Advanced search syntax (v7)

Listary v7 only

The syntax on this page is currently available only in Listary v7 Beta for Windows 10 and 11. Download Listary v7 Beta or read the English v7 release announcement.

No need to memorize

This syntax is mainly intended for AI. Use this page as a reference or ask an AI to generate a query when needed. A more user-friendly way to access these features will come later.

Every syntax on this page works in both the Listary launcher and the File Search Window. You can combine text, paths, filters, dates, and sizes in a single query.

Exact phrases and exclusions

Syntax	Meaning	Example
"exact phrase"	Match the complete phrase exactly as written, including the space	"project plan" matches 2026 Project Plan.docx, but not Project 2026 Plan.docx
-word	Exclude names containing a word	report -draft
-"exact phrase"	Exclude names containing a phrase	report -"old version"

Quoted phrases are case-insensitive but do not use fuzzy matching or Chinese Pinyin matching. An unclosed quote continues to the end of the query.

Extensions

For broad categories such as documents, pictures, or videos, use Listary's existing filters. The syntax below is for matching exact file extensions.

Syntax	Meaning	Example
ext:pdf	One extension	ext:pdf invoice
ext:pdf;docx	Any listed extension; , also works	ext:pdf;docx contract
*.pdf	Shorthand for ext:pdf	*.pdf invoice
-ext:tmp	Exclude an extension	report -ext:tmp
-*.bak	Exclude an extension using shorthand	project -*.bak

Extensions are case-insensitive. A leading dot is optional, so ext:pdf and ext:.pdf are equivalent. Compound extensions are supported, for example ext:tar.gz.

Modified date

date: filters by the file's modified time in your local time zone.

Syntax	Meaning	Example
date:today	Modified since the start of today	date:today notes
date:yesterday	Modified yesterday	date:yesterday notes
date:week	Modified in the last 7 days	date:week report
date:month	Modified in the last 30 days	date:month report
date:year	Modified in the last 365 days	date:year report
date:2026	Modified during 2026	date:2026 invoice
date:2026-07	Modified during July 2026	date:2026-07 invoice
date:2026-07-15	Modified on that day	date:2026-07-15 invoice
date:2026-01..2026-06	Modified within an inclusive range	date:2026-01..2026-06 report
date:>2026-06	Modified after June 2026	date:>2026-06 report
date:<=2026-06	Modified up to and including June 2026	date:<=2026-06 report

The comparison operators >, >=, <, and <= all work with a year, month, or day. Multiple date: filters are intersected, so a result must satisfy all of them.

File size

size: applies to files only. Folders are omitted because they do not have a searchable file size.

Syntax	Meaning	Example
size:>10mb	Larger than 10 MB	size:>10mb video
size:<=100kb	100 KB or smaller	size:<=100kb config
size:10mb..1gb	From 10 MB through 1 GB	size:10mb..1gb backup
size:1gb	1 GB or larger	size:1gb
size:>1.5gb	Decimal values are supported	size:>1.5gb

Supported units are b, kb, mb, gb, and tb, using 1,024-based units. If you omit the unit, Listary uses MB. Units are case-insensitive. Multiple size: filters are intersected.

Folder paths and drives

End a folder keyword with \ or / to match it against the parent path rather than the file name. Path parts must appear in the same order.

Query	Meaning
windows\ note	“note” inside a folder matching “windows”
work\client\ proposal	“proposal” below matching “work” then “client” folders
D:\ photo	“photo” on drive D:

How combinations work

• Different kinds of conditions are combined with AND. For example, ext:pdf date:week report requires all three conditions.
• Multiple ext: values use OR. ext:pdf ext:docx means PDF or DOCX.
• Multiple date: or size: conditions narrow each other. Contradictory ranges return no results.
• Exclusion markers must touch the value: use -draft, not - draft. A hyphen inside a name such as my-file remains an ordinary character.
• If a value cannot be parsed, Listary ignores that operator instead of stopping the search.

Not supported yet

The current version does not interpret general wildcards such as foo*, *foo*, or ?; Boolean OR (|); regular expressions; name:; or sort:. Only the extension shorthand *.ext is supported.

Negated date and size filters, such as -date:today and -size:1gb, are also not supported. Express the range you want with comparisons instead.