Command
nylas contacts search
Search contacts by company, email, phone, source, or group.
Written by Qasim Muhammad Staff SRE
What does nylas contacts search do?
The nylas contacts search command finds contacts using server-side filters: --company (partial match), --email, --phone, --source, --group, and --has-email. Combine filters to narrow results, and add --json for structured output. Works with Google Contacts, Outlook People, Exchange, Yahoo, iCloud, and IMAP providers.
Usage
nylas contacts search [--company NAME] [--email EMAIL] [--phone PHONE]Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| --json | Output as JSON |
| --no-color | Disable color output |
| --verbose(-v) | Enable verbose output |
| --config | Custom config file path |
| --help(-h) | Show help for the command |
| --limit | Limit results (most list commands) |
| --yes(-y) | Skip confirmations |
| --company | Filter by company name (partial match) |
| Filter by email address | |
| --group | Filter by contact group ID |
| --has-email | Only show contacts with email addresses |
| --phone | Filter by phone number |
| --source | Filter by source (address_book, inbox, domain) |
Examples
The nylas contacts search command finds contacts using server-side filters: --company (partial match), --email, --phone, --source, --group, and --has-email.
Search by company name
nylas contacts search --company "Acme"Find a contact by email address
nylas contacts search --email alice@acme.com --jsonExample output
NAME EMAIL COMPANY
Alice Chen alice@example.com Acme Corp
Bob Smith bob@example.com Acme Corp
2 contacts match "Acme Corp"Troubleshooting
Search returns no results for a known contact
Try a partial match (first name only or email domain). Some providers require exact prefix matches rather than fuzzy search.
Search is slow on large address books
The search is provider-side. Google Contacts search is typically fast; Exchange global address list lookups can take a few seconds.
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Run nylas contacts search --help for full help output.