00-google-search-syntax-claude.md

Google Search Syntax Reference

Basic Operators

Operator	Example	Effect
"exact phrase"	"kubernetes pod scheduling"	Matches exact phrase only
-term	python tutorial -video	Excludes results containing term
OR	docker OR podman	Either term (must be uppercase)
|	docker|podman	Same as OR
*	"how to * kubernetes"	Wildcard for unknown words
()	(docker OR podman) tutorial	Groups terms

Site & URL Operators

Operator	Example	Effect
site:	site:github.com oauth2	Search within specific domain
site:	site:*.edu research	Wildcard subdomain matching
-site:	go tutorial -site:medium.com	Exclude specific domain
inurl:	inurl:api documentation	Term must appear in URL
allinurl:	allinurl:api docs v2	All terms must appear in URL
intitle:	intitle:kubernetes	Term must appear in page title
allintitle:	allintitle:golang error handling	All terms in title
intext:	intext:configuration	Term must appear in body text

File Type Searches

Operator	Example	Effect
filetype:	filetype:pdf kubernetes security	Specific file extension
ext:	ext:yaml helm chart	Same as filetype

Common types: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, csv, txt, yaml, json, xml, md

Numeric & Date Operators

Operator	Example	Effect
..	laptop $500..$1000	Number range
before:	kubernetes before:2023-01-01	Results before date
after:	kubernetes after:2024-01-01	Results after date

Date format: YYYY-MM-DD

Special Operators

Operator	Example	Effect
cache:	cache:example.com	Google's cached version
related:	related:github.com	Similar websites
define:	define:idempotent	Dictionary definition
source:	nvidia source:reuters	News from specific outlet

Practical Combinations

# Find PDF documentation on a specific site
site:kubernetes.io filetype:pdf security

# Search GitHub for Go error handling, exclude forks
site:github.com "error handling" language:go -fork

# Find recent tutorials excluding certain sites
kubernetes tutorial after:2024-01-01 -site:medium.com -site:dev.to

# Search for exact config examples
"apiVersion: v1" "kind: ConfigMap" site:github.com

# Find alternatives to a tool
"alternative to" prometheus monitoring

# Search within URL path patterns
site:docs.aws.com inurl:/cli/ s3

# Exclude multiple terms
docker compose tutorial -video -youtube -"for beginners"

Rules & Gotchas

1. Case insensitivity: Kubernetes = kubernetes (operators like OR must be uppercase)
2. Punctuation ignored: Most punctuation is stripped; use quotes to preserve
3. 32-word limit: Queries beyond ~32 words get truncated
4. Stop words: Common words (the, a, is) ignored unless quoted
5. No nested parentheses: ((a OR b) AND c) won't work as expected
6. Operator spacing: No space after colon (site:github.com not site: github.com)
7. Combining exclusions: Each exclusion needs its own minus (-youtube -video)
8. Quotes are literal: "go lang" won't match golang

Deprecated/Non-functional

These no longer work or have limited effect:

• +term (forcing inclusion) — use quotes instead
• ~synonym — removed
• info: — mostly deprecated
• link: — discontinued
• inanchor: / allinanchor: — unreliable

Quick Reference Card

"exact"          Exact phrase match
-exclude         Remove term from results
site:domain      Limit to domain
filetype:ext     Specific file type
intitle:term     Term in page title
inurl:term       Term in URL
before:YYYY-MM-DD  Date limit (before)
after:YYYY-MM-DD   Date limit (after)
num..num         Number range
OR / |           Either term
*                Wildcard word

01-google-search-syntax-gemini.md

Let's get straight to the syntax. Google Search operators function as command-line inputs for the search engine.

Here is the direct, concise breakdown of the syntax rules and operators you can use to filter results.

Google Search Syntax Guide

1. Boolean & Basic Operators

These control the logic of the query.

Operator	Function	Example
" "	Exact Match. Forces Google to find the exact phrase.	"search engine optimization"
-	Exclusion. Removes pages containing a specific term.	jaguar speed -car
OR / **|**	Alternatives. Finds pages with at least one of the terms.	vacation OR holiday
*	Wildcard. Acts as a placeholder for any unknown term(s).	"standard model of * physics"
()	Grouping. Groups terms to control operator precedence.	(ipad OR iphone) apple

2. Advanced Field Operators

These limit the search to specific parts of a webpage or domain. Note: Do not put a space after the colon.

• site:

• Action: Limits results to a specific domain or TLD.

• Example: site:edu "machine learning" or site:nytimes.com

• filetype: (or ext:)

• Action: Limits results to a specific file extension (PDF, DOCX, PPT, CSV, etc.).

• Example: financial report filetype:pdf

• intitle:

• Action: Finds pages with a specific term in the HTML <title> tag.

• Example: intitle:"index of"

• allintitle:

• Action: Finds pages where all following terms appear in the title.

• Example: allintitle: login password admin

• inurl:

• Action: Finds pages with a specific term in the URL slug.

• Example: inurl:view/index.shtml

• intext:

• Action: Forces Google to find the term in the body text (ignoring title/URL).

• Example: intext:"bioluminescence"

3. Numerical Ranges

• ..
• Action: Searches for a range of numbers (dates, prices, measurements).
• Example: camera $50..$100 or WWII 1939..1945

4. Logical Combinations (The "Stack")

The real power comes from combining these to create specific filters.

• Finding Research Papers: site:edu OR site:gov filetype:pdf "climate change"
• Finding Competitor Pricing: site:competitor.com "price" range $50..$200
• Technical Troubleshooting: "error 404" -site:stackoverflow.com intitle:solved

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To ensure you can apply this effectively, which area would you like to practice first?

1. Complex Chaining: We can build a "stack" of 3+ operators to find a very hard-to-locate document (e.g., a specific PDF on a government site).
2. Security & Dorking: We can look at how intitle: and filetype: are used in "Google Dorking" to find exposed sensitive information.
3. Troubleshooting: We can discuss why Google sometimes ignores these operators and how to force "Verbatim" search.