Search 

    Kimün indexes every Markdown file in your workspace. A small query language lets you filter notes by content, name, section, path, label, property, and links.

    This page covers exact-match search over the local index. To find notes by meaning, or to ask questions answered from your notes, see Semantic Search & Ask.

    The full query syntax:

    WantShortLongExample
    Free text(just type)meeting notes
    By note name=name:=tasks
    By section heading@in:@personal
    By path/pt:/journal/2024
    By label (hashtag)#lb:#finance
    By property%prop:%priority>=2
    Notes linking to X<lk:<projects
    Notes X links to>fwd:>projects
    Sort results^or:^title, -^title
    Exclude anything- prefix-#draft, -@temp

    Terms separated by spaces are combined with AND. There is no OR operator.

    • TUI: Ctrl+K opens the query search modal; Ctrl+E opens the FIND drawer view. Both take the same queries.
    • CLI:
    kimun search "your search query"

    Free text  

    kimun search     → must contain both "kimun" AND "search"
task report      → must contain both "task" AND "report"

    Free text looks across note content and filenames at once. Searches are:

    • Case-insensitive: kimun matches Kimün, KIMÜN, kimun
    • Diacritics-ignored: kimun matches Kimün
    • Wildcards: * matches any run of characters

    Wildcard patterns  

    kimu*            → anything starting with "kimu" (kimun, kimune, kimurei)
*meeting*        → "meeting" anywhere (meeting notes, team-meeting)
*report          → anything ending with "report"

    Operators 

    Each operator has a short form (a symbol) and a long form (a word followed by a colon). The two forms are interchangeable.

    = or name: — note name  

    =tasks           → notes whose name contains "tasks"
name:tasks       → same (long form)
=project         → notes with "project" in the name

    Matches the basename only, not the full path.

    @ or in: — section  

    @personal        → content under a "Personal" heading
in:personal      → same (long form)
@meeting         → content under a "Meeting" heading

    Filters by Markdown sections (#, ##, ###, …). The search term must appear within that section. Section names match heading text case-insensitively; a note matches if any of its sections contain the term.

    Wildcards on @ are prefix-only. The section filter is full-text indexed, so * works only at the end of a term (@meet* matches "meeting", "meetup") and matches whole words. The =, <, >, and / filters accept * anywhere (*report, ta*sk), but the section filter does not accept a leading or mid-term *.

    / or pt: — path  

    /docs            → notes under a "docs/" directory
pt:docs          → same (long form)
/journal/2024    → notes under "journal/2024/"

    Paths match as prefixes: /docs matches both /docs/readme.md and /docs/guides/tutorial.md.

    <projects        → notes that link to the note "projects"
lk:projects      → same (long form)
<projects.md     → same (the .md extension is optional)

    Finds the notes that link to a given note, via [[wikilink]] or Markdown link. Matching rules:

    • Whole note names: <projects matches links to projects but not to projects-archive
    • Case-insensitive: matched by note name. A bare name matches a note in any folder; add a path to disambiguate (<work/projects). * wildcards work anywhere (<proj*)
    • Only note links count: attachments, images, and external URLs are ignored
    >projects        → notes that the note "projects" links to
fwd:projects     → same (long form)
>projects.md     → same (the .md extension is optional)

    The reverse of <: finds the notes that a given note links to. The matching rules are the same as for backlinks.

    Labels 

    Labels are #name tokens written directly in your note body:

    Reviewed the quarterly numbers today. #finance #q2 #review

    Search them with #<label> (short) or lb:<label> (long):

    #finance             → notes labelled "finance"
lb:finance           → same (long form)
-#draft              → exclude notes labelled "draft"
#finance #q2         → both labels required (AND)
#finance report =2024 → mixes freely with text and other operators

    An unknown label returns zero results, not an error.

    Label rules 

    • Allowed characters: letters, digits, underscores ([A-Za-z0-9_]+). A hashtag ends at the first character outside that set, so #tag-with-dash yields the label tag.
    • Case-insensitive: stored lowercase; #Finance and #finance are the same label.
    • Not indexed as labels: hashtags inside inline code or fenced code blocks, HTML, Markdown link spans [text](url#fragment), or wikilinks [[#section]]. A #word written inside frontmatter is not a label either.
    • Frontmatter tags count too: a tags property (tags = ["a", "b"] in TOML, tags: [a, b] or a - a list in YAML) adds its items as labels, so #a finds the note. The singular tag key older Obsidian notes use works the same way. A plain string is split on commas (tags: project, urgent is two labels); a part with spaces stays one label (tags: big project). Frontmatter tags may contain characters inline hashtags can't (spaces, dashes); quote them in queries: #"big project".

    Properties 

    Notes can carry typed properties in a frontmatter block at the very top: TOML between +++ lines (Kimün's default) or YAML between --- lines (what Obsidian writes).

    +++
status = "in progress"
priority = 2
due = 2024-03-01
tags = ["work", "q1"]
+++

    Query them with prop: or its short form %:

    prop:status=done      → status equals "done" (ignores case and accents: Status=DONE, état=etat)
%priority>=2          → numeric comparison
%due<2024-04-01       → dates compare chronologically
%tags=work            → a list property contains "work"
%tags!=work           → has tags, but not "work"
%due                  → has a due property, whatever its value
-%due                 → has no due property
-%status=done         → excludes notes whose status is "done" (notes with no status are kept)
%status="in progress" → quote a value that has spaces
%"due date"<2025-01-01 → quote a key that has spaces (the whole term works too: prop:"due date<2025-01-01")
%status=d*            → `*` is a wildcard with = and != (also in list items and dates: %at=2024-01*; a date & time with an offset matches by its UTC form). A quoted value is literal: %rating="***"
%due<2024-02          → a partial date (2024-02, or a year: 2024) is the whole period: = is within it, < is before it, > is after it, <= and >= include it
%flag="!important"    → quote a value that starts with = ! < or >
^%"due date"          → sort by a key that has spaces

    A key on its own (%due, prop:"due date") finds notes that have the property at all, even with no value. An empty list (tags = []) or a blank YAML entry (due:, which Obsidian writes for an unset property) counts, and %due!=x includes them too. A key followed by an operator but no value (%due=) is ignored.

    Operators: = != < <= > >=. The value you compare with decides what it can meet: a number meets numbers, a date (2024-04-01) or date & time meets dates and date & times (compared as moments in time), and anything else meets text. A property of another type doesn't match: %due<today never matches a date, and < on a list matches nothing. A date written as text (due = "2024-01-31", Hugo's date = '2023-08-24T11:49:46-07:00') compares as a date, and = also matches a value written exactly as you typed it. A four-digit value such as 2024 meets both numbers and dates.

    Sort by a property with or:prop:key or ^%key; see Sorting. Notes without the property always come last.

    Supported types: text, number, true/false, date (2024-03-01), date & time (2024-03-01T14:30, or with an offset such as 2024-03-01T14:30:00+02:00; a time without an offset compares as UTC), and lists of text. Nested tables are ignored. A block that fails to parse is still searchable as plain text but contributes no properties.

    To view or edit a note's properties in the TUI, see Properties in the TUI guide.

    Excluding things 

    The - prefix excludes. It always leads; any operator follows:

    -cancelled           → exclude notes containing "cancelled"
-@draft              → exclude notes with "draft" in any section title
-=temp               → exclude notes with "temp" in the name
-/private            → exclude notes under "private/"
-#draft              → exclude notes labelled "draft"
-<draft              → exclude notes that link to "draft"
->draft              → exclude notes that "draft" links to

    Long forms work the same: -in:draft, -name:temp, -pt:private, -lb:draft, -lk:draft, -fwd:draft.

    Exclusion-only searches work too: -cancelled on its own returns every note except those containing "cancelled".

    Combining filters 

    Any filters can be combined. Every term must match:

    =tasks @work report                → name "tasks", has "Work" section, contains "report"
meeting -cancelled                 → "meeting" but not "cancelled"
=2024 -@draft                      → names from 2024 without "draft" in section titles
/journal -@temp report             → in journal/, no "temp" section, containing "report"
screen* =notes                     → starts with "screen", in name "notes"
#project -#archived @work          → labelled "project", not "archived", under "Work"

    Sorting 

    Results come back in the default order unless you add a sort directive: or: (long) or ^ (short), followed by a key. Prefix the directive with - for descending order.

    ^title               → by note title, ascending (same as or:title)
-^title              → by note title, descending (same as -or:title)
or:file              → by file name
^%due                → by the "due" property, ascending
-or:prop:priority    → by the "priority" property, descending

    Sort keys:

    KeyAliasesSorts by
    titletnote title
    filefilename, ffile name
    prop:<key>%<key>a property value; notes without it come last in either direction

    The directive combines with any filter (#project -#draft ^title). The TUI sort dialog (Ctrl+R, in the FIND view or the Ctrl+K search modal) writes this directive into the query for you; for a query its Sort by row cycles Name, Title and Property, and Property adds a Key field that suggests the keys in your vault. Nothing applies until a key is chosen. Click a row to toggle it, or click a suggestion to pick it. The FILES panel and the Ctrl+O file finder offer Property too: they re-sort their rows by the key's value, read from the index. A note the index has never seen (for example one created outside Kimün) sorts last, and a note edited outside Kimün sorts by its old value, until the next reindex.

    Query variables 

    Some queries contain a {name} placeholder that the TUI fills in at run time, before the query reaches the search engine. Currently the only variable is {note}:

    • {note} resolves to the clean name of the note open in the editor (its filename without the extension).
    • A bare note operator (<, > or = with no target, including the long forms lk: / fwd: / name: and the - exclusion variants) is shorthand for <{note}, >{note} or ={note}: the backlinks of the current note, its forward links, or the note itself by name. Operators inside quoted terms are not expanded.

    With spec.md open, <{note} runs as <spec (the notes that link to spec). When no note is open, {note} resolves to an empty string.

    Both the FIND drawer view and the Ctrl+K search modal substitute {note} with the open note. Because saved searches store the template (the unresolved {note}), a saved <{note} re-targets to whatever note is open each time you run it.

    Saved searches 

    A saved search stores a query under a name so you can re-run it without retyping it. Saved searches belong to the workspace and are managed from the TUI:

    • To save the current query, press Ctrl+D in the FIND view or the Ctrl+K search modal, then give it a name.
    • Press F3 to open the Saved Searches picker. Press Enter to run the selected search, 1–9 to quick-select one, or Delete to remove it.

    Running a saved search loads its results in the FIND view. See Saved Searches in the TUI guide for the full workflow.

    Running by name 

    You can also run a saved search straight from the search field, without the picker. In the FIND view or the Ctrl+K search modal, type ? as the first character to autocomplete saved-search names:

    • Type ? followed by part of a name (e.g. ?todo) to filter the list; pick one with Enter or Tab. An empty ? lists every saved search.
    • Accepting a name expands the stored query into the field, so you can edit it before running it.
    • The search-box border then shows the search's name as a breadcrumb (‹ todo ›). Edit the query and it gains an ‹ todo • edited › marker; clear the field to drop the breadcrumb. Changing the sort order counts as an edit too, since it rewrites the query's sort directive.

    Because the field holds the query template, any {note} variable stays intact and re-resolves each time you run it.

    Example queries 

    Given these notes:

    tasks.md

    # Work
## TODO
* Talk with Bill
* Finish the report

# Personal
* Make the search in Kimün awesome
* Buy groceries

    projects.md

    # Projects
## Personal
### Kimün
The simple but great note taking app!
    SearchReturnsReason
    kimunprojects.md, tasks.mdboth contain "kimun"
    @personal kimunprojects.md, tasks.md"kimun" under a Personal heading in both
    @personal reporttasks.md"report" only under Personal in tasks.md
    =tasks @worktasks.mdname "tasks", has Work section
    screen*any note with "screenshot", "screens", etc.wildcard matches "screen" prefix
    meeting -cancellednotes with "meeting" but not "cancelled"exclusion removes matching notes
    =2024 -@draftnames from 2024 without "draft" in section titlescombined exclusion
    -cancelledall notes except those with "cancelled"exclusion-only search
    /journal -@tempnotes in journal/ without "temp" in section titlespath + section exclusion
    =tasks @work reporttasks.mdname "tasks", "Work" section, contains "report"
    -=archive -@draftall notes except those named archive/, excluding "draft" titlescombined exclusions
    #financenotes labelled "finance"label filter
    lb:reviewnotes labelled "review"label filter (long form)
    #finance #q2notes with both "finance" and "q2" labelscombined label filters
    #project -#draftnotes labelled "project" but not "draft"label inclusion + exclusion
    <kimunnotes that link to the note "kimun"backlink filter
    lk:kimun #projectnotes linking to "kimun" and labelled "project"backlink + label
    <spec -<draftnotes linking to "spec" but not to "draft"backlink inclusion + exclusion
    >kimunnotes that the note "kimun" links toforward link filter
    fwd:spec #projectnotes that "spec" links to and labelled "project"forward link + label
    %status=donenotes whose status is "done"property filter
    %priority>=2 #work ^%duework notes with priority 2 or more, soonest due firstproperty + label + sort
    #project -^titleproject notes, titles Z to Asort descending

    Edge cases 

    • Wildcards with operators: =task* @work matches notes named starting with "task" that have a "Work" section
    • Operator prefixes are case-insensitive: @Personal ≡ @personal, =Tasks ≡ =tasks
    • Multiple operators of the same type: @work @personal is AND, so both sections must exist
    • Empty results: if nothing matches, you get an empty list, not an error
    • Hashtags in code: `#tag` and hashtags inside fenced code blocks are not treated as labels