Boolean Search String Generator
A boolean search string is the difference between a useful list of people and a page of noise. This generator turns plain lists of job titles, skills and exclusions into a working query, then rewrites it in the exact syntax each platform expects. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
Free tool · nothing is uploaded
Build a boolean search string
Enter the titles, skills and exclusions you care about once. Get the same search written in the native syntax for five platforms.
- Five platform variants
- OR synonym groups
- NOT exclusions
- Length & word guard
Search inputs
Separate alternatives with commas. Every title goes into one OR group, so a profile only needs to match one of them.
At least one of these must also appear. The two groups are joined with AND.
Profiles containing any of these are filtered out. Leave empty to start broad.
Changes the operators and grouping, not the words you entered.
Generated query
Add at least one title or keyword to build your query.
—
The query appears here as soon as a term is entered.
- Included 0
- Excluded 0
- Operators 0
- Words 0
Comfort zone 0–300 Working budget 450
—
Other platform versions
The same three lists, rewritten in each platform’s syntax. The platform you selected is not repeated here.
Checks
- Info Type a title or keyword above to run the checks.
What a boolean search string actually is
A boolean search string is a query written with three connectors: AND requires both sides to appear, OR accepts either side, and NOT removes matches containing a term. Quotation marks turn several words into one exact phrase, and parentheses decide which parts of the query belong together.
Recruiters, sourcers and sales researchers use these strings because a single keyword box usually searches the whole profile. A well-built string says “this person must have one of these titles, must mention one of these skills, and must not be an intern”, which is far more precise than typing a job title and scrolling.
How this generator works
The tool deliberately hides the syntax. You supply three plain lists and it writes the connectors:
- Titles or roles become one OR group. A profile only needs to match one title from the list.
- Skills or keywords become a second OR group. At least one skill must also appear.
- The two groups are joined with AND, so a match needs a title from the first list and a skill from the second.
- Exclusions are appended as a NOT group, which removes profiles containing any of those words.
- Choose the platform and the same model is rewritten in that platform’s syntax. The other four versions are listed underneath the result.
Separate alternatives with commas, semicolons or newlines. Multi-word and hyphenated alternatives are wrapped in quotation marks automatically. Single unpunctuated words are left bare because quoting them rarely changes the result.
The query shape
With two titles, two skills and one exclusion, the model is:
("Title A" OR "Title B") AND ("Skill A" OR SkillB) NOT intern
The same model produces these platform versions:
| Platform | AND | OR | NOT | Grouping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AND | OR | NOT | Parentheses | |
| Space (implicit) | OR | -term | Parentheses | |
| Google X-Ray | Space (implicit) | OR | -term | Parentheses plus site: |
| X (Twitter) | Space (implicit) | OR | -term | No parentheses |
| Indeed | AND | OR | NOT | Parentheses |
Google receives the groups separated by a space instead of the word AND, because Google treats adjacent terms as AND anyway. Google and X use a leading minus for exclusion; LinkedIn and Indeed take the word NOT. X has no reliable parenthesis support, so its version is a flat string.
Worked examples
| Platform | Generated query |
|---|---|
("Head of Marketing" OR "Marketing Director" OR "VP Marketing") AND ("B2B SaaS" OR "demand generation" OR HubSpot) NOT (intern OR student) |
|
| Google X-Ray | site:linkedin.com/in (Founder OR "Co-Founder" OR "Managing Director") ("ecommerce agency" OR Shopify OR retention) -job -hiring |
| X | recruiter OR "talent acquisition" "boolean search" OR sourcing -job |
"Head of Sales" SaaS |
These strings are outputs of the logic described on this page, not examples copied from a live campaign.
What the checks look for
- Length. The character count fills a meter against a 300-character comfort zone and a 450-character working budget. Both numbers are this tool’s editorial guideline, not a platform rule.
- Google’s word limit. Google documents a 32-word limit per query. When Google or Google X-Ray is selected, the word count is compared with that limit and the query is marked over cap when it exceeds it.
- Conflicting terms. If a word appears in an include list and in the exclusions, no profile can satisfy the query. The tool flags the conflict instead of silently producing a string that returns nothing.
- Broad queries. More than twelve required alternatives triggers a warning, because long OR lists usually bury the strong matches.
- Very short or very long terms. One- or two-character terms match almost anything; phrases over sixty characters rarely appear in a profile verbatim.
- X grouping. X has no reliable parentheses, so a query that mixes AND and OR across two multi-word groups is flagged as broader than it looks.
Limits you should know about
- Syntax summaries are simplified. LinkedIn, Indeed and X change their search behaviour and enforce account-specific limits. Test the string in the product you actually use rather than assuming every operator behaves identically in every tier.
- Matching is literal. Boolean search looks for the characters you typed. It does not know that “VP Marketing” and “Vice President of Marketing” are the same job, and it does not reliably stem plurals on every platform.
- This tool cannot filter by location. On LinkedIn and Indeed, location, seniority and company size are separate filters in the interface, not keywords in the boolean box. Adding a city name to the string searches profile text, which is not the same thing.
- No result counts, no ranking. The tool cannot tell you how many people match. That number only exists inside the platform, and it depends on the platform’s index.
- Exclusions can be too aggressive. A NOT term removes any profile containing that string, including a profile where it appears in an unrelated context. Start with a short exclusion list.
- Google’s word cap is a documented limit, not a ranking factor. Staying under it keeps the query valid; it does not make results better.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to type the AND, OR and NOT myself?
No. Type plain lists and the generator writes the operators. Quotes, brackets and operator words at the edge of an entry are stripped, so a pasted fragment such as "Head of Sales" OR becomes the clean phrase Head of Sales.
Can I paste a whole boolean string into one field?
No. The fields expect plain lists, not finished queries. A complete string pasted into one field is cleaned into a single long phrase rather than re-parsed into groups. Enter the titles and skills as separate comma-separated lists instead.
Why is the skills group OR instead of AND?
Because requiring every skill at once usually returns almost nothing. The current shape asks for one title and one skill. If a profile must show two specific skills, copy the generated string and add the second one after the first with AND, for example ("Skill A" OR SkillB) AND Kubernetes.
Does the LinkedIn version work in Sales Navigator?
The operators are the same family, but Sales Navigator has its own fields and limits. Use the LinkedIn version as a starting point, then paste it into the keyword field of the product you are using and adjust.
Why does the Google version have no AND?
Google treats adjacent words and phrases as AND. Adding the word AND is not required and can be read as a literal term in some contexts, so the generator omits it and relies on juxtaposition.
Is my search data uploaded anywhere?
No. The tool is plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript in the page. There is no server request, no account, no cookie and no local storage. Nothing you type leaves the browser.
Can I save a query for later?
The tool does not store anything, by design. Copy the string into your notes, your ATS or your spreadsheet before clearing the fields.
Related tools
- Google X-Ray Search Builder — a dedicated builder for
site:andintitle:combinations - LinkedIn Search Query Builder — a Sales Navigator style variant of this idea
- Job Title to Decision Maker Mapper — work out which titles belong in the first OR group
- Local Business Prospector — niche plus city search plans for local prospecting
Next step
A boolean string finds the right profiles; the message you send decides whether they answer. If you are building an outbound system rather than a one-off search, see how mizanursguide.com builds cold email campaigns that get replies instead of silence.