Search System

Lokus features a powerful, lightning-fast search system built in Rust that helps you find information across your entire workspace instantly. With full-text search, advanced filtering, and intelligent ranking, you can locate any note, task, or piece of content in milliseconds.

Overview

The search system indexes all your content in real-time, providing instant results as you type. Whether you’re looking for a specific phrase, exploring related topics, or filtering by metadata, Lokus search adapts to your needs.

Key Features

Lightning-fast search powered by Rust indexing
Full-text search across all notes and content
Fuzzy matching for typo tolerance
Advanced filters by tags, dates, properties
Regular expression support
Search history and suggestions
Saved searches for repeated queries

Basic Search

Quick Search

Access search from anywhere:

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Cmd/Ctrl + F - Search in current note
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + F - Global search
Cmd/Ctrl + P - Command palette with search

Search Interface:

Search input with autocomplete
Results list with previews
Filter sidebar
Sort options
Result count

Search Syntax

Simple text search:

machine learning
"exact phrase"
note title
tag name

Features:

Case-insensitive by default
Whole word matching
Phrase search with quotes
Partial word matching

Search Results

Results display:

Result Card:

Note title
File path
Last modified date
Matching snippet (highlighted)
Match count
Tags

Interactions:

Click to open note
Cmd/Ctrl + Click for new pane
Hover for preview
Right-click for options

Advanced Search

Search Operators

Combine terms with operators:

Boolean Operators:

term1 AND term2
term1 OR term2
NOT term1
(term1 OR term2) AND term3

Proximity Search:

"word1 word2"~5    # Within 5 words
"exact phrase"     # Exact order

Wildcards:

test*              # Starts with "test"
*ing               # Ends with "ing"
te?t               # Single character wildcard

Field Search

Search specific fields:

Field Syntax:

title:project              # In title
content:algorithm          # In content
tag:#important             # By tag
path:/Projects/            # In folder
created:2024-03-20         # Creation date
modified:>2024-03-01       # Modified after
author:@john               # By author

Available Fields:

title - Note title
content - Note content
tag - Tags
path - File path
type - Note type
created - Creation date
modified - Modified date
author - Creator
properties.* - Custom properties

Date Filters

Search by date ranges:

Date Syntax:

created:today
created:yesterday
created:this-week
created:this-month
created:2024-03-20
created:>2024-01-01
created:before-2024-12-31
created:2024-01..2024-03-31
modified:last-7-days
modified:next-week

Relative Dates:

today, yesterday, tomorrow
this-week, last-week, next-week
this-month, last-month, next-month
this-year, last-year
last-N-days, next-N-days

Property Filters

Filter by custom properties:

Property Syntax:

status:active
priority:high
assignee:@sarah
progress:>50
completed:true
tags:contains:project

Operators:

: equals
:> greater than
:< less than
:>= greater or equal
:<= less or equal
:!= not equal
:contains: contains text
:starts: starts with
:ends: ends with

Filter Panel

Visual Filters

Build searches with UI:

Filter Categories:

Type: Notes, tasks, canvases, bases
Tags: Multi-select tag picker
Folders: Folder tree selector
Dates: Date range picker
Properties: Custom property filters
Status: Task status, note state

Filter Builder:

Select filter type
Choose operator
Enter value
Add to query
Combine with AND/OR

Quick Filters

Pre-built filter buttons:

Common Filters:

All notes
Recent (last 7 days)
Favorites
Untagged
Orphaned (no links)
Tasks
Completed tasks
Overdue tasks

Custom Quick Filters:

Create from current search
Pin frequently used filters
Organize in groups
Keyboard shortcuts

Search Modes

Fuzzy Search

Tolerant of typos and variations:

Features:

Character transposition
Missing characters
Extra characters
Similar characters

Example:

Search: "algoritm"
Finds: "algorithm"

Search: "machne learning"
Finds: "machine learning"

Fuzzy Threshold:

Strict (exact matches)
Medium (1-2 char difference)
Loose (more tolerance)

Regex Search

Pattern-based searching:

Enable Regex:

regex:pattern
/pattern/

Examples:

regex:\b\d{3}-\d{3}-\d{4}\b    # Phone numbers
/TODO.*urgent/                 # TODO with urgent
regex:^# .+                    # All headers
/\b[A-Z]{2,}\b/                # Acronyms

Regex Features:

Full PCRE syntax
Case-sensitive option
Multiline mode
Word boundaries

Semantic Search

AI-powered conceptual search:

Features:

Meaning-based matching
Concept similarity
Related topics
Query expansion

Example:

Search: "productivity tips"
Also finds:
- "time management"
- "efficiency strategies"
- "workflow optimization"

Configuration:

Enable in Settings > Search
Local AI model or API
Similarity threshold
Max results

Search in Context

Search Scope

Limit search scope:

Scope Options:

Workspace: All notes (default)
Folder: Selected folder and subfolders
Current Note: In-note search
Selection: Selected notes
Linked Notes: From current note
Tag: Notes with specific tag

Setting Scope:

Select scope from dropdown
Choose folder/tag/note
Search runs in scope only
Clear scope to search all

Search and Replace

Find and replace across notes:

Replace Options:

Current note
All search results
Selected results
Regex replace

Replace Process:

Enter search term
Enter replacement
Preview changes
Confirm replace
Undo if needed

Regex Replace:

Find: (\d{2})/(\d{2})/(\d{4})
Replace: $3-$1-$2
Result: 03/20/2024 → 2024-03-20

Result Ranking

Relevance Scoring

Results ranked by relevance:

Ranking Factors:

Term frequency
Title matches (higher weight)
Exact phrase matches
Proximity of terms
Document length
Recency
Link count (importance)
Access frequency

Boosting:

title:project^2            # Boost title matches
tag:#important^3           # Boost tagged notes
recent^1.5                 # Boost recent notes

Sort Options

Control result order:

Sort By:

Relevance (default)
Date modified (newest/oldest)
Date created (newest/oldest)
Title (A-Z, Z-A)
File size (largest/smallest)
Link count (most/least)

Secondary Sort:

Apply multiple sort criteria
Stable sort order
Preserve relevance

Search History

Recent Searches

Track your searches:

Features:

Last 50 searches saved
Click to repeat search
Edit and re-run
Delete from history
Clear all history

History Display:

Recent Searches:
1. machine learning AND python
2. tag:#project status:active
3. "meeting notes" path:/Work/
4. modified:last-week
5. task: AND priority:high

Search Suggestions

Smart suggestions as you type:

Suggestion Types:

Previous searches
Popular searches
Note titles
Tag names
Field names
Property values

Autocomplete:

Real-time suggestions
Keyboard navigation
Tab to complete
Enter to search

Saved Searches

Creating Saved Searches

Save frequent searches:

Process:

Build search query
Click “Save Search”
Name the search
Optional: Add to sidebar
Optional: Set keyboard shortcut

Saved Search Properties:

Name and description
Query string
Filters applied
Sort order
Scope
Created date

Managing Saved Searches

Organize your searches:

Actions:

Edit search
Rename search
Duplicate search
Delete search
Export/import searches

Organization:

Group by category
Pin favorites
Reorder list
Share with team

Search Integration

Graph Search

Graph-aware searching:

Graph Queries:

linked-to:[[Note Name]]
linked-from:[[Note Name]]
connections:>10
distance:2 from:[[Start Note]]
orphan:true
cluster:"Research"

Use Cases:

Find notes linked to specific note
Find notes within N hops
Find highly connected notes
Find isolated notes

Task Search

Search tasks specifically:

Task Queries:

task:content
task-status:todo
task-priority:high
task-assignee:@john
task-due:<today
task-overdue:true
has:subtasks
task-progress:>50%

Task Filters:

By status
By due date
By assignee
By priority
By completion

Base Search

Search within Bases:

Base Queries:

base:"Project Tracker"
base-property:status=active
base-relation:has:tasks
base-aggregate:sum(hours)>100

Search Performance

Indexing

Real-time index updates:

Index Features:

Incremental indexing
Background processing
Low memory footprint
Fast updates (under 10ms)

Index Scope:

Note content
Note metadata
Properties
Tags
Links
Tasks

Index Statistics:

Total notes indexed
Index size
Last update time
Indexing queue length

Search Speed

Optimized for performance:

Benchmarks:

Simple search: under 10ms
Complex query: under 50ms
Regex search: under 100ms
Fuzzy search: under 150ms

Optimization:

Rust-powered backend
Inverted index structure
Result caching
Progressive loading
Virtual scrolling

Export Results

Export Options

Save search results:

Formats:

List: Plain text list
Markdown: Formatted markdown
CSV: Spreadsheet format
JSON: Structured data

Export Content:

Note titles only
Titles + paths
Titles + excerpts
Full note content

Example Export (Markdown):

# Search Results: "machine learning"
Total: 15 results
 
## [Introduction to ML](path/to/note1.md)
Last modified: 2024-03-20
Excerpt: "Machine learning is a subset of..."
 
## [Python ML Libraries](path/to/note2.md)
Last modified: 2024-03-18
Excerpt: "Popular machine learning libraries include..."

Configuration

Search Settings

Configure in Settings > Search:

General:

Default search mode
Fuzzy threshold
Max results
Preview length
Case sensitivity

Indexing:

Index frequency
Excluded folders
Excluded file types
Include archived notes
Index properties

Performance:

Cache size
Background indexing
Incremental updates
Memory limit

Privacy:

Search history enabled
History retention days
Clear on exit
Exclude from search

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Global Search	Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + F
Search in Note	Cmd/Ctrl + F
Next Result	Cmd/Ctrl + G
Previous Result	Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + G
Replace	Cmd/Ctrl + H
Toggle Filters	Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + L
Clear Search	Esc
Focus Search	Cmd/Ctrl + K

Advanced Features

Search Plugins

Extend search functionality:

Plugin Types:

Custom search providers
Additional indexers
Result processors
Search UI extensions

Example Plugins:

PDF content search
OCR for images
Code symbol search
External file search

API Search

Programmatic search:

REST API:

// Search notes
GET /api/search?q=machine+learning&limit=10
 
// Advanced search
POST /api/search
{
  "query": "machine learning",
  "filters": {
    "tags": ["#ai", "#ml"],
    "dateRange": {
      "start": "2024-01-01",
      "end": "2024-12-31"
    }
  },
  "sort": "relevance",
  "limit": 20
}

Response:

{
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "note-123",
      "title": "Introduction to ML",
      "path": "/Notes/ML/intro.md",
      "excerpt": "Machine learning is...",
      "score": 0.95,
      "highlights": [...]
    }
  ],
  "total": 15,
  "time_ms": 12
}

Use Cases

Research

Finding research materials:

Workflow:

Search by topic or keywords
Filter by tags or dates
Review result excerpts
Open relevant notes
Export findings

Example Search:

"neural networks" OR "deep learning"
tag:#research
created:this-year
path:/Research/

Project Management

Locating project information:

Queries:

tag:#project-alpha
status:active
priority:high
due:<next-week

Knowledge Discovery

Exploring related content:

Techniques:

Start with broad search
Review related notes
Follow links
Narrow with filters
Save useful queries

Content Audit

Finding outdated content:

Audit Search:

modified:before-2023-01-01
NOT tag:#archived
has:broken-links

Best Practices

Search Strategies

Effective Searching:

Start broad, then narrow
Use quotes for phrases
Combine with filters
Save common searches
Review search tips regularly

Query Building:

Identify key terms
Add field specifiers
Apply filters
Test and refine
Save if reusable

Search Optimization

For Better Results:

Use descriptive note titles
Add relevant tags
Maintain consistent naming
Regular cleanup of old notes
Keep index up to date

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: No results found Solution: Check spelling, try broader terms, verify filters

Issue: Too many results Solution: Add filters, use exact phrases, search specific fields

Issue: Slow search Solution: Rebuild index, reduce workspace size, check excluded folders

Issue: Missing notes in results Solution: Rebuild index, check note location, verify not excluded

Index Maintenance

Rebuild Index:

Settings > Search
Click “Rebuild Index”
Wait for completion
Test search again

Index Troubleshooting:

Clear cache
Check index integrity
Review error logs
Verify permissions

Next Steps

Explore Wiki Links for linked content search
Use Tasks for task-specific searches
Try Bases for structured data queries
Learn Graph for visual search navigation

Canvas & Whiteboard Task Management & Kanban