# Searching for messages Zulip has a powerful search engine under its hood. Search for messages using the search bar at the top of the app. ## Example * `stream:design has:link -is:starred new logo` Searches for messages in `#design` that have a link, that you haven't starred, and that contain the words `new` and `logo`. The permalink for that search (web only) will look something like this: `https://your-zulip-url/#narrow/stream/123-design/has/link/-is/starred/search/new.20logo`. ## List of operators As you start typing, Zulip will suggest possible operator completions. Operators can be used with keywords, or on their own. For example, * `stream:design logo` will search for the word `logo` within `#design` * `stream:design` will navigate to `#design` Here is the **full list of search operators**. * `stream:design`: Search within the stream `#design`. * `stream:design topic:emoji+picker`: Search within the topic `emoji picker`. * `is:private`: Search all your private messages. * `pm-with:ada@zulip.com`: Search 1-on-1 private messages between you and Ada. * `sender:ada@zulip.com`: Search messages sent by Ada. * `sender:me`: Search sent messages. * `near:12345`: Show messages around the message with ID `12345`. * `id:12345`: Show only message `12345`. * `streams:public`: Search the history of all [public streams](/help/change-the-privacy-of-a-stream) in the organization. * `is:alerted`: See [alert words](/help/pm-mention-alert-notifications#alert-words). * `is:mentioned`: See [mentions](/help/mention-a-user-or-group). * `is:starred`: See [starred messages](/help/star-a-message). * `is:resolved`: Search messages in [resolved topics](/help/resolve-a-topic). * `-is:resolved`: Search messages in [unresolved topics](/help/resolve-a-topic). * `is:unread` * `has:link` * `has:image` * `has:attachment` * `pm-with:ada@zulip.com,bob@zulip.com`: Search private message conversation between you, Bob, and Ada. * `group-pm-with:ada@zulip.com,bob@zulip.com`: Search all group private messages that include Ada and Bob. ### Excluding messages Zulip's search operators can be negated, to exclude messages matching the rule. For example, `stream:design -is:resolved -has:image` will match all messages that don't contain an image and were sent to unresolved topics in the `#design` stream. ## Searching shared history Zulip's [stream permissions](/help/stream-permissions) model allows access to the full history of public streams and [private streams with shared history](/help/stream-permissions), including messages sent before you joined the stream (or organization) or those sent to public streams you are not subscribed to. By default, Zulip searches messages in your history, i.e. the messages you actually received. This avoids cluttering search results with irrelevant messages from public streams you're not interested in. If you'd like to instead search the organization's shared history, any query using the `stream:` or `streams:` operators will search all messages that you have access to in the selected stream(s). For example: * `streams:public keyword` searches for `keyword` in all public streams in the organization. * `streams:public sender:user@example.com` searches for all messages sent by the user to any public stream. ## Words and phrases Most searches consist of a list of operators followed by a list of keywords. * `new logo`: Search for messages with both `new` and `logo`. * `"new logo"`: Search for messages with the phrase `"new logo"`. Zulip does some basic stemming, so `wave` will match `waves` and `waving`. Keywords are case-insensitive, so `wave` will also match `Wave`. Emoji are included in searches, so if you search for `octopus` it will include messages with octopus. Note that Zulip ignores common words like `a`, `the`, and about 100 others. A quirk in Zulip's current implementation means that if all of your keywords are ignored, we'll return 0 search results. ## Related articles * [Configure multi-language search](/help/configure-multi-language-search)