Search

Ariv gives you multiple ways to find what you’re looking for, from quick file switching to full-text search across your entire vault. Everything is powered by SQLite FTS5 full-text search, so results are instant even in large vaults with thousands of notes.

Quick Search

Shortcut: Cmd+O (macOS) / Ctrl+O (Windows/Linux)

Quick Search is the fastest way to open a note. Start typing a note name or a snippet of content, and Ariv shows matching results as you type. Select a result to open it immediately.

This is your go-to for switching between notes when you know roughly what you’re looking for. It searches both note titles and content, so even a vague keyword will usually surface the right file.

Tip

Quick Search is great for building a “keyboard-first” workflow. Instead of browsing the file tree, hit Cmd+O, type a few characters, and jump straight to the note you need.

Find in Files

Shortcut: Cmd+Shift+F (macOS) / Ctrl+Shift+F (Windows/Linux)

Find in Files searches the full content of every note in your vault and shows matches with surrounding context. This is the tool to use when you need to find a specific phrase, reference, or keyword across your entire knowledge base.

Each result shows:

• The note name
• The matching line with your search term highlighted
• Surrounding context so you can evaluate relevance without opening the note

Click any result to open the note and jump to the matching line.

Command Palette

Shortcut: Cmd+P (macOS) / Ctrl+P (Windows/Linux)

The Command Palette is a universal search for Ariv’s commands and actions. Type the name of any action — “split view,” “toggle sidebar,” “export” — and select it to execute immediately.

This is useful when you know Ariv can do something but can’t remember the keyboard shortcut or where the button is. Every action in Ariv is accessible through the command palette.

In-editor Find and Replace

Shortcut: Cmd+F (macOS) / Ctrl+F (Windows/Linux)

Standard find-and-replace within the current note. Supports:

• Case-sensitive and case-insensitive matching
• Find next / find previous navigation
• Replace one or replace all

This is the same find-and-replace you’re used to from any text editor, scoped to the note you’re currently editing.

Semantic search (AI-powered)

Semantic search goes beyond keyword matching. Instead of looking for exact words, it finds notes that are about the same topic, even if they use different terminology.

For example, searching for “machine learning performance” might surface a note titled “Neural Network Optimization Techniques” — even though the exact phrase “machine learning performance” never appears in it.

How it works

Semantic search uses a local embedding model (approximately 22 MB) that runs entirely on your machine. The model is downloaded automatically the first time you enable the feature. After that, all processing happens locally — no data leaves your computer.

Enabling semantic search

Toggle semantic search in Settings > AI > Semantic Search (ai.semanticSearch).

Note

The first time you enable semantic search, Ariv downloads a small model (~22 MB) and builds an embedding index of your vault. This may take a moment depending on vault size, but only happens once. Subsequent updates are incremental.

When to use semantic search

• Exploratory research. When you’re not sure what keywords to search for, semantic search can surface relevant notes by meaning.
• Finding related concepts. If you’re writing about a topic and want to see what else in your vault relates to it, semantic search casts a wider net than keyword search.
• Rediscovering old notes. Notes you wrote months ago might use different language than you’d use today. Semantic search bridges that gap.

Caution

Semantic search requires an initial index build and uses slightly more memory than keyword search. If you have a very large vault and limited system resources, you may want to keep it disabled and rely on the standard FTS5 search, which is already very fast.

Search result ranking

All search results are ranked by relevance. Ariv considers factors like:

• How closely the match aligns with your query
• Where in the note the match appears (title matches rank higher)
• Recency of the note

This means the most useful results tend to appear at the top, reducing the time you spend scanning through matches.

Quick reference

Action	macOS	Windows/Linux
Quick Search	Cmd+O	Ctrl+O
Find in Files	Cmd+Shift+F	Ctrl+Shift+F
Command Palette	Cmd+P	Ctrl+P
In-editor Find	Cmd+F	Ctrl+F

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Related: Backlinks — Discover connections between notes | Visual Maps — See your vault structure as a graph