> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.glyphformac.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tags & Search

> Find notes instantly with full-text search and tag filtering

Glyph provides powerful search capabilities backed by SQLite full-text indexing, making it easy to find any note regardless of how large your space grows.

## Full-Text Search

### Opening Search

Access search in multiple ways:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Keyboard Shortcut">
    Press `Cmd+P` (macOS) or `Ctrl+P` (Windows/Linux) to open the command palette with search.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Search Button">
    Click the search icon in the toolbar.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Command Palette">
    Open the palette and start typing to search.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Search Behavior

When you type a search query:

1. **Debounced**: Waits 180ms after you stop typing
2. **Full-text**: Searches note titles and content
3. **Ranked results**: Most relevant notes appear first
4. **Live updates**: Results refresh as you type

<Note>
  Search queries are case-insensitive and support partial word matching.
</Note>

## Search Syntax

### Basic Search

Type any word or phrase:

```
project alpha
```

Finds notes containing both "project" and "alpha".

### Phrase Search

Use quotes for exact phrases:

```
"user interface design"
```

Finds notes with that exact phrase.

### Keyword Matching

Glyph tokenizes your query and searches for:

* **Individual terms**: Each word is a search term
* **Minimum length**: Terms must be 2+ characters
* **Stopword filtering**: Common words like "the", "a" may be filtered

## Search Results

Results display:

* **Note title**: Name of the matching note
* **Snippet**: Preview of matching content with highlights
* **Relevance score**: Higher scores appear first
* **Match context**: Surrounding text for context

<Steps>
  <Step title="View results">
    Search results appear as you type, ordered by relevance.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Navigate results">
    Use arrow keys to move between results.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open note">
    Press Enter or click a result to open that note.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Ranking Algorithm

Glyph uses a hybrid search algorithm combining:

### Keyword Overlap

* Counts how many search terms appear in the note
* Higher overlap = higher score

### Trigram Similarity

* Compares character trigrams between query and content
* Handles typos and fuzzy matching

### Phrase Bonus

* If the exact query phrase appears, boost the score

### Title Bonus

* Notes with query terms in the title rank higher

**Formula:**

```
score = (0.6 × overlap) + (0.4 × trigram) + phrase_bonus + title_bonus
```

## Tags

### Tag Syntax

Add tags anywhere in your notes:

```markdown theme={null}
# Project Notes

#project #important #2024

This note contains three tags.
```

Tags must:

* Start with `#`
* Contain alphanumeric characters, dashes, underscores
* Not contain spaces (use `-` instead: `#project-alpha`)

### Nested Tags

Create hierarchies with `/`:

```markdown theme={null}
#projects/alpha
#projects/beta
#work/client/acme
```

<Tip>
  Nested tags help organize large tag sets. Searching for `#projects` can include all nested tags.
</Tip>

### Frontmatter Tags

Define tags in YAML frontmatter:

```markdown theme={null}
---
tags: [project, draft, urgent]
---

# Note Content
```

Both inline tags and frontmatter tags are indexed identically.

## Tag-Based Search

### Filtering by Tag

Use the tag filter in the search interface:

1. Open search
2. Select one or more tags
3. Results narrow to notes with those tags
4. Optionally add a text query

### Tag Autocomplete

When typing tags, Glyph suggests:

* Existing tags in your space
* Tag counts (how many notes use each tag)
* Nested tag paths

### Multiple Tags

Select multiple tags to find notes with **all** selected tags (AND logic):

* Tag `#project` AND `#urgent`
* Shows only notes containing both tags

## Combined Search

Combine text search with tag filtering:

```
Query: "user interface"
Tags: #project, #draft
```

Finds notes that:

1. Contain the phrase "user interface"
2. Have both `#project` and `#draft` tags

## Tag Browser

View all tags in your space:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Tags view">
    Click the Tags icon in the sidebar or press the tags shortcut.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Browse tags">
    See all tags with usage counts.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click a tag">
    View all notes with that tag.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The tags list shows:

* **Tag name**: The full tag text
* **Count**: Number of notes using this tag
* **Sorted**: By count (most used first) or alphabetically

## Advanced Search

Glyph supports advanced search parameters via the Tauri command interface:

### Search Options

* **`query`**: Text to search for
* **`tags`**: Array of tags to filter by
* **`title_only`**: Search only note titles
* **`tag_only`**: Search only tags (no content)
* **`limit`**: Maximum results (default: 50)

### Example Searches

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Title Only">
    Search only in note titles, not content:

    ```typescript theme={null}
    invoke("search_advanced", {
      request: {
        query: "meeting",
        title_only: true
      }
    });
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Tags Only">
    Find notes by tag without text search:

    ```typescript theme={null}
    invoke("search_with_tags", {
      tags: ["project", "active"]
    });
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Combined">
    Text search + tag filter + limit:

    ```typescript theme={null}
    invoke("search_advanced", {
      request: {
        query: "design system",
        tags: ["ui", "reference"],
        limit: 20
      }
    });
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Indexing

### Automatic Indexing

Glyph indexes your notes automatically:

* **On save**: Every time you save a note
* **On create**: When you create a new note
* **On delete**: When you delete a note
* **On rename**: When you rename a note

### Index Contents

The search index stores:

* **Note title**: Filename without extension
* **Note content**: Full markdown text
* **Tags**: Both inline and frontmatter tags
* **Paths**: Relative path in your space
* **Timestamps**: Created and updated times

### Rebuild Index

If search results seem outdated:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Settings">
    Go to Settings > General.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Rebuild Index">
    Click **Rebuild Search Index**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for completion">
    Glyph re-indexes all notes. Large spaces may take a minute.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Rebuilding the index locks search temporarily. Avoid doing this during active work sessions.
</Warning>

## Recent Notes

View recently modified notes:

```typescript theme={null}
invoke("recent_notes", { limit: 10 });
```

This returns the 10 most recently updated notes, useful for:

* Quick access to recent work
* "Continue where you left off" features
* Recent activity timeline

## Performance

### Search Speed

Glyph's search is optimized for spaces with thousands of notes:

* **SQLite FTS5**: Full-text search engine
* **Indexed queries**: Sub-100ms for most queries
* **Candidate limiting**: Fetches top 300 candidates, then ranks
* **Debounced input**: Reduces unnecessary queries

### Scaling

Search performance characteristics:

| Space Size   | Index Time | Query Time |
| ------------ | ---------- | ---------- |
| 100 notes    | \< 1s      | \< 10ms    |
| 1,000 notes  | \~5s       | \~50ms     |
| 10,000 notes | \~30s      | \~100ms    |

<Tip>
  Search performance depends on note size. Many small notes search faster than fewer large notes.
</Tip>

## Troubleshooting

### Search returns no results

**Solutions:**

1. Check spelling and try synonyms
2. Simplify your query (use fewer words)
3. Rebuild the search index
4. Verify the note exists in your space

### Search is slow

**Solutions:**

1. Reduce query complexity
2. Use more specific search terms
3. Filter by tags to narrow results
4. Rebuild index if it's corrupted

### Tags not appearing

**Solutions:**

1. Ensure tags start with `#`
2. Check for spaces (use `#tag-name` not `#tag name`)
3. Save the note (tags index on save)
4. Rebuild index if needed