How to Search in Obsidian Notes (And Actually Find What You’re Looking For)

Let’s be honest: the more you use Obsidian, the harder it gets to find anything. What begins as a tidy collection of markdown notes quickly turns into a dense forest of daily logs, fleeting ideas, meeting minutes, and interconnected thoughts. You know the information is there somewhere, but remembering exactly what you called it, or where you put it, feels impossible.

The good news is that Obsidian gives you real tools for searching your notes. And with a little help from local AI, you can make your entire knowledge base truly searchable, no matter how big it gets.

Let’s break it down.

How Basic Search Works in Obsidian

Obsidian’s search is as simple as hitting Cmd+Shift+F or using the search bar. It sweeps across your vault, scanning every note and highlighting matching words or phrases. By default, it looks inside file names, note content, headings, tags, and even links.

This covers the basics. For a small vault, it might be all you need. But as your collection grows, basic search gets less useful. You need better targeting.

Going Deeper: Advanced Search Syntax

Obsidian’s search supports several operators that can help you narrow down results. For example:

• Use tag:#project to find notes with a specific tag

• Try file:Meeting Notes to focus on a single file

• Add path:"2025/Projects" to search inside a folder

• Include heading:"Marketing Plan" to look for results inside a particular section

• Use line:(launch OR release) for notes containing either word on the same line

You can exclude results with a minus sign, such as -tag:#archive, or combine search terms with AND or OR. These tricks turn a broad search into a focused hunt.

But there is still a big catch: Obsidian relies on exact words. If you forgot how you phrased something, the search will not help you.

The Limits of Obsidian Search

Obsidian’s native search is strictly keyword-based. It does not understand synonyms or related ideas. If you wrote “initial funding conversation” and later search for “seed round chat”, nothing will come up, even though you are looking for the same topic.

If you depend on your notes for creative work, research, or projects, this limitation can slow you down.

How Fenn Makes Your Notes Truly Searchable

Fenn brings a new level of intelligence to your notes. It can index your entire Obsidian vault and lets you search by meaning, not just by words. This means you can discover relevant notes even if you use different phrases or keywords.

Fenn works locally and respects your file structure. You simply point it at your vault, and it will help you surface the right information, fast. For more about this approach, see Semantic vs Keyword Search on Mac: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters.

Tips for Better Searching in Obsidian

If you’re using only Obsidian’s built-in search, here’s how to get better results:

• Use consistent tags for projects, ideas, meetings, or quotes

• Structure your notes with clear headings so you can use heading: queries

• Make backlinks a habit to create more pathways to your notes

• Write in ways that your future self will understand

If you want an upgrade, let Fenn take over the hard work. With semantic and keyword search combined, you will find what you need even if your memory fails you.

Make Your Second Brain Smarter

Obsidian can be a powerful thinking tool, but only if you can actually find your thoughts later. With smarter search, your notes become more valuable with every new entry. You save time, you find lost ideas, and your vault evolves from a pile of files to a true second brain.

When you finally ask, “Where did I jot down that pricing experiment?” and get an instant answer, you’ll see how much better note-taking can be.

Everything you write is now discoverable, even if you forget the details. That’s the future of notes on your Mac.