diff --git a/crates/sprout-cli/src/commands/channels.rs b/crates/sprout-cli/src/commands/channels.rs
index 17018f8ab..d0b9b51b1 100644
--- a/crates/sprout-cli/src/commands/channels.rs
+++ b/crates/sprout-cli/src/commands/channels.rs
@@ -29,6 +29,124 @@ pub async fn cmd_list_channels(
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// Search channels by human-readable name (kind:39000 group metadata).
+///
+/// The relay's access control already filters out channels the caller can't see
+/// (private channels they're not a member of), so we just post-filter the
+/// returned events by name and project them into a stable JSON shape.
+pub async fn cmd_search_channels(
+    client: &SproutClient,
+    query: &str,
+    exact: bool,
+    include_archived: bool,
+    limit: u32,
+) -> Result<(), CliError> {
+    if query.trim().is_empty() {
+        return Err(CliError::Usage("--query cannot be empty".into()));
+    }
+
+    let filter = serde_json::json!({
+        "kinds": [39000],
+        "limit": limit,
+    });
+    let raw = client.query(&filter).await?;
+
+    let events: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_str(&raw)
+        .map_err(|e| CliError::Other(format!("failed to parse response: {e}")))?;
+    let Some(arr) = events.as_array() else {
+        println!("[]");
+        return Ok(());
+    };
+
+    let needle = query.to_ascii_lowercase();
+    let mut matches: Vec<ChannelSummary> = arr
+        .iter()
+        .filter_map(ChannelSummary::from_event)
+        .filter(|c| if include_archived { true } else { !c.archived })
+        .filter(|c| name_matches(&c.name, &needle, exact))
+        .collect();
+    matches.sort_by(|a, b| {
+        a.name
+            .cmp(&b.name)
+            .then_with(|| a.channel_id.cmp(&b.channel_id))
+    });
+
+    let output = serde_json::to_string(&matches).expect("serializing ChannelSummary");
+    println!("{output}");
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Stable, scriptable projection of a kind:39000 channel-metadata event.
+#[derive(serde::Serialize)]
+struct ChannelSummary {
+    channel_id: String,
+    name: String,
+    channel_type: Option<String>,
+    visibility: Option<String>,
+    archived: bool,
+    about: Option<String>,
+    topic: Option<String>,
+    purpose: Option<String>,
+}
+
+impl ChannelSummary {
+    /// Parse a kind:39000 event JSON value into a summary. Returns `None` if the
+    /// event lacks the required `d` (channel UUID) or `name` tags.
+    fn from_event(event: &serde_json::Value) -> Option<Self> {
+        let tags = event.get("tags")?.as_array()?;
+        let mut channel_id: Option<String> = None;
+        let mut name: Option<String> = None;
+        let mut channel_type: Option<String> = None;
+        let mut visibility: Option<String> = None;
+        let mut archived = false;
+        let mut about: Option<String> = None;
+        let mut topic: Option<String> = None;
+        let mut purpose: Option<String> = None;
+
+        for tag in tags {
+            let Some(tag_arr) = tag.as_array() else {
+                continue;
+            };
+            let key = tag_arr.first().and_then(|v| v.as_str()).unwrap_or("");
+            let val = tag_arr.get(1).and_then(|v| v.as_str());
+            match key {
+                "d" => channel_id = val.map(str::to_string),
+                "name" => name = val.map(str::to_string),
+                "t" => channel_type = val.map(str::to_string),
+                // NIP-29 emits both `private` and `public` (Sprout adds the latter).
+                // The presence of either tag is the source of truth; tag value is unused.
+                "private" => visibility = Some("private".to_string()),
+                "public" => visibility = Some("public".to_string()),
+                "about" => about = val.map(str::to_string),
+                "topic" => topic = val.map(str::to_string),
+                "purpose" => purpose = val.map(str::to_string),
+                "archived" => archived = val == Some("true"),
+                _ => {}
+            }
+        }
+
+        Some(ChannelSummary {
+            channel_id: channel_id?,
+            name: name?,
+            channel_type,
+            visibility,
+            archived,
+            about,
+            topic,
+            purpose,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+fn name_matches(name: &str, needle_lower: &str, exact: bool) -> bool {
+    let hay = name.to_ascii_lowercase();
+    if exact {
+        hay == needle_lower
+    } else {
+        hay.contains(needle_lower)
+    }
+}
+
 pub async fn cmd_get_channel(client: &SproutClient, channel_id: &str) -> Result<(), CliError> {
     validate_uuid(channel_id)?;
     // Query kind:39002 with #h tag matching the channel UUID
@@ -312,6 +430,12 @@ pub async fn dispatch(cmd: crate::ChannelsCmd, client: &SproutClient) -> Result<
             cmd_list_channels(client, vis_str.as_deref(), Some(member)).await
         }
         ChannelsCmd::Get { channel } => cmd_get_channel(client, &channel).await,
+        ChannelsCmd::Search {
+            query,
+            exact,
+            include_archived,
+            limit,
+        } => cmd_search_channels(client, &query, exact, include_archived, limit).await,
         ChannelsCmd::Create {
             name,
             channel_type,
@@ -362,3 +486,97 @@ pub async fn dispatch_canvas(cmd: crate::CanvasCmd, client: &SproutClient) -> Re
         CanvasCmd::Set { channel, content } => cmd_set_canvas(client, &channel, &content).await,
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::{name_matches, ChannelSummary};
+    use serde_json::json;
+
+    fn event(tags: serde_json::Value) -> serde_json::Value {
+        json!({ "tags": tags })
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_event_extracts_known_tags() {
+        let ev = event(json!([
+            ["d", "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"],
+            ["name", "sprout-chat-composer"],
+            ["t", "stream"],
+            ["public"],
+            ["about", "About text"],
+            ["topic", "Composer work"],
+            ["purpose", "Track UI for the composer"],
+        ]));
+        let s = ChannelSummary::from_event(&ev).expect("parse");
+        assert_eq!(s.channel_id, "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111");
+        assert_eq!(s.name, "sprout-chat-composer");
+        assert_eq!(s.channel_type.as_deref(), Some("stream"));
+        assert_eq!(s.visibility.as_deref(), Some("public"));
+        assert!(!s.archived);
+        assert_eq!(s.about.as_deref(), Some("About text"));
+        assert_eq!(s.topic.as_deref(), Some("Composer work"));
+        assert_eq!(s.purpose.as_deref(), Some("Track UI for the composer"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_event_marks_archived() {
+        let ev = event(json!([
+            ["d", "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"],
+            ["name", "old-channel"],
+            ["archived", "true"],
+        ]));
+        let s = ChannelSummary::from_event(&ev).expect("parse");
+        assert!(s.archived);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_event_marks_private() {
+        let ev = event(json!([
+            ["d", "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"],
+            ["name", "secret"],
+            ["private"],
+        ]));
+        let s = ChannelSummary::from_event(&ev).expect("parse");
+        assert_eq!(s.visibility.as_deref(), Some("private"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_event_returns_none_without_required_tags() {
+        // missing `name`
+        let ev = event(json!([["d", "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"]]));
+        assert!(ChannelSummary::from_event(&ev).is_none());
+        // missing `d`
+        let ev = event(json!([["name", "no-id"]]));
+        assert!(ChannelSummary::from_event(&ev).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_event_tolerates_malformed_tags() {
+        // Non-array tag entry, empty tag, single-element tag — all must be skipped, not panic.
+        let ev = event(json!([
+            "not-an-array",
+            [],
+            ["name"],
+            ["d", "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"],
+            ["name", "fine"],
+        ]));
+        let s = ChannelSummary::from_event(&ev).expect("parse");
+        assert_eq!(s.name, "fine");
+    }
+
+    // `name_matches` takes a pre-lowercased needle (caller responsibility, set in
+    // cmd_search_channels). Tests follow the same contract.
+
+    #[test]
+    fn name_matches_substring_case_insensitive() {
+        assert!(name_matches("Sprout-Chat-Composer", "composer", false));
+        assert!(name_matches("Sprout-Chat-Composer", "sprout", false));
+        assert!(!name_matches("design", "composer", false));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn name_matches_exact_case_insensitive() {
+        assert!(name_matches("Sprout", "sprout", true));
+        assert!(!name_matches("Sprout-Chat", "sprout", true));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/sprout-cli/src/lib.rs b/crates/sprout-cli/src/lib.rs
index fa5ab2f88..f8ca44e1a 100644
--- a/crates/sprout-cli/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/sprout-cli/src/lib.rs
@@ -359,6 +359,24 @@ pub enum ChannelsCmd {
         #[arg(long)]
         channel: String,
     },
+    /// Search channels by human-readable name
+    #[command(
+        after_help = "Examples:\n  sprout channels search --query composer\n  sprout channels search --query sprout-chat-composer --exact\n  sprout channels search --query design --include-archived"
+    )]
+    Search {
+        /// Search query (case-insensitive substring of channel name)
+        #[arg(long)]
+        query: String,
+        /// Require an exact case-insensitive match instead of substring
+        #[arg(long, default_value_t = false)]
+        exact: bool,
+        /// Include archived channels in results
+        #[arg(long, default_value_t = false)]
+        include_archived: bool,
+        /// Maximum number of channel-metadata events to fetch from the relay
+        #[arg(long, default_value_t = 1000)]
+        limit: u32,
+    },
     /// Create a new channel
     #[command(
         after_help = "Examples:\n  sprout channels create --name general --type stream --visibility open\n  sprout channels create --name design --type forum --visibility open --description \"Design discussions\""