Snaps (@code)

A snap scopes a search to a site (or a few sites) or to a lens, inline, without typing site: each time. To trigger one, begin the query with @ followed by its code.

Using a snap

Put the snap first; everything after it is the query:

@docs middleware pipeline
@news election results

A snap can point at:

• One site — the search is scoped with site: to that domain.
• Several sites — the search is scoped to all of them at once (an OR of site: filters).
• A lens — the snap activates that lens for the search.

A snap @docs covering learn.microsoft.com and developer.mozilla.org turns:

@docs fetch api

into a search for fetch api across those two sites alone — equivalent to:

fetch api (site:learn.microsoft.com OR site:developer.mozilla.org)

Snaps vs. bangs vs. lenses

A snap is the quickest way to restrict a search to sites you have grouped; it is the command-line cousin of a lens. A bang routes, scopes, or applies a ranking rule. A lens is a richer, reusable bundle of ranking rules that can also be activated by a bang or set as your default. A snap that points to a lens is a short alias for switching that lens on.

Managing snaps

Create and remove snaps under Settings → Search Control → Snaps. A snap needs a code (lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens) and either a lens or a list of domains. The code is normalized automatically, so @My-Docs and @my-docs are the same snap.