Guide
Twitter search operators: the complete guide
X's search box understands a small query language that its Advanced Search form only half exposes. This page is the whole thing: every operator that still works, what it does, and how to combine them into queries worth keeping.
Updated August 2026 · Every query on this page runs on X for free
People and accounts
Pin a search to specific accounts — what they posted, what was said to them, and where they were mentioned. These three are the workhorses of almost every serious query.
| Operator | What it matches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| from:handle | Tweets posted by one account | from:nasa artemis |
| to:handle | Replies aimed at an account | to:AnthropicAI |
| @handle | Any tweet mentioning an account | @figma redesign |
| list:id-or-slug | Tweets from members of a list | list:nyt-tech ai |
| filter:verified | Only verified authors | openai filter:verified |
Words and phrases
Plain words match anywhere in a tweet, in any order. These operators control the matching: exact order, alternatives, exclusions, tags, and links.
| Operator | What it matches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| "exact phrase" | Words in exactly that order | "shipping container homes" |
| a OR b | Either term matches (OR is uppercase) | figma OR sketch OR penpot |
| -word | Exclude a term | apple -fruit -pie |
| (a OR b) c | Group alternatives with parentheses | (webflow OR framer) pricing |
| #hashtag | Tagged tweets | #buildinpublic |
| $cashtag | Stock or crypto ticker mentions | $TSLA earnings |
| url:text | Tweets linking to a matching URL | url:github.com |
Dates
Bound a query in time. Dates use YYYY-MM-DD, and the two operators combine into a window — the single most useful trick for turning an open-ended search into a finite dataset.
| Operator | What it matches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| since:2026-01-01 | On or after a date | from:stripe since:2026-01-01 |
| until:2026-06-30 | Before a date | #wwdc until:2025-06-15 |
| since: + until: | A closed date window | layoffs since:2026-03-01 until:2026-04-01 |
Engagement thresholds
Filter by traction. These don't appear anywhere in the Advanced Search form — typing them is the only way. They're how you skim the signal off a noisy topic.
| Operator | What it matches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| min_faves:100 | At least 100 likes | typescript tips min_faves:100 |
| min_retweets:50 | At least 50 reposts | launch video min_retweets:50 |
| min_replies:10 | At least 10 replies | hot take min_replies:10 |
Content type and language
Narrow by what a tweet contains or what it is. Every filter: also works negated — -filter:retweets is the most common way to cut reposts out of a result set.
| Operator | What it matches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| filter:links | Contains any link | ai agents filter:links |
| filter:media | Contains an image or video | #aurora filter:media |
| filter:images | Contains an image | data viz filter:images |
| filter:videos | Contains a video | keynote demo filter:videos |
| filter:replies | Only replies | from:paulg filter:replies |
| -filter:retweets | Exclude reposts | @yourbrand -filter:retweets |
| filter:quote | Only quote tweets | filter:quote to:elonmusk |
| lang:en | One language (ISO 639-1 code) | recession lang:ja |
How operators combine
Four rules cover the whole grammar. Everything else is stacking operators until the result set is exactly what you want.
Space means AND
Every term and operator you add narrows the result. from:nasa mars filter:images means all three at once.
OR must be uppercase
Lowercase 'or' is treated as the word. Wrap alternatives in parentheses to keep the rest of the query ANDed.
No space after the colon
from:jack works; from: jack silently fails. The most common reason a query returns nothing.
Minus negates almost anything
-word, -from:handle, -filter:replies. Build the wide query first, then subtract what you don't want.
Queries worth keeping
Copy one into X search, swap in your own terms, and adjust the thresholds.
Brand mentions, no noise
("acme app" OR @acmeapp) -filter:retweets lang:enEvery English mention of a product or handle, originals only. The starting point for any monitoring query.
An account's greatest hits
from:handle min_faves:200 -filter:repliesOne person's most-liked original posts. Swap the threshold up or down until the list is the length you want.
Questions people ask about a topic
(how OR why OR "anyone know") keyword min_replies:5Question-shaped tweets with real discussion under them — content ideas and customer pain in one query.
A news event, day by day
topic since:2026-05-04 until:2026-05-05 min_retweets:20One day of a story, skimmed for traction. Move the window forward a day at a time to watch it develop.
From a search to a spreadsheet
On X, a good query gets you a scrolling feed — useful for reading, useless for analysis. The same operator string pasted into TweetExporter's search export becomes a dataset: one row per matching tweet, with full text, author, timestamp, and engagement counts, delivered as CSV, XLSX, or JSON.
That's the workflow this guide is built for. Prototype the query on X until the results look right, add a since:/until: window and a row cap, and export it. Re-run the same query next month and diff the files.
Operator questions, answered
Do search operators still work on X?+
Yes. The operator language survived the rebrand intact — from:, since:, min_faves:, and the rest all work in the X search box today, on web and mobile. Advanced Search (the form interface) is still web-only, but typed operators work everywhere.
Is there a difference between Advanced Search and operators?+
Advanced Search is just a form that writes operators for you. Fill in its fields and look at the search box afterwards — you'll see the operator string it built. Learning the operators directly gives you everything the form has, plus operators the form doesn't expose, like min_faves: and filter:.
Why does my query return no results?+
The usual culprits: a space after a colon (from: jack fails, from:jack works), a date in the wrong format (it must be YYYY-MM-DD), or a filter so narrow nothing survives it. Remove operators one at a time until results come back, and you've found the broken one.
Can I search a date range in the past?+
Yes — combine since: and until:. Search reaches back through X's public archive, though very old or very broad queries return less reliably than recent ones. For historical work, slice a long range into shorter windows.
Is there a limit to how many operators I can combine?+
No practical one. Operators combine with AND by default, and parentheses with OR let you build queries several lines long. If X search accepts the query, it runs — the limit is result quality, not syntax.
Can I export the results of an operator search?+
That's what TweetExporter's search export does. Paste the same query you tested on X, set a date window and a row cap, and download every match as CSV, XLSX, or JSON — one row per tweet, with author and engagement attached.