Filter components and match types reference
Every filter rule in Cleanbox has three parts: a component (what to check), an operator (how to compare), and a value (what to match against). This article is a reference for all available components and operators.
Components
| Component | What it checks | Example value |
|---|---|---|
| From (address) | The sender's email address | newsletter@shop.com |
| From (name) | The sender's display name | Amazon Support |
| Sender (both) | Display name and email address combined | Amazon Support <newsletter@shop.com> |
| Subject | The email subject line | Your order has shipped |
| Body | The email body content (plain text) | click here to unsubscribe |
| Property | Email characteristics like attachments, newsletter, reply, etc. | newsletter, attachments, encrypted |
| Header | Check if a specific email header exists | List-Unsubscribe, X-Priority |
| Category | The sender's contact category | Shopping, Social Networks |
| Spam score | The numeric spam score assigned by the scanner (0 if unavailable) | 5, 8.5 |
| Spam symbol | A specific spam indicator name from the symbol reference | ZERO_FONT, BAYES_SPAM |
Operators
Not every operator works with every component. Text-based components (from, subject, body) support all text operators. Property and category use is / is not. Spam score uses greater than / less than.
| Operator | Behavior | Works with |
|---|---|---|
| contains | Value appears anywhere in the field | From, Subject, Body, Sender, Header |
| does not contain | Value does not appear in the field | From, Subject, Body, Sender, Header |
| equals | Exact match (case-insensitive) | From, Subject, Category, Spam symbol |
| does not equal | Value is not an exact match | From, Subject, Category, Spam symbol |
| starts with | Field begins with value | From, Subject, Body, Sender |
| ends with | Field ends with value | From, Subject, Body, Sender |
| matches (regex) | Regular expression pattern match | From, Subject, Body, Sender |
| exists | The header is present in the email | Header |
| not exists | The header is absent | Header |
| is | Property or category matches the selected value | Property, Category |
| is not | Property or category does not match | Property, Category |
| greater than | Numeric value exceeds threshold | Spam score |
| less than | Numeric value is below threshold | Spam score |
Properties available
When using the Property component with the is / is not operator, you can match on these message properties:
| Property | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Multi-sender | Sent to multiple recipients |
| CC | You were CC'd |
| BCC | You were BCC'd |
| Reply | Reply to a previous message |
| Forwarded | Message was forwarded |
| Newsletter | Has List-Unsubscribe header |
| Attachments | Contains attachments |
| Encrypted | PGP or S/MIME encrypted |
| Calendar | Contains calendar invite |
| Read confirmation | Sender requested a read receipt |
| High priority | Marked as high priority by sender |
| Automated | Auto-generated message |
Practical examples
| Goal | Component | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block a domain | From (address) | ends with | @spammer.com | Deny |
| Sort newsletters | Property | is | Newsletter | Allow → folder "Newsletters" |
| Flag calendar invites | Property | is | Calendar | Allow → mark flagged |
| Block zero-font spam | Spam symbol | equals | ZERO_FONT | Deny |
| Reject high spam scores | Spam score | greater than | 8 | Deny |
| Sort shopping receipts | Category | is | Shopping | Allow → folder "Receipts" |
For combining multiple conditions, see Advanced filtering: combining conditions and groups. To test filters before activating, see Testing and reordering your filters.
