Workspace Search

Workspace Search finds Markdown notes by title, body content, tags, and frontmatter. It opens in a drawer from the left sidebar and updates results as you type.

Opening Search

• Click Search near the top of the sidebar.
• Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + F from anywhere outside Focus Mode.

Recent queries appear when the search field is empty. Select one to run it again, or clear the history from the drawer.

Writing A Query

Normal searches are case-insensitive and match note titles and content.

• acme invoice requires both terms to appear somewhere in the note. They do not have to appear together or on the same line.
• "access token" searches for that exact phrase.
• Short word-like terms such as PR automatically use whole-word matching, so they do not match preview.
• Symbols such as C# are treated literally.

Use the buttons beside the search field to turn on Match Case, Match Whole Word, or Regular Expression. Regex mode treats the complete query as one expression.

Tags And Properties

Start a query with # to search tags in YAML frontmatter and inline tags:

#project-alpha

Use square brackets to search a frontmatter property:

[Status:In Progress]
[Published:true]
[Author:]

[Author:] finds notes where the property exists, regardless of its value. Property names and values respect the Match Case setting.

Search Scope

Open Filters and choose where Octarine should search:

Scope	Includes
Workspace	Every searchable Markdown file in the workspace
Notes	Normal notes, excluding Daily Desk, Templates, and Inbox
Daily Desk	Daily, weekly, and monthly notes under Daily Desk
Templates	Notes in .templates
Inbox	Captures in .octarine/inbox

Choose in to search only the selected scope. Choose not in with Notes, Daily Desk, Templates, or Inbox to exclude that area from a broader search.

When the operator is in and the scope is Workspace or Notes, you can also choose a folder. The folder filter includes its nested folders.

Result Display And Sorting

Turn on Title Only to hide matching body excerpts and show a compact list of note titles. This changes how results are displayed; notes found through body content can still appear in the list.

Sort results by:

• Title A-Z or Z-A
• Newest or oldest edited
• Newest or oldest created

The default is Newest Edited.

Opening a result launches in-file search with the same query and matching options, so the matching text is highlighted in the note.

Resetting Filters

The Filters button shows how many non-default options are active. Select Reset to defaults to return to:

• Workspace scope with the in operator
• Any folder
• Newest Edited sorting
• Body excerpts visible
• Match Case, Match Whole Word, and Regex turned off

Keyboard Navigation

• Up / Down — Move through recent queries or results
• Enter — Run the selected recent query or open the selected result
• Escape — Close the search drawer and clear the current query

Quick Answers