search.messages
Searches for messages matching a query.
Facts
Method URL: | https://slack.com/api/search.messages | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preferred HTTP method: | GET | ||||
Accepted content types: | application/x-www-form-urlencoded | ||||
Rate limiting: | Tier 2 | ||||
Works with: |
|
This method returns messages matching a search query.
Arguments
token
Authentication token bearing required scopes. Tokens should be passed as an HTTP Authorization header or alternatively, as a POST parameter.
Examplexxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx
query
Search query.
Examplepickleface
count
Number of items to return per page.
Default: 20
20
highlight
Pass a value of true
to enable query highlight markers (see below).
true
page
Page number of results to return.
Default: 1
2
sort
Return matches sorted by either score
or timestamp
.
Default: score
timestamp
sort_dir
Change sort direction to ascending (asc
) or descending (desc
).
Default: desc
asc
team_id
encoded team id to search in, required if org token is used
ExampleT1234567890
application/x-www-form-urlencoded
querystring or POST body. This method does not currently accept application/json
.
Response
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.
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
}
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. |
token_revoked | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed. |
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 |
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 |
invalid_form_data | The method was called via a |
invalid_post_type | The method was called via a |
missing_post_type | The method was called via a |
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. |
ratelimited | The request has been ratelimited. Refer to the |
accesslimited | Access to this method is limited on the current network |
request_timeout | The method was called via a |
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 |
superfluous_charset | The method was called via a |