Chat: search and keyboard shortcuts
Search finds any message you can read in Chat, and a handful of modifiers narrow it down the way they do in Slack. Click the search bar at the top of the Chat sidebar, type what you're looking for and press Enter, or type /search and your words in any composer. The rest of this article lists every slash command and keyboard shortcut, starting with the quick switcher.
Searching messages
Type a few words to find messages containing them. Results are newest first, 50 at a time, each shown with its conversation, author and date; click one to jump to that message in its conversation. Scroll down for older results.
Search covers the conversations you're in and every public channel in your organization, including ones you haven't joined. It never shows private channels or direct messages you're not part of.
| Type | To find |
|---|---|
budget review | Messages containing both words. |
"budget review" | The exact phrase. |
budget -draft | Messages with "budget" but not "draft". |
budget OR forecast | Messages with either word. |
Very short searches of one or two characters, such as QA, match those letters anywhere in a message.
Search modifiers
Add a modifier to your search, on its own or with words. The search box suggests them as you type.
| Modifier | Finds |
|---|---|
in:#channel | Messages in that channel, for example in:#general. |
in:@person | Messages in your direct message with that person. |
from:@person | Messages sent by that person, for example from:@ana. |
from:me | Messages you sent. |
has:file | Messages with a file or image attached. |
has:link | Messages containing a link. |
has:reaction | Messages someone has reacted to. |
is:thread | Replies in threads. |
before:YYYY-MM-DD | Messages sent before that day, for example before:2026-09-01. |
after:YYYY-MM-DD | Messages sent after that day. |
on:YYYY-MM-DD | Messages sent on that day. |
Combine them freely: quote from:@ana in:#sales after:2026-08-01 finds Ana's messages about quotes in #sales since August 1.
You can run up to 30 searches a minute.
The quick switcher
Press Ctrl+K (⌘K on a Mac) anywhere in Chat, type part of a channel's name or a person's name, and press Enter to go there. It's the fastest way around Chat.
Slash commands
Type / at the start of the composer to see every command; keep typing to narrow the list. Each one works just like the matching button or menu in Chat.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/remind me [what] [when] | Sets a reminder, for example /remind me to call Ana tomorrow at 9am. |
/status [:emoji:] [text] | Sets your status. |
/clear-status | Clears your status. |
/away | Shows you as away. |
/active | Shows you as active again. |
/dnd [time] or /dnd off | Pauses notifications for a while, such as /dnd 30m, or resumes them. |
/mute | Mutes the conversation. |
/unmute | Unmutes the conversation. |
/topic [text] | Sets the channel topic. |
/purpose [text] | Sets the channel description. |
/invite @someone | Adds people to the channel. |
/remove @someone | Removes someone from the channel (channel managers). |
/rename [new-name] | Renames the channel (channel managers). |
/archive | Archives the channel (channel managers). |
/leave | Leaves the channel, or closes a direct message. |
/who | Lists who's in the conversation. |
/search [query] | Searches messages. |
/me [text] | Posts your text in italics, as an action. |
/shrug [text] | Posts your text with a shrug on the end. |
A command Chat doesn't know shows "No command /x — type / to see the list". More about each command: Chat: messages, threads, mentions and reactions.
Keyboard shortcuts
Press ? in Chat to see this list on screen. On a Mac, use ⌘ for Ctrl and ⌥ Option for Alt.
Moving around
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Quick switcher: jump to a conversation | Ctrl+K |
| Jump to the next unread conversation | Ctrl+J |
| Previous or next conversation | Alt+↑ / Alt+↓ |
| Previous or next unread conversation | Alt+Shift+↑ / Alt+Shift+↓ |
| Open Activity | Ctrl+Shift+A |
| Open Threads | Ctrl+Shift+T |
| Show all keyboard shortcuts | ? |
Reading
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Mark the current conversation as read | Esc |
| Mark everything as read | Shift+Esc |
| Mark unread from a message | Alt+click the message |
Writing
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Send the message | Enter |
| New line | Shift+Enter |
| Turn what you've typed into a snippet | Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
| See the slash commands | / at the start of the composer |
| Edit your last message | ↑ in an empty composer |
| React to the last message | Ctrl+Shift+\ |
| Bold | Ctrl+B |
| Italic | Ctrl+I |
| Strikethrough | Ctrl+Shift+X |
| Code | Ctrl+Shift+C |
| Code block | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C |
| Link | Ctrl+Shift+U |
| Mention someone | @ |
| Link a channel | # |
| Pick an emoji by name | : |
If you've set Preferences so that Enter adds a new line, send with Ctrl+Enter instead. Ctrl+Shift+Enter (⌘⇧Enter on a Mac) makes a snippet either way; see Code blocks and snippets.
Ctrl+Shift+A opens Activity, where Slack opens its All unreads view. Chat's own Unreads view is at the top of the sidebar, and Ctrl+J jumps to the next unread conversation.
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Last updated: 2026-09-25
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