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Search is how you and your agents find notes without dumping the library into context.
  • Command palette: ⌘K / Ctrl+K (also ⌘⇧F). Placeholder: “Search notes or type a command…”.
  • Search in the footer rail opens the Search page. The note list stays mounted.
Type a query. Hits show a title, an excerpt, and a breadcrumb (Private · Note title, Folder · Note title; a note at the root shows just the title). Click a row to open the note.

What comes back

Search returns handles, not full bodies. Each hit points at a note. Fetch the body only when you open it. Every response includes coverage:
  • how many notes were searched
  • what was excluded (named folders, not a silent drop)
  • why the set is partial, when it is
On a cloud library, coverage says Private notes not searched. The coverage JSON still lists private/ in excluded_folders. Run the local app or local MCP to search those notes. On this device, coverage says Private searched on this device. Zero results is valid. Ela would rather return nothing, with coverage saying why, than pad the list. The same query against the same index and ranker versions returns the same hits.