Google Hacks, 2nd Edition

Gmail Search Syntax

Gmail offers a rich search syntax for routing through your email message archive—as if you’d expect, or indeed stand for, any less.

from:

Digs through the headers of your email message archive in search of mail sent by someone matching the keyword that you provide.

from:[e-mail]

to:

The yang to from:’s yin, to: finds all messages sent to someone matching a provided keyword. (Don’t forget plus-addressing Hack #72 .)

to:[e-mail]
to:[e-mail]

subject:

Matches messages with a particular subject.

subject:"meeting notes"

label:

Looks for messages with a particular label applied.

label:knitting

has:attachment

The has: syntax has only one possible value (at least at the time of this writing): attachment. has:attachment in a query returns only messages having one or more attachments.

has:attachment

filename:

Finds messages with an attachment filename matching a provided pattern. Used with just a file extension (e.g., pdf or txt), filename: turns up all messages with attachments of a particular type.

filename:meeting_notes.txt
filename:pdf

in:

Returns a list of messages in a particular collection (read: folder). Acceptable values for in: are inbox, trash, spam, and anywhere (trash and spam are not included in searches unless explicitly included using in:trash, in:spam, or in:anywhere). Oddly enough, sent isn’t a usable value for in:.

in:inbox
in:anywhere

is:

Acceptable values for is: are starred, unread, and read, which return starred, unread, ...