slack-search

Slack Search This skill provides guidance for effectively searching Slack to find messages, files, and information. When to Use Apply this skill whenever you need to find information in Slack — including when a user asks you to locate messages, conversations, files, or people, or when you need to gather context before answering a question about what's happening in Slack. Search Tools Overview Tool Use When slack_search_public Searching public channels only. Does not require user consent. slack_search_public_and_private Searching all channels including private, DMs, and group DMs. Requires user consent. slack_search_channels Finding channels by name or description. slack_search_users Finding people by name, email, or role. Search Strategy Start Broad, Then Narrow Begin with a simple keyword or natural language question. If too many results, add filters ( in: , from: , date ranges). If too few results, remove filters and try synonyms or related terms. Choose the Right Search Mode Natural language questions (e.g., "What is the deadline for project X?") — Best for fuzzy, conceptual searches where you don't know exact keywords. Keyword search (e.g., project X deadline ) — Best for finding specific, exact content. Use Multiple Searches Don't rely on a single search. Break complex questions into smaller searches: Search for the topic first Then search for specific people's contributions Then search in specific channels Search Modifiers Reference Location Filters in:channel-name — Search within a specific channel in:<#C123456> — Search in channel by ID -in:channel-name — Exclude a channel in:<@U123456> — Search in DMs with a user User Filters from:<@U123456> — Messages from a specific user (by ID) from:username — Messages from a user (by Slack username) to:me — Messages sent directly to you Content Filters is:thread — Only threaded messages has:pin — Pinned messages has:link — Messages containing links has:file — Messages with file attachments has::emoji: — Messages with a specific reaction Date Filters before:YYYY-MM-DD — Messages before a date after:YYYY-MM-DD — Messages after a date on:YYYY-MM-DD — Messages on a specific date during:month — Messages during a specific month (e.g., during:january ) Text Matching "exact phrase" — Match an exact phrase -word — Exclude messages containing a word wild* — Wildcard matching (minimum 3 characters before * ) File Search To search for files, use the content_types="files" parameter with type filters: type:images — Image files type:documents — Document files type:pdfs — PDF files type:spreadsheets — Spreadsheet files type:canvases — Slack Canvases Example: content_types="files" type:pdfs budget after:2025-01-01 Following Up on Results After finding relevant messages: Use slack_read_thread to get the full thread context for any threaded message. Use slack_read_channel with oldest / latest timestamps to read surrounding messages for context. Use slack_read_user_profile to identify who a user is when their ID appears in results. Common Pitfalls Boolean operators don't work. AND , OR , NOT are not supported. Use spaces (implicit AND) and - for exclusion. Parentheses don't work. Don't try to group search terms with () . Search is not real-time. Very recent messages (last few seconds) may not appear in search results. Use slack_read_channel for the most recent messages. Private channel access. Use slack_search_public_and_private when you need to include private channels, but note this requires user consent.