vault-search

Search the Web Capture Obsidian vault for ideation and research.

Usage

/vault-search <query>
/vault-search "machine learning agents"
/vault-search --topic ai-ml
/vault-search --tags prompting,llm
/vault-search --unread

Options

• •--topic TOPIC - Filter by topic folder
• •--tags TAG1,TAG2 - Filter by tags (comma-separated)
• •--type TYPE - Filter by content type (article, video, tool, research, x_post)
• •--unread - Only show unread items
• •--starred - Only show starred items
• •--limit N - Limit results (default: 10)
• •--since DATE - Only items captured after date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• •--move <note> <new-topic> - Move a note to a different topic (auto-updates all wiki-links)

Instructions

When the user invokes /vault-search, follow these steps:

Step 0: Load Configuration

Read config.json from the engram project root to get the vault path:

{
  "vault_path": "~/Documents/Obsidian/WebCapture"
}

Use the vault_path value as {VAULT_PATH} in all paths below. Expand ~ to the user's home directory.

Step 1: Read the Index

Read {VAULT_PATH}/_system/index.json

This contains all notes with searchable metadata:

• •id, path, title, type, topic
• •url, source_domain, captured
• •read, starred, tags, summary
• •key_points, user_context

Step 2: Parse Query and Options

Extract:

• •Free-text query (search in title, summary, tags, key_points, user_context)
• •Filter options (topic, tags, type, unread, starred, since)

Step 3: Search and Filter

Apply filters in order:

1. •Filter by --topic if specified
2. •Filter by --tags if specified (match any)
3. •Filter by --type if specified
4. •Filter by --unread if specified (read === false)
5. •Filter by --starred if specified
6. •Filter by --since if specified
7. •Search free-text query across text fields

For text search, check if query appears in (case-insensitive):

• •title
• •summary
• •tags (any tag)
• •key_points (any point)
• •user_context

Step 4: Rank Results

Order by relevance:

1. •Exact match in title (highest)
2. •Match in user_context (user's intent)
3. •Match in summary
4. •Match in tags
5. •Match in key_points
6. •By capture date (recent first) for ties

Step 5: Format Results

For each result, show:

## [Title](path)
**Type:** article | **Topic:** ai-ml | **Captured:** 2026-02-05

> Summary text here

**Tags:** #tag1 #tag2 #tag3
**Why saved:** User context if available

Step 6: Offer Actions

After showing results, offer:

• •"Want me to read any of these in full?"
• •"Should I synthesize insights across these?"
• •"Want to see related notes?"
• •"Want to move any of these to a different topic?"

Step 7: Move Note (if --move)

If the user requests moving a note to a different topic, use obsidian-cli move which automatically updates all wiki-links across the vault:

obsidian-cli move "content/{old-topic}/{filename}" "content/{new-topic}/{filename}"

After moving:

1. •Update index.json - change the note's topic and path fields
2. •Update the old topic's _topic.md - remove the note entry
3. •Update the new topic's _topic.md - add the note entry
4. •Regenerate views (by-type, by-date, etc.)
5. •Git sync vault

Synthesis Mode

If user asks to synthesize (e.g., "synthesize insights about X"):

1. •Find all relevant notes using search
2. •Read each note file in full
3. •Extract key insights, patterns, themes
4. •Create a synthesis that:
   • •Identifies common threads
   • •Notes contradictions or debates
   • •Highlights actionable takeaways
   • •Suggests connections the user might not have seen

Notes

• •Vault: {VAULT_PATH}/
• •Index: _system/index.json
• •For quick lookups, use index only (no file reads)
• •For deep dives, read actual note files or obsidian-cli print "{note-path}"
• •obsidian-cli move handles wiki-link rewiring automatically when reorganizing notes
• •obsidian-cli frontmatter "{note-path}" --print is a quick way to inspect a note's metadata