AERC-SEARCH(1) General Commands Manual AERC-SEARCH(1) NAME aerc-search - search and filter patterns and options for aerc(1) SYNTAX This syntax is common to all backends. :filter [-rubae] [-x <flag>] [-X <flag>] [-H <header>:[<value>]] [-f <from>] [-t <to>] [-c <cc>] [-d <start[..end]>] [<terms>...] :search [-rubae] [-x <flag>] [-X <flag>] [-H <header>:[<value>]] [-f <from>] [-t <to>] [-c <cc>] [-d <start[..end]>] [<terms>...] Searches the current folder for messages matching the given set of con- ditions. :filter restricts the displayed messages to only the search results. Each space separated term of <terms>, if provided, is searched case-in- sensitively among subject lines unless -b or -a are provided. -r: Search for read messages -u: Search for unread messages -x <flag>, -X <flag>: Restrict search to messages with or without <flag> Use -x to search for messages with the flag set. Use -X to search for messages without the flag set. Possible values are: seen Read messages answered Replied messages forwarded Forwarded messages flagged Flagged messages draft Draft messages -H <header>:[<value>]: Search in the headers of the messages for a specific <header> that matches <value>, <value> can be omitted to only search for a <header>. If either the <header> or the <value> contain a space then the whole argument needs to be escaped with quotes, note: spaces around <value> are trimmed. -b: Search in the body of the messages -a: Search in the entire text of the messages -e: Instruct the backend to use a custom search extension (such as X-GM-EXT-1 if available). Search terms are expected in <terms>; other flags will be ignored. -f <from>: Search for messages from <from> -t <to>: Search for messages to <to> -c <cc>: Search for messages cc'ed to <cc> -d <since[..until]>: Search for messages within a particular date range between since and until, excluding the latter (in mathematical notation: search for messages in the [since, until) interval). until can be omitted to only search for <since> to present. Spaces and underscores are allowed in relative dates to improve readability. YYYY-MM-DD today, yesterday (this|last) (year|month|week) Weekdays, Monthnames Can also be abbreviated, so Monday..Tuesday can be written as Mon..Tue and February..March as Feb..Mar. <N> (y[ear]|m[onth]|w[eek]|d[ay]) <N> is a positive integer that represents the number of time units in the past. Multiple relative terms can be accumulated. The units can also be abbreviated by a single letter such that yesterday would correspond to 1d (equivalent to 1 day or 1_day) and 8 days ago would be either 1w1d or 8d. CUSTOM IMAP EXTENSIONS The Gmail IMAP extension (X-GM-EXT-1) can be used for searching and filter- ing. To use this custom extension, make sure it is activated (see aerc- imap(5)) and use the extension -e flag in your :filter or :search commands. Example: :filter -e filename:pdf from:bob :filter -e has:attachment newer_than:2d :search -e is:read is:starred :search -e list:~rjarry/aerc-de- vel@lists.sr.ht NOTMUCH For notmuch, it is possible to avoid using the above flags and only rely on notmuch search syntax. :filter query... :search query... You can use the full notmuch query language as described in notmuch- search-terms(7). The query will only apply on top of the active folder query. Example, jump to next unread: :search tag:unread SEE ALSO aerc(1) aerc-config(5) AUTHORS Originally created by Drew DeVault and maintained by Robin Jarry who is as- sisted by other open source contributors. For more information about aerc development, see https://sr.ht/~rjarry/aerc/. 2026-08-30 AERC-SEARCH(1)
Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=aerc-search&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+Ports+15.1.quarterly>