How the Twitter advanced search builder works
Set your filters
Fill in keywords, accounts, engagement floors, dates, media or language. Every field is optional, and the three-state toggles let you include a condition, exclude it, or leave it off.
Watch the query assemble
The query preview updates live as you type, with an operator and character count so you stay under X's limit of roughly 22 to 23 operators per query.
Copy it or run it
Copy the query into X's search bar, open it on X directly, or run it in the Sorsa Playground and API to get the matching posts as JSON or CSV without an X account.
How to search someone's tweets for a keyword
This is the search most people are actually trying to run, and the one X hides best. It takes two fields:
- In From these accounts, enter the handle. One account per search.
- In All of these words, enter the word you want inside their posts. Use Exact phrase for a multi-word match.
- Optionally set Since and Until to limit the period, then copy the query or open it on X.
from:nasa "sample return" since:2024-01-01 until:2024-12-31Enter your own handle in From these accounts and the same search becomes an old tweet finder for your own posts, faster than scrolling your profile. To see what people say to or about an account instead, use Replying to or Mentioning. X's search index does not return every post ever made, so if you need an account's complete history, pull it through the API instead: see how to download all tweets from a user.
Twitter advanced search examples
Six searches worth saving. Recreate any of them in the builder above by setting the same filters, or paste the query straight into X, then swap the placeholders for your own topic, brand or handle.
Viral posts on a topic
Surface the posts that actually went viral on a subject, in English, retweets excluded.
("your topic") min_faves:1000 lang:en -filter:retweetsBrand mentions, excluding your own posts
Catch every mention of your brand or handle while filtering out your own posts and retweets.
("YourBrand" OR @yourhandle) -from:yourhandle -filter:retweets lang:enBuying-intent tweets in your category
Find people actively looking for or asking for a recommendation in your category.
("looking for" OR "recommend" OR "anyone use") ("your category") -filter:retweets lang:enOld tweets from one account in a date range
Find a single account's original posts from a specific period, replies excluded. Drop the min_faves filter to see every post from that window.
from:username min_faves:100 since:2026-01-01 until:2026-06-01 -filter:repliesHigh-engagement image posts
Get only image posts that cleared an engagement floor.
your-topic filter:images min_faves:200 lang:enQuestions people ask in your niche
Find the questions people repeatedly ask in your niche, to feed content or support.
("how do I" OR "how to") your-topic min_replies:10 -filter:retweetsThis tool vs X's built-in advanced search form
X ships an advanced search form at x.com/search-advanced. It covers words, accounts, replies, links, engagement floors and dates, then stops. Here is where this tool goes further.
| Capability | X advanced search form | This tool |
|---|---|---|
| Words, exact phrase, OR group, exclusions, hashtags | Yes | Yes, plus cashtags |
| Posts from, to or mentioning an account | Yes | Yes, plus members of a List |
| Minimum likes, reposts and replies | Yes | Yes |
| Fixed date range (since, until) | Yes | Yes, plus a rolling "within the last" window |
| Replies and links | Include or only | Off, include or exclude, plus retweets, quote tweets and self threads |
| Media type filters (images, video, GIF, news) | No | Yes |
| Verified or Premium accounts only | No | Yes |
| Domain, posting client, location and conversation filters | No | Yes |
| Live query preview with operator and character count | No | Yes |
| Copy the raw query to reuse anywhere | Only after running the search | One click |
| See results without an X account, export JSON or CSV | No, login required | Yes, via the Sorsa Playground and API |
| Available in the X mobile app | No | Works in any mobile browser; the copied query runs in the app's search bar |
Every filter and the X search operator it writes
Each field maps to one X search operator, so you can read the query the tool builds or type the operators yourself. For what every operator matches and how it behaves in 2026, see the X search operators cheat sheet.
| Panel | Field | Operator it writes |
|---|---|---|
| Tweet content | All of these words | word1 word2 (implicit AND) |
| Tweet content | Any of these words | (word1 OR word2) |
| Tweet content | Exact phrase | "exact phrase" |
| Tweet content | Exclude these words | -word |
| Tweet content | Hashtags | #tag |
| Tweet content | Cashtags | $TSLA |
| Users | From these accounts | from:username |
| Users | Replying to | to:username |
| Users | Mentioning | @username |
| Users | From a List | list:ID |
| Users | Verified status | filter:verified or filter:blue_verified |
| Tweet type | Replies | filter:replies or -filter:replies |
| Tweet type | Retweets | filter:retweets or -filter:retweets |
| Tweet type | Quote tweets | filter:quote or -filter:quote |
| Tweet type | Self threads | filter:self_threads or -filter:self_threads |
| Tweet type | Links | filter:links or -filter:links |
| Engagement | Minimum likes | min_faves:N |
| Engagement | Minimum retweets | min_retweets:N |
| Engagement | Minimum replies | min_replies:N |
| Media | Any media | filter:media or -filter:media |
| Media | Images | filter:images or -filter:images |
| Media | Videos | filter:videos or -filter:videos |
| Media | GIFs | card_name:animated_gif |
| Media | News links | filter:news or -filter:news |
| Date range | Since, Until | since:YYYY-MM-DD until:YYYY-MM-DD (since inclusive, until exclusive) |
| Date range | Within the last | within_time:7d (also h and m) |
| Advanced | Language | lang:en |
| Advanced | Posted from | source:Twitter_for_iPhone |
| Advanced | Near city, Within radius | near:"San Francisco" within:15km |
| Advanced | URL contains | url:youtube.com |
| Advanced | Conversation ID | conversation_id:ID |
Every field on the page combines with AND, so each extra filter only narrows the same result set. The one exception is Any of these words, which builds an OR group where a post matching a single word counts. The tool handles the quotes, parentheses and minus signs, which is where hand-typed queries usually break.
Want the syntax behind any of these, or copy-paste query recipes? The operators cheat sheet covers all of it.
Twitter advanced search on mobile
The X app for iPhone and Android has no advanced search form, and x.com/search-advanced is awkward to reach from a phone. Open this page in your mobile browser instead: the form works exactly as it does on desktop, Open on X sends the finished query to X, and Copy query lets you paste the operator string into the app's own search bar, where every operator works. Nothing to install and no login to build.
Who uses this tool
Social media managers use it to catch brand mentions while filtering out their own posts and retweets. Researchers and journalists isolate primary-source posts inside a fixed date window and flag high-engagement claims. OSINT analysts combine accounts, locations and engagement floors to narrow a firehose to the few posts that matter. Developers and data teams prototype a query visually, then run the identical string through the Sorsa API in a pipeline.
Twitter advanced search tool FAQ
Is this Twitter advanced search tool free?
Yes. Building queries is free and unlimited, with no login and no X account. You only need a Sorsa API key if you run a query through the Playground or API to retrieve the matching posts, and every new key starts with 100 free requests, no card required.
Do I need to know X search operators to use it?
No. You set filters in plain language and the tool writes the operator string, including the Boolean logic and exclusions people most often get wrong by hand. If you want to understand or hand-edit the syntax, the X search operators cheat sheet explains every operator with examples.
Can I run the query and see results without an X account?
Yes. X requires a login to view any search results on x.com, but you can send the query you build to the Sorsa Playground or the Search Tweets API and get the matching posts back as structured JSON, including each author's profile, ready to export as CSV. That step needs a Sorsa API key, which starts with 100 free requests.
How do I search someone's tweets for a specific word?
Enter the handle in From these accounts and the word in All of these words, which produces a query like from:username keyword. Add a Since and Until date to narrow the period, use Exact phrase for multi-word matches, or enter your own handle to find your own old posts.
Does the tool work on mobile?
Yes. It is a responsive web page, so it works in any mobile browser without an app. That matters because the X app does not include the advanced search form at all: build the query here, then open it on X or paste it into the app's search bar.
How is this different from X's built-in advanced search?
X's form covers words, accounts, replies, links, engagement floors and dates. It has no filters for media type, retweets, quote tweets, verified or Premium accounts, Lists, domains or posting client, no rolling time window, no live view of the query as you build it, and no way to export results. This tool adds all of those and can run the query through an API.
Will the queries I build here work on the official X API?
Not all of them. Engagement floors, since and until dates, within_time and filter:blue_verified are web-search operators that the official X API v2 silently ignores. The Sorsa Search Tweets endpoint accepts the full web operator set, so any query you build here runs as-is. The cheat sheet lists the web versus API v2 differences.
Can I use it to search Twitter by date or find old tweets?
Yes. Use the Date range panel to set a fixed Since and Until window, or a rolling within the last window for recent posts. Combine it with an account or keyword to pull old tweets from a specific period, then copy the query to X or run it through the Sorsa API to export the results. For the full method, see how to search Twitter by date.
Why does my query return no results on X?
Usually the Top tab or too many filters. Switch to Latest, remove the engagement floors and the date range, then add filters back one at a time. An exact phrase in quotes must match word for word, from: needs no space after the colon, and X silently drops operators past roughly 22 to 23 in one query, so keep an eye on the operator counter.
Turn a search into a tracker with the Sorsa API
The builder runs one query at a time. To track a keyword, hashtag, brand or competitor over time, run the same query on a schedule through the Sorsa Search Tweets endpoint. It accepts every operator on this page, returns up to 20 posts per request with each author's profile included, paginates with next_cursor, and runs at a flat 20 requests per second on every plan with no developer-account approval. The search API guide has production Python and JavaScript examples, and the same data path powers brand mention monitoring and real-time monitoring pipelines, at up to 50x cheaper than the official X API. Every key starts with 100 free requests: no card, no expiry.