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Gmail search operators

Gmail search operators: the full list

Every operator Gmail’s search understands, from Google’s own help, with an example of each. Then the searches worth keeping, and which of them Dodosend runs too.

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Free for one Gmail mailbox, on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

How a search is put together

An operator is a word with a colon, like from: or after:, followed by what to look for. Here is what Gmail’s help says about using them.

Combine them

Put operators side by side and a mail has to match all of them: from:amy has:attachment finds Amy’s mail with files in it.

Mind the numbers

A space or a dash separates one number from the next, and a dot is a decimal point.

Excluding isn’t airtight

With a minus, conversations can still show up where only some of the messages match what you left out.

Turn a search into a filter

Once a search finds the right mail, you can use its results to set up a filter for mail like it.

Every Gmail search operator

Google’s list, grouped by what you’re looking for. The last column says whether the same search works in Dodosend.

People

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
from:Mail from a senderfrom:amyYesBy name or address; from:me is you
to:Mail sent to someoneto:davidPartlyBy address, not by name
cc:bcc:Mail where someone was copiedcc:david
bcc:david		Partlycc: by address; no bcc:
deliveredto:Mail delivered to an addressdeliveredto:username@example.comNo
list:Mail from a mailing listlist:info@example.comNo

Words and phrases

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
subject:Words in the subject linesubject:dinnerYes
" "An exact phrase"dinner and movie tonight"Yes
+A word exactly as typed+unicornNoA word also finds the longer words it starts
AROUNDTwo words near each otherholiday AROUND 10 vacation
"secret AROUND 25 birthday"		No

Dates

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
after:before:older:newer:Mail from after, or before, a dayafter:2004/04/16
before:04/18/2004		Partlyafter: and before:, year first (2004/04/16)
newer_than:older_than:Mail newer or older than a time, in days (d), months (m) or years (y)newer_than:2d
older_than:1y		Yes

Where it is

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
in:anywhereMail anywhere, Spam and Trash includedin:anywhere movieYesAnd in:inbox, in:sent, in:drafts, in:spam, in:trash
in:archiveArchived mailin:archive payment reminderNo
in:snoozedSnoozed mailin:snoozed birthday reminderNo

Status and stars

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
is:Mail that’s important, starred, unread or readis:important
is:starred
is:unread
is:read		Partlyis:starred, is:unread and is:read
is:mutedMuted conversationsis:muted subject:team celebrationNo
has:yellow-starMail with one kind of star. The others: orange-star, red-star, purple-star, blue-star, green-star, red-bang, orange-guillemet, yellow-bang, green-check, blue-info and purple-questionhas:yellow-star
has:purple-question		Nois:starred finds any star

Labels and categories

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
label:Mail with a labellabel:friends
label:important		PartlyPick the label from the search box’s suggestions
category:Mail in one of the inbox’s categoriescategory:primary
category:social
category:promotions		Partlyprimary, social, promotions, updates and forums
has:userlabelshas:nouserlabelsMail with, or without, a label you madehas:userlabels
has:nouserlabels		No
label:encryptedmailMail sent with client-side encryptionlabel:encryptedmailNo

Attachments and size

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
has:attachmentMail with an attachmenthas:attachmentYes
filename:Attachments by name or kind of filefilename:pdf
filename:homework.txt		Yes
has:drivehas:documenthas:spreadsheethas:presentationhas:youtubeMail with a Drive file, a Doc, a Sheet, a Slides deck or a YouTube videohas:youtubeNo
size:larger:smaller:Mail larger or smaller than a size, in bytes, or with M for megabytessize:1000000
larger:10M		No

Combining

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
OR{ }Mail that matches any of several thingsfrom:amy OR from:david
{from:amy from:david}		PartlyOR, and { } after an operator: from:{amy david}
ANDMail that matches all of themfrom:amy AND to:davidNoLeave it out: every term has to match anyway
-Mail without a word, or not matching an operatordinner -movieYes
( )Words that go together, like several in one subjectsubject:(dinner movie)Yes

Headers

OperatorFindsExampleIn Dodosend
rfc822msgid:One message, by its Message-ID headerrfc822msgid:200503292@example.comNo
header:Mail with a given headerheader:X-Google-Calendar-Notification:rsvpWithNoteNo

Searches worth keeping

Made of the operators above and nothing else, so they work in Gmail as they are. Swap in your own names and dates.

  • Big attachments, to free up space

    has:attachment larger:10M

    Gmail only. Dodosend has no size search.

  • Unread mail from one person, this week

    is:unread from:amy newer_than:7d

    Works in Dodosend as it is.

  • Old promotions, to clear out

    category:promotions older_than:1y

    Works in Dodosend as it is.

  • Invoices sent as PDFs

    filename:pdf subject:invoice

    Works in Dodosend as it is.

  • One trip, Spam and Trash included

    in:anywhere "flight confirmation" after:2026/01/01

    Works in Dodosend as it is.

  • Two people, without their newsletters

    from:{amy david} -category:promotions

    Works in Dodosend as it is.

Search in Dodosend

Dodosend runs a search of operators and words on the copy of your mail it keeps on your computer, so it doesn’t wait on Gmail. Type the operators you know, or let the search box build them for you.

  • Chips you can read

    Pick a sender, a date, a folder or a label and each one becomes a chip. The chips are the whole search, so you see exactly what it looks for.

  • Keep it as a tab

    Every search opens as a tab of its own. Press ⌘S, or Ctrl+S, give it a name, and it stays next to the Inbox.

  • Or describe it

    Press Tab in the search box and say what you remember about the mail. Dodosend lists the closest mail, even when it says it in other words than yours. Voyage AI makes embeddings for fast semantic search; the text of each mail is processed once, and not kept.

Dodosend’s search box open over the Inbox, on sample mail: chips to search by sender, recipient, date, folder, unread, starred, attachment or sent by me, and Describe it on Tab.
The search box, with the chips a search is built from.

Try a search on sample mail

Open the search, pick “Unread”, and keep it as a tab with ⌘S. Nothing here touches a real mailbox.

Interactive demo. A hands-on look at how it works: use your keyboard or mouse, and the guide shows you what to do. The mail is made up.

Dodosend

Inbox

3 unread
Maya Chen3
Q3 roadmap reviewI pulled together the open questions from last week. Could you look at the pricing section before Thursday?
12m
Leo Hoffman
Contract draft v2Attached is the revised draft with your comments folded in. Two clauses still need a look.
48m
Priya Nair
Invitation: Design critWednesday 3:00 – 4:00 PM. Bringing the new onboarding flow and the settings redesign.
1h
GitHub
[northwind/web] Speed up inbox sync (#482)sam-ortiz requested your review on this pull request.
2h
Sofia Álvarez
Offsite: hotel optionsReminderThree options near the venue, all under budget. My vote is the second one: walking distance.
3h
Linear
Your weekly digest12 issues closed, 4 opened. Cycle 18 ends on Friday.
5h
Marcus Webb
Intro: Jamie ↔ AnaAna leads design systems at Fieldnote. You two should compare notes on tokens.
1d
Stripe
Your receipt from Northwind #2291-4410Amount paid $49.00. Thanks for your business.
1d
Figma
Ana commented on Onboarding v3“Love the empty state. Could the illustration be a touch smaller on the second step?”
2d
Dan Okafor
Lunch Friday?New ramen place on 5th. 12:30?
3d
Maya Chen

10 threads

Step 1 of 3

Press / to search your mail.Tap “Show me” to search your mail.

Search every folder at once. Keep a search you use as a tab in the sidebar.

Questions

Why can’t Gmail search find a mail I know is there?

Gmail’s search leaves out Spam and Trash. Add in:anywhere to search those too: in:anywhere movie looks for “movie” in every folder.

How do I search Gmail by date?

Use after: and before: with a day, like after:2004/04/16 before:2004/04/18, for the mail between them. For a time counted back from today, use newer_than: or older_than: with days, months or years: newer_than:2d, older_than:1y.

How do I leave a word out of a Gmail search?

Put a minus in front of it, with no space: dinner -movie finds mail about dinner that doesn’t mention a movie. The minus works in front of an operator too, as in -category:promotions.

Can I save a search in Gmail?

Gmail’s help points to filters: after a search, you can use its results to set up a filter for mail like it. In Dodosend, any search can stay as a tab of its own, next to the Inbox: press ⌘S, or Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux, and name it.

Do Gmail’s search operators work in Dodosend?

The ones people use most do: from:, to:, cc:, subject:, after:, before:, newer_than:, older_than:, has:attachment, filename:, category:, in:, is:unread, is:read, is:starred, quotes, OR, braces, parentheses and the minus. The table above marks each one. Anything Dodosend doesn’t know as an operator is searched as plain words, so nothing you type is dropped.

More Gmail guides

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Search your own mail this way

The same operators, on your real inbox, with any search kept as a tab. Free for one Gmail mailbox.

Get the desktop appDownload

Free for one Gmail mailbox, on macOS, Windows, and Linux.