diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 51f592d..9f55dd7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Added
 
+- Message search — channel browser (`GET /cable`) accepts `?q=` to filter the channel list by name substring; per-channel message list (`GET /cable/channels/:channel_hash`) accepts `?q=` to filter messages by payload substring; both show a contextual empty state and a Clear link when a search is active
 - Per-channel message list — `GET /cable/channels/:channel_hash` shows a paginated, reverse-chronological list of `SolidCable::Message` records for a specific channel; each row shows the message ID, a truncated payload preview (120 chars), and relative sent time with exact timestamp on hover; channel names in the channel browser are now links to their message list
 - Solid Cable channel browser — `GET /cable` lists all distinct channels with per-channel message count and last-message timestamp, ordered by most recent activity; a total-messages stat and channel-count stat are shown at the top; empty state shown when no messages exist; Cable subnav (Overview) added to the layout
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7c23216..60334bc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ Filters are preserved when switching between status tabs (Ready / Scheduled / Ru
 
 ### Features
 
-- **Channel browser** — `GET /cable` lists all active channels with per-channel message count and last-message timestamp, ordered by most recent activity; empty state shown when no messages exist
-- **Per-channel message list** — `GET /cable/channels/:channel_hash` shows a paginated, reverse-chronological list of that channel's `SolidCable::Message` records; each row shows the message ID, a truncated payload preview (120 chars) with the full payload on hover, and a relative sent time with the exact timestamp on hover
+- **Channel browser** — `GET /cable` lists all active channels with per-channel message count and last-message timestamp, ordered by most recent activity; supports `?q=` filtering by channel name substring; empty state shown when no messages exist
+- **Per-channel message list** — `GET /cable/channels/:channel_hash` shows a paginated, reverse-chronological list of that channel's `SolidCable::Message` records; each row shows the message ID, a truncated payload preview (120 chars) with the full payload on hover, and a relative sent time with the exact timestamp on hover; supports `?q=` filtering by payload substring
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/ROADMAP.md b/ROADMAP.md
index 44f9036..27fb30d 100644
--- a/ROADMAP.md
+++ b/ROADMAP.md
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ The path to v1.0.0 is staged: first achieve feature parity with `solid_queue_das
 > _Surface what's actually flowing through Action Cable._
 
 ### Added
-- **Message search** — filter messages across channels by channel name or payload substring
 - **Message purge** — delete all messages for a channel or all messages older than N days
 - **Stats dashboard card** — expand the overview card to include messages per hour, oldest pending message age, and top channels by volume
 - **Cable timeline** — 24-hour chart of message volume
diff --git a/app/controllers/solid_stack_web/cable_controller.rb b/app/controllers/solid_stack_web/cable_controller.rb
index 59308a5..aefff80 100644
--- a/app/controllers/solid_stack_web/cable_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/solid_stack_web/cable_controller.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 module SolidStackWeb
   class CableController < ApplicationController
     def index
+      @search         = params[:q].presence
       @total_messages = ::SolidCable::Message.count
       @channels       = channel_rows
     end
@@ -8,7 +9,11 @@ def index
     private
 
     def channel_rows
-      ::SolidCable::Message
+      scope = ::SolidCable::Message
+      if @search
+        scope = scope.where("channel LIKE ?", "%#{::ActiveRecord::Base.sanitize_sql_like(@search)}%")
+      end
+      scope
         .group(:channel, :channel_hash)
         .order(Arel.sql("MAX(created_at) DESC"))
         .pluck(:channel, :channel_hash, Arel.sql("COUNT(*)"), Arel.sql("MAX(created_at)"))
diff --git a/app/controllers/solid_stack_web/cable_messages_controller.rb b/app/controllers/solid_stack_web/cable_messages_controller.rb
index 36e28d5..fc6ef5e 100644
--- a/app/controllers/solid_stack_web/cable_messages_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/solid_stack_web/cable_messages_controller.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 module SolidStackWeb
   class CableMessagesController < ApplicationController
     def index
-      scope = ::SolidCable::Message.where(channel_hash: params[:channel_hash]).order(created_at: :desc)
-      @channel_name = scope.pick(:channel) || params[:channel_hash]
-      @pagy, @messages = pagy(scope)
+      @search = params[:q].presence
+      scope   = ::SolidCable::Message.where(channel_hash: params[:channel_hash])
+      if @search
+        scope = scope.where("payload LIKE ?", "%#{::ActiveRecord::Base.sanitize_sql_like(@search)}%")
+      end
+      @channel_name    = ::SolidCable::Message.where(channel_hash: params[:channel_hash]).pick(:channel) || params[:channel_hash]
+      @pagy, @messages = pagy(scope.order(created_at: :desc))
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/views/solid_stack_web/cable/index.html.erb b/app/views/solid_stack_web/cable/index.html.erb
index 3d35578..4bd9d43 100644
--- a/app/views/solid_stack_web/cable/index.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/solid_stack_web/cable/index.html.erb
@@ -13,6 +13,15 @@
   </div>
 </div>
 
+<form class="sqw-filters" action="<%= cable_path %>" method="get" data-controller="search">
+  <input class="sqw-search-input" type="search" name="q" value="<%= @search %>"
+         placeholder="Filter by channel…" autocomplete="off" aria-label="Filter by channel"
+         data-action="input->search#filter">
+  <% if @search.present? %>
+    <%= link_to "Clear", cable_path, class: "sqw-btn sqw-btn--muted sqw-btn--sm" %>
+  <% end %>
+</form>
+
 <% if @channels.any? %>
   <table class="sqw-table">
     <thead>
@@ -36,6 +45,6 @@
   </table>
 <% else %>
   <div class="sqw-empty">
-    <p>No cable messages.</p>
+    <p><%= @search.present? ? "No channels matching &ldquo;#{@search}&rdquo;.".html_safe : "No cable messages." %></p>
   </div>
 <% end %>
diff --git a/app/views/solid_stack_web/cable_messages/index.html.erb b/app/views/solid_stack_web/cable_messages/index.html.erb
index 7504c59..6106245 100644
--- a/app/views/solid_stack_web/cable_messages/index.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/solid_stack_web/cable_messages/index.html.erb
@@ -5,6 +5,15 @@
   </div>
 </div>
 
+<form class="sqw-filters" action="<%= cable_channel_messages_path(params[:channel_hash]) %>" method="get" data-controller="search">
+  <input class="sqw-search-input" type="search" name="q" value="<%= @search %>"
+         placeholder="Filter by payload…" autocomplete="off" aria-label="Filter by payload"
+         data-action="input->search#filter">
+  <% if @search.present? %>
+    <%= link_to "Clear", cable_channel_messages_path(params[:channel_hash]), class: "sqw-btn sqw-btn--muted sqw-btn--sm" %>
+  <% end %>
+</form>
+
 <% if @messages.any? %>
   <table class="sqw-table">
     <thead>
@@ -31,6 +40,6 @@
   <%== @pagy.series_nav if @pagy.pages > 1 %>
 <% else %>
   <div class="sqw-empty">
-    <p>No messages for this channel.</p>
+    <p><%= @search.present? ? "No messages matching &ldquo;#{@search}&rdquo;.".html_safe : "No messages for this channel." %></p>
   </div>
 <% end %>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/requests/solid_stack_web/cable_messages_spec.rb b/spec/requests/solid_stack_web/cable_messages_spec.rb
index c9818bf..365b6c6 100644
--- a/spec/requests/solid_stack_web/cable_messages_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/solid_stack_web/cable_messages_spec.rb
@@ -85,5 +85,34 @@ def channel_hash_for(channel)
       expect(response).to have_http_status(:ok)
       expect(response.body).to include("No messages for this channel")
     end
+
+    it "filters messages by payload substring" do
+      broadcast("events", "user_signed_in")
+      broadcast("events", "order_placed")
+      hash = channel_hash_for("events")
+
+      get "#{engine_root}/cable/channels/#{hash}", params: { q: "signed" }
+
+      expect(response.body).to include("user_signed_in")
+      expect(response.body).not_to include("order_placed")
+    end
+
+    it "shows contextual empty state when payload search yields no results" do
+      broadcast("events", "something")
+      hash = channel_hash_for("events")
+
+      get "#{engine_root}/cable/channels/#{hash}", params: { q: "nope" }
+
+      expect(response.body).to include("No messages matching")
+    end
+
+    it "shows a clear link when a payload search is active" do
+      broadcast("events", "ping")
+      hash = channel_hash_for("events")
+
+      get "#{engine_root}/cable/channels/#{hash}", params: { q: "ping" }
+
+      expect(response.body).to include("Clear")
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/requests/solid_stack_web/cable_spec.rb b/spec/requests/solid_stack_web/cable_spec.rb
index 308cc93..10edfcc 100644
--- a/spec/requests/solid_stack_web/cable_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/solid_stack_web/cable_spec.rb
@@ -73,5 +73,31 @@
       get "#{engine_root}/cable"
       expect(response.body).to include("No cable messages")
     end
+
+    it "filters channels by name substring" do
+      SolidCable::Message.broadcast("sports:scores", "goal")
+      SolidCable::Message.broadcast("chat:general", "hello")
+
+      get "#{engine_root}/cable", params: { q: "sports" }
+
+      expect(response.body).to include("sports:scores")
+      expect(response.body).not_to include("chat:general")
+    end
+
+    it "shows contextual empty state when search yields no results" do
+      SolidCable::Message.broadcast("chat", "hi")
+
+      get "#{engine_root}/cable", params: { q: "nope" }
+
+      expect(response.body).to include("No channels matching")
+    end
+
+    it "shows a clear link when a search is active" do
+      SolidCable::Message.broadcast("chat", "hi")
+
+      get "#{engine_root}/cable", params: { q: "chat" }
+
+      expect(response.body).to include("Clear")
+    end
   end
 end