Query Syntax

The query bar supports a range of operators that control which posts are matched. The sections below cover basic operators, facet filters for targeting specific entity types, parenthetical grouping for controlling operator precedence, and topic filtering for restricting results by subject category. For a complete walkthrough of the dashboard from first query to results, see Getting Started.

Basic operators

The query bar supports several operators that control which posts are matched. You can use them individually or combine them in a single query.

Matching multiple terms. When you enter more than one word, the query requires all of them to appear in the same post. AI energy matches posts that contain both "AI" and "energy," in any order, anywhere in the text. This is the default behavior.

Either/or queries. The pipe character lets you match posts containing any of the listed terms. vegetarian | vegan returns posts that mention vegetarian, vegan, or both. This is useful when a subject goes by multiple names, or when you want to capture related terms that are used interchangeably.

Exact phrases. Wrapping terms in double quotes matches them as a contiguous phrase. "White House" only returns posts where those two words appear next to each other in that order. Without quotes, the query would match any post containing both "white" and "house" independently, regardless of how far apart they are or what they refer to.

Excluding terms. A minus sign directly before a word removes posts containing that term from the results. crypto -Bitcoin matches posts about crypto that do not mention Bitcoin. Exclusions are useful when a dominant subtopic overshadows the rest of the conversation and you want to isolate what remains.

Combining operators. These operators work together in a single query. "machine learning" | AI -regulation matches posts that mention either the phrase "machine learning" or the term "AI," while filtering out any post that contains "regulation."

Prefix operators

Prefix a term with #, $, or @ to match posts where that term appears as a specific entity type rather than ordinary text.

Hashtag filters. Prefix a term with # to match posts containing that specific hashtag. #RemoteWork matches only posts where #RemoteWork appears as an actual hashtag, not posts that happen to contain the words "remote" and "work" separately in their text. Hashtag filters combine freely with other operators: #Tesla | #Rivian matches posts containing either hashtag, and electric vehicles -#ad matches posts about electric vehicles while excluding those tagged #ad.

Cashtag filters. Prefix a term with $ to match posts containing a specific ticker-symbol cashtag. $AAPL targets financial discussion about Apple without capturing every post that mentions the word "apple." You can combine cashtags with OR to track several assets at once: $AAPL | $GOOGL | $MSFT returns posts tagging any of the three.

Mention filters. Prefix a term with @ to match posts that mention a specific account. @nytimes matches posts referencing that handle. This is useful for analyzing conversation directed at or about a specific person or organization. Like other operators, mention filters combine with the rest: streaming @netflix -#ad matches posts about streaming that mention @netflix while excluding those tagged #ad.

Parenthetical grouping

Parentheses let you control how AND and OR operators interact. By default, AND binds tighter than OR. The query streaming movies | shows is interpreted as (streaming AND movies) OR shows, which matches posts about streaming and movies, but also matches any post mentioning "shows" by itself, regardless of whether it relates to streaming.

Wrapping the OR clause in parentheses changes the grouping: streaming (movies | shows) matches posts about streaming that mention either movies or shows. The parentheses force the OR to resolve first, then the result is combined with "streaming" using AND.

Parentheses can be nested and combined with other operators:

(Nvidia | AMD) (GPU | chip) -mining

This matches posts mentioning either Nvidia or AMD that also discuss GPUs or chips, while excluding any post that contains "mining."

Topic filtering

Topic filtering uses a dedicated control in the query bar rather than query syntax. The topics dropdown next to the time range selector opens a checklist of all eight topic categories: News, Business, Technology, Sports, Culture, Lifestyle, Daily Life, and Misc. Select or deselect categories to restrict your results to posts classified under specific subjects.

Topic filtering works alongside query operators. You can combine a query with facet filters and parenthetical grouping, then further restrict the results to specific subject areas using the topics dropdown. The two mechanisms are independent: the query controls which posts are matched by content, and the topic filter controls which posts are included by subject classification. For example, $AAPL | $GOOGL | $MSFT combined with a topic filter set to News restricts the results to news-classified posts mentioning any of those three tickers.