search.messages

Argument	Type	Description
`token`Required	token	Authentication token bearing required scopes. Tokens should be passed as an HTTP Authorization header or alternatively, as a POST parameter. Example`xxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx`
`query`Required	string	Search query. Example`pickleface`
`count`	integer	Number of items to return per page. Default: `20` Example`20`
`cursor`	string	Use this when getting results with cursormark pagination. For first call send `*` for subsequent calls, send the value of `next_cursor` returned in the previous call's results
`highlight`	boolean	Pass a value of `true` to enable query highlight markers (see below). Example`true`
`page`	integer	Page number of results to return. Default: `1` Example`2`
`sort`	string	Return matches sorted by either `score` or `timestamp`. Default: `score` Example`timestamp`
`sort_dir`	string	Change sort direction to ascending (`asc`) or descending (`desc`). Default: `desc` Example`asc`
`team_id`	string	encoded team id to search in, required if org token is used Example`T1234567890`

Present arguments as parameters in application/x-www-form-urlencoded querystring or POST body. This method does not currently accept application/json.

Example responses

Common successful response

Typical success response

{
    "messages": {
        "matches": [
            {
                "channel": {
                    "id": "C12345678",
                    "is_ext_shared": false,
                    "is_mpim": false,
                    "is_org_shared": false,
                    "is_pending_ext_shared": false,
                    "is_private": false,
                    "is_shared": false,
                    "name": "general",
                    "pending_shared": []
                },
                "iid": "cb64bdaa-c1e8-4631-8a91-0f78080113e9",
                "permalink": "https://hitchhikers.slack.com/archives/C12345678/p1508284197000015",
                "team": "T12345678",
                "text": "The meaning of life the universe and everything is 42.",
                "ts": "1508284197.000015",
                "type": "message",
                "user": "U2U85N1RV",
                "username": "roach"
            },
            {
                "channel": {
                    "id": "C12345678",
                    "is_ext_shared": false,
                    "is_mpim": false,
                    "is_org_shared": false,
                    "is_pending_ext_shared": false,
                    "is_private": false,
                    "is_shared": false,
                    "name": "random",
                    "pending_shared": []
                },
                "iid": "9a00d3c9-bd2d-45b0-988b-6cff99ae2a90",
                "permalink": "https://hitchhikers.slack.com/archives/C12345678/p1508795665000236",
                "team": "T12345678",
                "text": "The meaning of life the universe and everything is 101010",
                "ts": "1508795665.000236",
                "type": "message",
                "user": "",
                "username": "robot overlord"
            }
        ],
        "pagination": {
            "first": 1,
            "last": 2,
            "page": 1,
            "page_count": 1,
            "per_page": 20,
            "total_count": 2
        },
        "paging": {
            "count": 20,
            "page": 1,
            "pages": 1,
            "total": 2
        },
        "total": 2
    },
    "ok": true,
    "query": "The meaning of life the universe and everything"
}

Common error response

Typical error response

{
    "error": "No query passed",
    "ok": false
}

This method returns messages matching a search query.

The matching items are returned as hashes containing contextual messages. This response envelope also contains paging and result information.

When using a user token with this method, search results will be affected by the search filters set in the Slack UI.

When a search query matches multiple messages in close proximity to one another, only one match will be returned. Using the highlights=true parameter, you can identify which items match the query, and which are provided for context only.

Note: Previously, search results might be returned with matches on the previous, previous_2, next, or next_2 messages, but not the message itself. However, the previous, previous_2, next, or next_2 fields are now deprecated and will no longer be provided in responses beginning December 3, 2020.

If more than one search term is provided, users and channels are also matched at a lower priority. To specifically search within a channel, group, or DM, add in:channel_name, in:group_name, or in:@UserID. To search for messages from a specific speaker, add from:@UserID or from:botname.

For IM results, the type is set to "im" and the channel.name property contains the user ID of the target user. For private group results, type is set to "group".

All search methods support the highlight parameter. If specified, the matching query terms will be marked up in the results so that clients may replace them with appropriate highlighting markers (e.g. <span class="highlight"></span>). The UTF-8 markers we use are:

start: "\xEE\x80\x80"; # U+E000 (private-use)
end  : "\xEE\x80\x81"; # U+E001 (private-use)

Please note that the max count value is 100 and the max page value is 100.

Errors

This table lists the expected errors that this method could return. However, other errors can be returned in the case where the service is down or other unexpected factors affect processing. Callers should always check the value of the ok params in the response.

Error	Description
`not_authed`	No authentication token provided.
`invalid_auth`	Some aspect of authentication cannot be validated. Either the provided token is invalid or the request originates from an IP address disallowed from making the request.
`account_inactive`	Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace when using a `bot` token.
`token_revoked`	Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed when using a `user` token.
`token_expired`	Authentication token has expired
`no_permission`	The workspace token used in this request does not have the permissions necessary to complete the request. Make sure your app is a member of the conversation it's attempting to post a message to.
`org_login_required`	The workspace is undergoing an enterprise migration and will not be available until migration is complete.
`ekm_access_denied`	Administrators have suspended the ability to post a message.
`missing_scope`	The token used is not granted the specific scope permissions required to complete this request.
`not_allowed_token_type`	The token type used in this request is not allowed.
`method_deprecated`	The method has been deprecated.
`deprecated_endpoint`	The endpoint has been deprecated.
`two_factor_setup_required`	Two factor setup is required.
`enterprise_is_restricted`	The method cannot be called from an Enterprise.
`is_bot`	This method cannot be called by a bot user.
`team_access_not_granted`	The token used is not granted the specific workspace access required to complete this request.
`invalid_arguments`	The method was either called with invalid arguments or some detail about the arguments passed are invalid, which is more likely when using complex arguments like blocks or attachments.
`invalid_arg_name`	The method was passed an argument whose name falls outside the bounds of accepted or expected values. This includes very long names and names with non-alphanumeric characters other than `_`. If you get this error, it is typically an indication that you have made a very malformed API call.
`invalid_array_arg`	The method was passed an array as an argument. Please only input valid strings.
`invalid_charset`	The method was called via a `POST` request, but the `charset` specified in the `Content-Type` header was invalid. Valid charset names are: `utf-8` `iso-8859-1`.
`invalid_form_data`	The method was called via a `POST` request with `Content-Type` `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` or `multipart/form-data`, but the form data was either missing or syntactically invalid.
`invalid_post_type`	The method was called via a `POST` request, but the specified `Content-Type` was invalid. Valid types are: `application/json` `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` `multipart/form-data` `text/plain`.
`missing_post_type`	The method was called via a `POST` request and included a data payload, but the request did not include a `Content-Type` header.
`team_added_to_org`	The workspace associated with your request is currently undergoing migration to an Enterprise Organization. Web API and other platform operations will be intermittently unavailable until the transition is complete.
`invalid_json` [hidden]	The method was called via a `POST` request with `Content-Type` `application/json`, but the body was not valid JSON.
`json_not_object` [hidden]	The method was called via a `POST` request a valid JSON body, but the JSON value was not an object.
`ratelimited`	The request has been ratelimited. Refer to the `Retry-After` header for when to retry the request.
`accesslimited`	Access to this method is limited on the current network
`request_timeout`	The method was called via a `POST` request, but the `POST` data was either missing or truncated.
`upgrade_required` [hidden]	The calling application needs to be upgraded.
`service_unavailable`	The service is temporarily unavailable
`fatal_error`	The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering a catastrophic error. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised.
`internal_error`	The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering an error, likely due to a transient issue on our end. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised.

Warnings

This table lists the expected warnings that this method will return. However, other warnings can be returned in the case where the service is experiencing unexpected trouble.

Warning	Description
`missing_charset`	The method was called via a `POST` request, and recommended practice for the specified `Content-Type` is to include a `charset` parameter. However, no `charset` was present. Specifically, non-form-data content types (e.g. `text/plain`) are the ones for which `charset` is recommended.
`superfluous_charset`	The method was called via a `POST` request, and the specified `Content-Type` is not defined to understand the `charset` parameter. However, `charset` was in fact present. Specifically, form-data content types (e.g. `multipart/form-data`) are the ones for which `charset` is superfluous.

API response

URL

POST body

Submit your arguments to see the API response

Was this page helpful?