How to Search for Emails
This guide covers common scenarios for finding specific emails in INKY.
Written By Matt Sywulak
Last updated About 2 months ago
Where to Search
Observations Page: Navigate to Analysis > Observations for quick searches with pre-configured filters.
Custom Dashboards: Navigate to Analysis > Custom Dashboards > Create a custom dashboard


Common Search Tasks
Find a Specific Email You Already Know About
Scenario: You have a Message ID, subject line, or other identifier from a support ticket or alert.
Steps:
Go to Analysis > Observations
Click the Quick Search input
Paste your value β Quick Search auto-detects the type:
Message ID β
messageidEmail address β
from_emailoremailSubject text β
subject
Press Enter
Tip: Message ID is the fastest way to find a single email if you have it.
Find All Emails from a Sender
Scenario: A user reports suspicious emails from a specific address or domain.
Steps:
Go to Analysis > Observations
Open the Filter Editor
Select General category
Add one of these filters:
from_emailβ Exact sender address (e.g.,john@example.com)from_domainβ All emails from a domain (e.g.,example.com)from_display_nameβ Search by display name (e.g., "John Smith")
Enter the value and apply
Tip: Use from_domain when investigating a potentially spoofed domain across multiple senders.
Find Emails to a Specific Recipient
Scenario: You need to see all emails a specific user received.
Steps:
Open the Filter Editor
Select General category
Add the
emailfilterEnter the recipient's email address
Apply the filter
Combine with: processed_date to narrow to a specific time range.
Find Emails by Threat Level
Scenario: You want to review all high-risk emails from the past week.
Steps:
Open the Filter Editor
Select Analysis category
Add the
threat_levelfilterSelect the threat level:
0-1 = Safe/Neutral
2-3 = Caution
4-5 = Danger
Add
processed_datefilter and set to "Last 7 days"Apply filters
Quick alternative: Use Quick Search presets β click Danger Threat for immediate results.
Find Reported Emails (Phishing, Spam, or Safe)
Scenario: You want to review what users have reported.
Quick method:
Go to Analysis > Observations
Click Quick Search
Select Reported Phish, Reported Spam, or Reported Safe
Advanced method (more control):
Open the Filter Editor
Select Metadata category
Add filters:
report_labelβ Filter by report type (Phish, Spam, Safe)reported_byβ Filter by who reported itreport_statusβ Filter by status (Open, Resolved)
Apply filters
Find Emails with Suspicious Attachments
Scenario: You have an attachment hash from a threat intel feed, or want to find emails with specific file types.
By attachment hash:
Open the Filter Editor
Select Media category
Add
attachment_hashfilterPaste the SHA256 hash
Apply
By attachment properties:
Add
attachmentsfilterSet criteria:
Filename β Search by name (e.g., "invoice")
Filetype β Select type (e.g.,
.exe,.zip)Size β Filter by size (e.g., >= 5 MB)
Apply
Quick alternative: Click Has Attachments in Quick Search to see all emails with attachments.
Find Emails with Link Clicks
Scenario: You need to identify users who clicked links in potentially malicious emails.
Steps:
Go to Analysis > Observations
Click Quick Search β Select Link Clicks
Or with more detail:
Open the Filter Editor
Select Metadata category
Add filters:
link_clicksβ Messages where links were clickedlink_click_alert_lvlβ Filter by alert level of clicked links
Apply
Tip: Combine with threat_level to prioritize dangerous emails with clicks.
Find Emails for a Specific Team
Scenario: You're investigating emails for a particular department or team.
Steps:
Open the Filter Editor
Select General category
Add
teamidfilterSearch for and select the team
Apply
Tip: Organization-level teams (prefixed with $) let you filter across multiple sub-teams.
Find Emails Within a Date Range
Scenario: You need emails from a specific time period.
Steps:
Open the Filter Editor
Select General category
Add
processed_datefilterChoose mode:
Relative β "Last X days/hours/minutes"
Specific β Select start and end dates
Apply
Presets available: Today, Yesterday, This Week, This Month, Six Months
Note: Maximum lookback is 180 days.
Combining Filters
Filters stack β each additional filter narrows your results. Common combinations:
Goal | Filters to Combine |
Recent threats from a domain |
|
User reports needing review |
|
Attachment-based threats |
|
Link clicks on dangerous emails |
|
Quick Search vs Filter Editor
Use Quick Search When... | Use Filter Editor When... |
You have a specific value to search | You need multiple filter criteria |
You want preset filters (Internal, Danger, etc.) | You need precise control over filter values |
Speed is priority | You need filters not in Quick Search |
You're doing initial triage | You're building a complex query |
Filter Editor
The Filter Editor is found on many components β it drives filtering across all aspects of Custom Dashboards and is how Quick Search applies its filters.
Quick Search Filters
Note: Quick Search Filters are only found on the Observations page.

Preset Filters
When you click the Quick Search input, you'll get the following options to select:
FilterDescription | |
Internal | Messages sent within your organization |
External | Messages from outside your organization |
Inbound | Messages received |
Outbound | Messages sent |
Has Attachments | Messages containing file attachments |
Neutral Threat | Messages classified as neutral threat level |
Caution Threat | Messages classified as caution threat level |
Danger Threat | Messages classified as danger threat level |
Link Clicks | Messages where links were clicked |
Reported Phish | Messages reported as phishing |
Reported Spam | Messages reported as spam |
Reported Safe | Messages reported as safe |
Once you select one of these options, it immediately filters based on that condition. For example, selecting Reported Phish returns a list with Last Week and Report Label: Phish pre-selected.


Search by Value
If you click the Quick Search input and paste a value, you can search by that value based on the corresponding option selected:
Search TypeDescription | |
Message ID | Unique identifier for an email |
Recipient | Email address of the recipient |
Sender | Email address of the sender |
Subject | Email subject line |
Attachment Hash | SHA256 hash of an attachment |
Link | URL found in the message |
Workflow Rule | Name of a workflow rule |
Team Id | Team identifier |
Example: If you have a Message ID from an email you're searching for, copy it, paste it into the input, and hit Enter β it will automatically select Message ID as the search type.

Filter Editor Categories
The full Filter Editor organizes 74 filters into 6 categories:


Category | Filters | Description |
General | 14 | Core message properties (sender, recipient, date, team) |
Headers | 9 | Email header fields (To, From, CC, Subject, Message ID) |
Media | 5 | Attachments, images, and links |
Analysis | 19 | Threat detection and classification results |
Metadata | 18 | Authentication, IPs, reports, and tags |
Workflow | 9 | Workflow state and history |
Input Types
Different filters use different input methods:
Input Type | Description | Example Filters |
Keyword | Search with auto-suggestions | Sender, Recipient, Domain |
Text | Free-text search | Subject, Display Name |
Boolean | True/False selection | Internal, Outbound |
Unary | Presence check (no input needed) | Has Attachments, Has Links |
Date | Date range picker (relative or specific) | Processed Date |
IP | IP address input (octet-based) | Connecting IP, Sender IP |
Attachments | Multi-property filter | Filename, Type, Size |
Links | URL or domain search | Link URLs |
Team | Team/organization selector | Team ID |
Report Label | Predefined label selection | Report Label |
Filter Reference
General Filters
Filter | Input Type | Description |
| team | Filter by team or organization |
| keyword | Recipient email address |
| keyword | Sender email address |
| text | Sender display name |
| keyword | Sender domain |
| keyword | Recipient's team domains |
| date | Message processing date (max 180 days lookback) |
| boolean | Internal (true) vs External (false) messages |
| boolean | Known external sender status |
| keyword | Mail-from header value |
| keyword | Organizational unit |
| keyword | Message origination source |
| keyword | Message source |
| boolean | Outbound (true) vs Inbound (false) |
| boolean | Journal mode enabled |
Headers Filters
Filter | Input Type | Description |
| keyword | RCPT TO header addresses |
| keyword | FROM header (supports address or friendly_name) |
| keyword | TO header (supports address or friendly_name) |
| keyword | REPLY-TO header |
| keyword | CC header |
| keyword | BCC header |
| keyword | IN-REPLY-TO header (thread reference) |
| text | Email subject line |
| keyword | Message ID |
| keyword | Message ID domain |
Media Filters
Filter | Input Type | Description |
| keyword | Attachment SHA256 hash |
| attachments | Multi-property: filename, filetype, size (MB) |
| unary | Messages with attachments |
| images | Image URLs in message body |
| links | Hyperlinks (search by URL or domain) |
| unary | Messages containing links |
Analysis Filters
Filter | Input Type | Description |
| keyword | Delivery target |
| keyword | Detection reason IDs |
| keyword | Result classification bucket |
| keyword | Sensitive content categories |
| keyword | Spam content categories |
| keyword | Phishing content categories |
| keyword | Combined spam/phishing categories |
| keyword | Neutral/Caution/Danger |
| boolean | Trinity Cyber detection flag |
| keyword | AI ensemble label |
| keyword | Brand impersonation domain |
Metadata Filters
Filter | Input Type | Description |
| text | SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication results |
| boolean | Banner suppression status |
| ip | Connecting IP address |
| boolean | Google phishing detection |
| boolean | Google spam detection |
| keyword | HELO/EHLO string |
| keyword | Link click alert level |
| boolean | Continued link clicks |
| unary | Messages with link clicks |
| keyword | Microsoft Spam Confidence Level |
| keyword | Phishing test provider |
| report_label | Report label/tag |
| keyword | Reporter email address |
| unary | Messages with user reports |
| keyword | Report status (Open, Resolved, etc.) |
| ip | Sender IP address |
| text | Sender geographic location |
| keyword | Message tags |
Workflow Filters
Filter | Input Type | Description |
| keyword | Current workflow state action |
| keyword | Current workflow state user |
| keyword | Workflow history action |
| keyword | Workflow history user |
| keyword | Workflow rule name |
| keyword | Workflow condition name |
| keyword | Workflow condition value |
| boolean | Encrypted workflow messages |
Filter Behavior Notes
Date Filter
Supports relative mode (X days/hours/minutes ago) and specific mode (calendar picker)
Maximum lookback: 180 days
Presets: Today, Yesterday, This Week, This Month, Six Months
IP Filters
Segmented input for each octet (0-255)
Supports pasting full IP addresses
Provides suggestions from backend data
Attachments Filter
Filename: Text search
Filetype: Dropdown selection
Size: Slider (0-100 MB) with >= or <= operators
Links Filter
URL mode: Search by URL prefix
Domain mode: Search by domain name