| Operator | Definition | Example(s) |
|---|
| from: | Used to specify the
sender | Example – from:amy
Meaning – Messages from Amy |
|---|
| to: | Used to specify a recipient | Example – to:david Meaning – All messages that were sent to David (by you or someone else) |
|---|
| subject: | Search for words in the subject line | Example – subject:dinner Meaning – Messages that have
the word “dinner” in the subject |
|---|
| OR | Search for messages matching term A or term B*
*OR must be in all
caps | Example – from:amy OR from:david
Meaning – Messages from Amy or from David |
|---|
-
(hyphen) | Used to exclude messages from your search | Example – dinner -movie
Meaning – Messages that contain the word “dinner” but do not contain
the word “movie” |
|---|
| label: | Search
for messages by label*
*There isn’t a search operator for unlabeled messages | Example - from:amy label:friends
Meaning – Messages from Amy that
have the label “friends”Example - from:david label:my-family Meaning – Messages from David that
have the label “My Family” |
|---|
| has:attachment | Search for
messages with an attachment | Example – from:david has:attachment
Meaning – Messages from David that have
an attachment |
|---|
| list: | Search for messages on mailing lists | Example – list:info@example.com Meaning – Messages with the words info@example.com in the headers, sent to or from this list |
|---|
| filename: | Search for an attachment by name or type | Example – filename:physicshomework.txt
Meaning – Messages with an
attachment named “physicshomework.txt” Example –
label:work filename:pdf
Meaning – Messages labeled
“work” that also have a PDF file as an attachment |
|---|
” ”
(quotes) | Used to search for an exact phrase*
*Capitalization isn’t taken into consideration | Example –
“i’m feeling lucky”
Meaning – Messages containing
the phrase “i’m feeling lucky” or “I’m feeling lucky”Example –
subject:”dinner and a movie”
Meaning – Messages containing
the phrase “dinner and a movie” in the subject |
|---|
| ( ) | Used to group words
Used to specify terms that shouldn’t be excluded | Example –
from:amy(dinner OR movie)
Meaning – Messages from Amy
that contain either the word “dinner” or the word “movie”Example –
subject:(dinner movie)
Meaning – Messages in which
the subject contains both the word “dinner” and the word “movie” |
|---|
| in:anywhere | Search for messages anywhere in Gmail*
*Messages in Spamand Trash are excluded from searches
by default | Example – in:anywhere
movie
Meaning – Messages in All Mail,
Spam, and Trash that contain the word “movie” |
|---|
in:inbox
in:trash
in:spam | Search for messages inInbox, Trash, or Spam | Example – in:trash
from:amy
Meaning – Messages from Amy that
are in Trash |
|---|
is:starred
is:unreadis:read | Search for messages that are starred, unread or read | Example –
is:read is:starred from:DavidMeaning – Messages from David that
have been read and are marked with a star |
|---|
cc:
bcc: | Used to specify recipients in the cc: orbcc: fields* *Search on bcc: cannot retrieve messages on which you were blind carbon copied | Example –
cc:david
Meaning – Messages that were cc-ed to David |
|---|
| after: before: | Search for messages sent
during a certain period of time*
*Dates must be in yyyy/mm/dd format. | Example –
after:2004/04/16 before:2004/04/18Meaning – Messages sent between April 16, 2004 and April 18, 2004.*
*More precisely: Messages sent after 12:00 AM (or 00:00) April 16, 2004 and before April 18, 2004. |
|---|
| is:chat | Search for chat messages | Example – is:chat monkey
Meaning – Any chat message including the word “monkey”. |
|---|
| deliveredto: | Search for messages within a particular email address in the Delivered-To line of the message header | Example –
deliveredto:username@gmail.com
Meaning – Any message with username@gmail.com in the Delivered-To: field of the message header (which can help you find messages forwarded from another account or ones sent to an alias). |
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