Most Citizens find The Hive first. Some go straight to Borg. But Beams — the command-based shortcut system built into Findborg’s search bar — often get discovered by accident, weeks in, when someone types something wrong and realizes they just did something extremely right.
That’s a shame. Beams are some of the fastest, most direct tools on the platform. Here’s what they actually do and how to use them.
What a Beam Is
A Beam is a typed command that launches a focused action inside Findborg — bypassing the standard Find Engine flow and going directly to a specific result type, tool, or source. Think of it as a keyboard shortcut for people who already know what they want. Not a discovery path. A precision instrument.
You use them directly in the search bar, before your query.
The Core Beams
!borgRoutes your query directly to Borg for a deep breakdown. Skips the SERP. When you know you want AI analysis, not links, lead with !borg.
!hivePulls results exclusively from Hive posts. When you want what real people have said about a topic — not the web’s version of it — !hive goes there first.
!newsOpens the News tab directly. Good for breaking developments when you want editorial results without wading through the full Find Engine stack.
!imageLands you straight in Image results. Simple, and faster than clicking a tab after the fact.
The One People Miss Most
The most underused Beam is !workspace. It opens directly into Workspace — Findborg’s research environment where your query becomes a canvas. Results load into a structured layout built for thinking, not scanning. If you’re doing any kind of research where a list of links isn’t enough, !workspace is where you should be starting, not ending up.
“Is there a shortcut to go straight to Borg without all the tabs?”
Yes. That’s !borg. But the real answer is: once you learn the Beams, you stop thinking about tabs at all.
How to Use Them
Type the Beam command at the start of your search, followed by a space, then your query. Like this:
!borg what causes bioluminescence in shallow coastal water!hive best tacos in Pasco County!workspace Gulf Coast marine biology overview
That’s the whole mechanic. No settings to enable, no account tier required. Beams are available to every Citizen from day one.
A Note on Combining Them With Borg
Beams and Borg work together naturally. !borg activates Borg directly, but you can also reach Borg from any result tab by typing Hey Borg into the search bar mid-session. The Beam is for when you know at the start. Hey Borg is for when the question evolves mid-find.
Both are useful. Knowing which to reach for is the skill.
This post answers: “Are there keyboard shortcuts or commands to get around Findborg faster?”
