# Gmail Search Query Examples
This file contains examples of Gmail search queries that you can use with the `search_emails` and `list_emails` tools.
## Basic Search Queries
### By Sender
```
from:john@example.com
from:support@company.com
from:"John Smith"
```
### By Subject
```
subject:invoice
subject:"Meeting Tomorrow"
subject:urgent
```
### By Recipients
```
to:me
to:team@company.com
cc:manager@company.com
```
## Advanced Search Queries
### By Date
```
newer_than:2d # Emails from last 2 days
older_than:1w # Emails older than 1 week
after:2024/1/1 # After January 1, 2024
before:2024/12/31 # Before December 31, 2024
```
### By Content
```
has:attachment # Emails with attachments
filename:pdf # PDFs attached
"important meeting" # Exact phrase
budget OR invoice # Either word
```
### By Labels and Categories
```
label:important
label:work
category:promotions
category:social
is:starred
is:unread
```
### By Size
```
size:5M # Larger than 5MB
smaller:1M # Smaller than 1MB
```
## Complex Combined Queries
### Work-related unread emails
```
from:company.com is:unread label:work
```
### Recent important emails with attachments
```
is:important has:attachment newer_than:1w
```
### Emails from specific domain excluding newsletters
```
from:example.com -label:newsletters
```
### Meeting invitations from last week
```
subject:meeting newer_than:1w has:attachment
```
### All emails from team members
```
from:alice@company.com OR from:bob@company.com OR from:charlie@company.com
```
## Usage Examples with MCP Tools
### List Emails with Query
Ask Claude:
> "List my 5 most recent unread emails from work"
This uses: `list_emails` with query `"from:company.com is:unread"` and maxResults `5`
### Search for Specific Emails
Ask Claude:
> "Search for emails about invoices from the last month"
This uses: `search_emails` with query `"subject:invoice newer_than:1m"`
### Find Emails with Attachments
Ask Claude:
> "Show me emails with PDF attachments from this week"
This uses: `search_emails` with query `"has:attachment filename:pdf newer_than:1w"`
## Tips for Better Searches
1. **Use quotes** for exact phrases: `"project update"`
2. **Combine multiple criteria** with AND (implicit) or OR
3. **Exclude results** with minus sign: `-label:spam`
4. **Use wildcards** with asterisk: `test*` matches "test", "testing", "tests"
5. **Case insensitive** - queries work regardless of case
## Common Search Operators
| Operator | Description | Example |
|----------|-------------|---------|
| `from:` | From specific sender | `from:boss@company.com` |
| `to:` | To specific recipient | `to:team@company.com` |
| `subject:` | Subject contains | `subject:meeting` |
| `has:` | Has attachment/feature | `has:attachment` |
| `is:` | Email status | `is:unread`, `is:starred` |
| `label:` | Gmail label | `label:important` |
| `category:` | Gmail category | `category:primary` |
| `filename:` | Attachment filename | `filename:report.pdf` |
| `size:` | Email size | `size:5M` (larger than 5MB) |
| `newer_than:` | Newer than timeframe | `newer_than:2d` |
| `older_than:` | Older than timeframe | `older_than:1w` |
| `after:` | After specific date | `after:2024/1/1` |
| `before:` | Before specific date | `before:2024/12/31` |
## Time Units
- `d` = days
- `w` = weeks
- `m` = months
- `y` = years
Examples: `1d`, `2w`, `3m`, `1y`
