Search syntax

Every word, operator and filter you can type in workspace search, the values each filter takes, and the problem messages search shows.

This page lists what you can type in the workspace search box. To learn how to use search, see Search your workspace.

Words and operators

You type	It means
`invoice`	A word with no filter. It is free text: it matches the places listed under Free text.
`"quarterly report"`	A phrase in quotes. It matches those words together, in that order. Case does not matter.
`invoice march`	A space means AND. Results must match both.
`invoice AND march`	The same as a space.
`invoice OR receipt`	Results may match either one.
`NOT draft` or `-draft`	Leaves out results that match.
`(invoice OR receipt) march`	Parentheses group parts of a search. You can nest them at most 5 levels deep.

Filters are a key, a colon and a value, such as from:sam. Keys are not case-sensitive.
Values with a fixed list of choices must match one choice exactly. Case does not matter. For example, is:read never matches unread mail.
Comparisons (>, >=, <, <=) work only on dates and sizes, for example size:>10mb or modified:<2026-01-01.
A search is one line, up to 500 characters. Line breaks you paste become spaces.
A filter that does not apply to a kind of result leaves that kind out. For example, from:sam searches only mail, because events, files and the rest have no sender.

Free text

A word with no filter matches different things for each kind of result.

Kind	Free text matches
Mail	The subject, preview, sender and recipients, using your mail provider’s own search
Events	The title, description, location, guests and organizer
Files	The file or folder name. On Google Drive, also the text inside files.
Chats	The title, and the message text of your 40 most recent chats
Everything else	The name or email address

Filters

Filter	What it matches	Applies to
`type:`	One kind of result. See Types.	Everything
`after:`	On or after a date	Mail, events, files, chats, members, workflows, workflow runs, subscriptions
`before:`	Before a date	The same as `after:`
`on:`	During one day, month or year	The same as `after:`
`mailbox:`	One mailbox, by its short name in the page address or its email address	Mail, mail folders, labels, mailboxes
`calendar:`	One calendar account	Events, calendars
`drive:`	One drive	Files, drives
`from:`	Sent by	Mail, subscriptions
`to:`	Sent to	Mail
`cc:`	Copied to	Mail
`subject:`	Words in the subject line	Mail
`filename:`	The name of an attached file	Mail
`has:attachment`	Mail with an attachment	Mail
`mail-folder:`	One mail folder: `inbox`, `sent`, `drafts`, `starred`, `trash`, `archive` or `spam`	Mail
`label:`	Mail with a label	Mail
`attendee:`	An invited guest	Events
`organizer:`	The person who organized it	Events
`location:`	Where it happens	Events
`title:`	The title	Events, chats
`sub-calendar:`	One calendar inside a calendar account, by its name	Events, calendars
`name:`	The name	Files, members, contacts, workflows, mailboxes, calendars, drives, mail folders, labels, subscriptions
`ext:`	The file extension, such as `pdf`	Files
`kind:`	The kind of file. See File kinds.	Files
`size:`	The file size. See Sizes.	Files
`modified:`	When the file last changed. `modified:2026-01` means during that month. Add `>` or `<` to compare, as in `modified:>2026-01-01`.	Files
`drive-folder:`	The name of the folder the file is in. It matches the folder’s name, not a path.	Files
`email:`	The email address	Members, contacts, connections
`role:`	The workspace role: `owner`, `admin` or `member`	Members
`workflow:`	The name of the workflow a run belongs to	Workflow runs
`status:`	The run’s status: `pending`, `running`, `completed`, `partial`, `failed`, `blocked` or `cancelled`	Workflow runs
`provider:`	The provider. See Providers.	Mailboxes, calendars, drives, connections
`is:`	A state. See States.	Mail, events, files, members, workflows, connections

The keys in: and folder: do not exist. Search marks them and shows “Use mail-folder: or drive-folder:”.

Types

type: takes one of these values.

Value	Finds
`mail`	Email messages
`event`	Calendar events
`file`	Files and folders in your drives
`chat`	Your own Workspace AI chats
`member`	Members of the workspace, and pending invites if you are an owner or admin
`contact`	People from your recent sent and received mail
`workflow`	Workflows
`run`	Workflow runs
`mailbox`	The workspace’s mailboxes
`calendar`	The workspace’s calendar accounts and the calendars inside them
`drive`	The workspace’s drives
`mail-folder`	The folders of each mailbox
`label`	Mail labels
`connection`	Your own connected accounts that this workspace uses
`subscription`	Senders you get regular mail from, such as newsletters. They appear only when you type `type:subscription`.
`command`	Commands, such as Compose mail
`setting`	Settings pages
`workspace`	Your other workspaces

States

is: takes these values. Each one applies to one kind of result.

Kind	Values
Mail	`unread`, `read`, `starred`, `scheduled`, `snoozed`, `readlater`, `muted`
Events	`accepted`, `declined`, `tentative` (your answer)
Files	`pinned`
Members	`invited` (pending invites)
Workflows	`enabled`, `disabled`
Connections	`quarantined` (the account needs reconnecting)

File kinds

kind: takes folder, file, image, pdf, document, spreadsheet, presentation, video, audio, archive or text.

Providers

provider: takes google, microsoft, zoho, imap, caldav, cloudflare, resend, s3, webdav, ftp or sftp.

Dates

after:, before:, on: and modified: take a date.

Value	Means
`today`, `yesterday`, `tomorrow`	That day
`7d`, `2w`, `3m`, `1y`	That many days, weeks, months or years ago
`2026-01-31`	One day
`2026-01`	One month
`2026`	One year

after: means on or after the start of that day, month or year. after:7d means the last 7 days.
before: means before the start of that day, month or year.
on: means during that day, month or year. With a relative value such as on:7d, it means that one day.
For a range, use both: after:2026-01-01 before:2026-02-01.
Dates use your own time zone.

What the date is depends on the kind of result:

Kind	The date search uses
Mail	When it was sent or received
Events	When the event starts
Files	When the file last changed
Chats	When the chat was last updated
Members	When they joined, or when they were invited
Workflows	When the workflow last changed
Workflow runs	When the run started
Subscriptions	When the latest message arrived

Sizes

size: takes a number and a unit: b, kb, mb, gb or tb. Each unit is 1024 times the one before.

You type	Finds files
`size:5mb`	Of at least 5 MB
`size:>10mb`	Larger than 10 MB
`size:<100kb`	Smaller than 100 KB

Problem messages

When part of a search cannot be used, search underlines it with a wavy red line and shows the first problem in red under the box. In these messages, key stands for the key you typed.

Message	What to do
“This part of the search can’t be read”	Check the underlined part for a stray character or a missing value.
“Finish the search: close every quote and parenthesis.”	Add the closing `"` or `)`.
“Use mail-folder: or drive-folder:”	Replace `in:` or `folder:` with `mail-folder:` or `drive-folder:`.
“There is no key: filter”	Check the spelling, or pick a key from the suggestions.
“Add a value after key:”	Type a value after the colon.
“key: does not compare with < or >”	Remove the `<` or `>`. Only dates and sizes compare.
“key: does not take a range”	Remove the range. For dates, use `after:` and `before:`.
“key: does not take a pattern”	Use a word instead.
“key: takes” and a list of values	Use one of the values listed.
“key: takes a date such as 2026-01-31, today or 7d”	Use one of the date formats.
“key: takes a size such as 5mb or 200kb”	Use one of the size formats.
“Searches are limited to 500 characters”	Make the search shorter.
“Parentheses nest at most 5 levels deep”	Use fewer levels of parentheses.