/search

name: search
description: Search vault content by keyword using Grep. Zero dependencies — works in any vault without indexes or plugins. Groups results by directory for easy scanning.
allowed-tools: Grep, Glob, Read
user-invocable: true

Search Skill

Fast keyword search across all vault markdown files using the Grep tool. No indexes, no plugins, no setup — just structured search with directory grouping.

Usage

/search <term>

Examples:

• `/search project planning`
• `/search weekly review`
• `/search TODO`

How to Execute

When the user invokes `/search <term>`:

Step 1: Search for the term

Use the **Grep** tool to search all `.md` files for the term:

Grep:
  pattern: <search term>
  glob: "*.md"
  output_mode: content
  -n: true
  -C: 1

Exclude hidden directories (`.claude/`, `.obsidian/`) and templates:

Grep:
  pattern: <search term>
  glob: "*.md"
  path: .
  output_mode: content
  -n: true
  -C: 1

Filter out results from `.claude/`, `.obsidian/`, and `Templates/` directories.

Step 2: Group results by directory

Organise matches into sections by their parent directory:

• **Daily Notes/** — journal entries
• **Goals/** — goal and vision documents
• **Projects/** — project notes
• **Archives/** — archived content
• **Inbox/** — unprocessed items
• **(root)** — top-level notes

Step 3: Present results

Format output as:

## Search: "<term>"

### Daily Notes/
- **2024-01-15.md** (line 23): ...matching context...
- **2024-01-14.md** (line 8): ...matching context...

### Projects/
- **Project Alpha.md** (line 45): ...matching context...

### Goals/
- **2024 Goals.md** (line 12): ...matching context...

**Found X matches across Y files**

Step 4: Suggest related content

After showing results, check if any matched files contain `[[wiki-links]]` to other notes. If so, briefly mention:

💡 Related notes mentioned in results: [[Note A]], [[Note B]]

No Results

If no matches are found: 1. Suggest alternative search terms (synonyms, related words) 2. Offer to search with case-insensitive matching if the original search was case-sensitive 3. Suggest checking `Archives/` if not already included

Tips

• Search is case-sensitive by default. Add `-i: true` to the Grep call for case-insensitive search
• Use regex patterns for advanced searches: `task.*complete`, `#tag-name`
• Combine with `/daily` to quickly find when something was mentioned