gmail-query-syntax

Apps & Automation

Reference for Gmail's search query syntax — operators like is:sent, newer_than:, from:, has:attachment, label:, and how they compose. Read this when constructing a Gmail search query string for the google_workspace.gmail_search_messages Code Mode call, especially when filtering by sent vs received, recency, sender, or labels.

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Gmail query syntax primer

These tools live on the google-workspace MCP server, sanitized to google_workspace in Code Mode. In Docker Agent Mode the only MCP tool exposed to Claude Code is execute_code; write TypeScript inside it and call the Gmail tools as dotted callables, e.g. google_workspace.gmail_search_messages({ query: "is:sent", pageSize: 3 }).

gmail_search_messages accepts a query parameter that uses Gmail's standard search operator language — the same syntax the Gmail web UI search box accepts. Operators combine with implicit AND; use OR (uppercase) for disjunction and parentheses for grouping.

Note: gmail_search_messages returns message IDs, thread IDs, and URLs only — not full message contents. To read sender, recipient, subject, date, and body for a matched message, follow up with google_workspace.gmail_get_message (single id) or google_workspace.gmail_get_messages_batch (array of ids).

Common operators

Operator	Meaning	Example
`is:sent`	Messages the user sent (not received)	`is:sent`
`is:unread`	Unread messages	`is:unread`
`is:starred`	Starred messages	`is:starred`
`from:<addr>`	Sender address (substring or full)	`from:alice@example.com`
`to:<addr>`	Recipient address	`to:team@example.com`
`subject:<text>`	Subject contains text	`subject:"weekly update"`
`newer_than:<n>d`	Messages newer than N days (also `h`, `m`, `y`)	`newer_than:7d`
`older_than:<n>d`	Messages older than N (same units)	`older_than:30d`
`after:<date>`	After a date (YYYY/MM/DD)	`after:2025/01/01`
`before:<date>`	Before a date	`before:2025/02/01`
`has:attachment`	Messages with at least one attachment	`has:attachment`
`label:<name>`	Messages with the given Gmail label	`label:invoices`
`in:inbox`	In the inbox (excludes archived)	`in:inbox`
`in:anywhere`	Includes Spam and Trash (rarely needed)	`in:anywhere`

Composing queries

Implicit AND: is:sent newer_than:7d -> sent in the last 7 days.
Explicit OR with grouping: (from:alice OR from:bob) is:unread.
Negation with -: is:sent -label:archived.
Quote multi-word values: subject:"quarterly review".

Tips

Prefer newer_than:Nd over after: when "the last N days" is what you actually want — after: is calendar-anchored and behaves unexpectedly across timezone boundaries.
For "the most recent N sent emails", combine is:sent with the pageSize argument on the dotted call — google_workspace.gmail_search_messages({ query: "is:sent", pageSize: N }) — do not try to express the limit inside the query string. (Pagination tokens come back as pageToken and are passed back in via the same argument name on the next call if you need to walk past the first page.)
The query is case-insensitive for operator names but case-sensitive inside quoted values.