Search in Slack
As you and your team work together in Slack, you’ll create a searchable archive of conversations and decisions. Watch the video below for a short overview, then continue reading to learn more about search.
Start a search
Desktop
Mobile
- Click on the search field at the top of Slack.
- Below the search field, select the type of results you want: messages, files, people or channels.
- Type what you’re looking for into the search field. To narrow your search, you can include modifiers (read more about modifiers in the section below).
- Select an option from the list, or press Enter to view all results.
Tip: Use split view to open suggested options from the search field while viewing another conversation at the same time.
- Tap the Search tab at the bottom of your screen.
- Tap the search field and type what you’re looking for. To narrow your search, you can include modifiers (read more about modifiers in the section below).
- Tap Search or the magnifying glass on your device’s keyboard.
Narrow your search with modifiers
To narrow the scope of your results, you can add modifiers to your search terms. Refer to the table below for a list of modifiers you can use to search in Slack.
| How to narrow your search | Example |
| Add quotation marks to search a specific phrase | "marketing report" will find results containing the entire phrase |
| Add a dash in front of a specific word to omit results that contain it | marketing -report will find results for marketing that do not contain the word report |
| Add in: and a channel name, teammate(s) name or section name to search within specific conversations | marketing report in:#team-marketing will find results in the #team-marketing channel |
| Add from: in front of a display name to search for information shared by someone specific | marketing report from:@Sara will find results from Sara |
| Add has: in front of an emoji code to search for messages with a specific emoji reaction | marketing report has::eyes: will find results that people reacted to with the eyes emoji (using hasmy::eyes: will find results that you’ve reacted to) |
| Add is:saved or has:pin to search for something you’ve added to your saved items or is pinned to a conversation | marketing report is:saved will find results that you’ve added to your saved items |
| Add before: , after: or on: in front of a date, or during: in front of a month or year | marketing report during:august will find results shared during the month of August |
| Add is:thread to search within threads | marketing report is:thread will find results within threads |
| Add with: in front of a display name to search in threads and direct messages (DMs) with a specific person | marketing report with:@Sarah will find results in threads and DMs with Sarah |
Tip: You can combine multiple modifiers to find information more quickly. For example, marketing report in:#team-marketing from:@Sara will find results for marketing report in the #team-marketing channel from Sara.
Filter and sort your search results
To help you find exactly what you need, you can sort and filter your search results.
Desktop
Mobile
After performing a search:
- Click Messages, Files, Channels or People at the top of the search view to switch between result types.
- Click Sort below the filter menus to choose a sorting option.
- Click on one of the drop-down menus above your search results to choose a filter.
- When searching for messages or files, click More filters to apply additional filtering options.
After performing a search:
- Tap Messages or Files to switch between results.
- Tap Newest in the top right, then choose a sorting option.
Note: When you use Slack on your desktop, you’ll see more filtering options than you will on the mobile apps.
Additional search tips
-
Start a search using keyboard shortcuts
Type ⌘G on a Mac or CtrlG on Windows or Linux. You can also search in a specific conversation by typing ⌘F on a Mac or CtrlF on Windows or Linux from any channel or DM.
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See results that begin with a partial word
Add an asterisk to a partial word with at least three characters to see results that begin with those specific letters. For example, rep* may show results for reply or report.
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Find messages you’ve added a certain emoji reaction to
Click the Reactions drop-down after performing a search, then select a reaction below From you to filter results.
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Customise your search options
Visit our article to learn how to set your search preferences in Slack.