->getNetwork(), $result->getUrl()),
+					'id'           => ++$id,
+				];
+				$entries[] = $entry;
+			}
+		}
+
+		$tpl = Renderer::getMarkupTemplate('viewcontact_template.tpl');
+		return Renderer::replaceMacros($tpl, [
+			'title'     => $header,
+			'$contacts' => $entries,
+			'$paginate' => $pager->renderFull($results->getTotal()),
+		]);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/Module/Search/Directory.php b/src/Module/Search/Directory.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..76ada50d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Module/Search/Directory.php
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Friendica\Module\Search;
+
+use Friendica\Content\Widget;
+use Friendica\Core\L10n;
+use Friendica\Module\BaseSearchModule;
+
+/**
+ * Directory search module
+ */
+class Directory extends BaseSearchModule
+{
+	public static function content()
+	{
+		if (!local_user()) {
+			notice(L10n::t('Permission denied.'));
+			return Login::form();
+		}
+
+		$a = self::getApp();
+
+		if (empty($a->page['aside'])) {
+			$a->page['aside'] = '';
+		}
+
+		$a->page['aside'] .= Widget::findPeople();
+		$a->page['aside'] .= Widget::follow();
+
+		return self::performSearch();
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/Object/Search/ContactResult.php b/src/Object/Search/ContactResult.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ccfb5f4cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Object/Search/ContactResult.php
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Friendica\Object\Search;
+
+use Friendica\Model\Search;
+
+/**
+ * A search result for contact searching
+ *
+ * @see Search for details
+ */
+class ContactResult implements IResult
+{
+	/**
+	 * @var int
+	 */
+	private $cid;
+	/**
+	 * @var int
+	 */
+	private $pCid;
+	/**
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private $name;
+	/**
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private $addr;
+	/**
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private $item;
+	/**
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private $url;
+	/**
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private $photo;
+	/**
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private $tags;
+	/**
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private $network;
+
+	/**
+	 * @return int
+	 */
+	public function getCid()
+	{
+		return $this->cid;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return int
+	 */
+	public function getPCid()
+	{
+		return $this->pCid;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public function getName()
+	{
+		return $this->name;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public function getAddr()
+	{
+		return $this->addr;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public function getItem()
+	{
+		return $this->item;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public function getUrl()
+	{
+		return $this->url;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public function getPhoto()
+	{
+		return $this->photo;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public function getTags()
+	{
+		return $this->tags;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public function getNetwork()
+	{
+		return $this->network;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @param string $name
+	 * @param string $addr
+	 * @param string $item
+	 * @param string $url
+	 * @param string $photo
+	 * @param string $network
+	 * @param int    $cid
+	 * @param int    $pCid
+	 * @param string $tags
+	 */
+	public function __construct($name, $addr, $item, $url, $photo, $network, $cid = 0, $pCid = 0, $tags = '')
+	{
+		$this->name    = $name;
+		$this->addr    = $addr;
+		$this->item    = $item;
+		$this->url     = $url;
+		$this->photo   = $photo;
+		$this->network = $network;
+
+		$this->cid  = $cid;
+		$this->pCid = $pCid;
+		$this->tags = $tags;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/Object/Search/IResult.php b/src/Object/Search/IResult.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..64fb71c85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Object/Search/IResult.php
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Friendica\Object\Search;
+
+/**
+ * The default interface for each search result
+ */
+interface IResult
+{
+
+}
diff --git a/src/Object/Search/ResultList.php b/src/Object/Search/ResultList.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ec9c27687
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Object/Search/ResultList.php
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Friendica\Object\Search;
+
+use Friendica\Model\Search;
+
+/**
+ * A list of search results with metadata
+ *
+ * @see Search for details
+ */
+class ResultList
+{
+	/**
+	 * Page of the result list
+	 * @var int
+	 */
+	private $page;
+	/**
+	 * Total count of results
+	 * @var int
+	 */
+	private $total;
+	/**
+	 * items per page
+	 * @var int
+	 */
+	private $itemsPage;
+	/**
+	 * Array of results
+	 *
+	 * @var IResult[]
+	 */
+	private $results;
+
+	/**
+	 * @return int
+	 */
+	public function getPage()
+	{
+		return $this->page;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return int
+	 */
+	public function getTotal()
+	{
+		return $this->total;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return int
+	 */
+	public function getItemsPage()
+	{
+		return $this->itemsPage;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return IResult[]
+	 */
+	public function getResults()
+	{
+		return $this->results;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @param int             $page
+	 * @param int             $total
+	 * @param int             $itemsPage
+	 * @param IResult[] $results
+	 */
+	public function __construct($page = 0, $total = 0, $itemsPage = 0, array $results = [])
+	{
+		$this->page      = $page;
+		$this->total     = $total;
+		$this->itemsPage = $itemsPage;
+
+		$this->results = $results;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Adds a result to the result list
+	 *
+	 * @param IResult $result
+	 */
+	public function addResult(IResult $result)
+	{
+		$this->results[] = $result;
+	}
+}