Search Functionality

The search field in the TODOseq Task List provides a powerful search system that allows you to quickly find and filter tasks across your entire vault. This guide covers all aspects of the search functionality, from basic filtering to advanced query syntax.

Basic Search

Search Field Overview

The search field is located in the Task List toolbar and provides live filtering as you type. Basic search matches the entered text against task text, file path, and filename.

Search Shortcuts

Focus Search Field:

Press / to focus the search field (unless already typing in another input).

Clear Search:

Press Escape to clear the current search and remove focus.

Toggle Case Sensitivity:

Click the "A/a" button in the toolbar to toggle case-sensitive matching.

Advanced Search Syntax

TODOseq supports sophisticated search queries with boolean logic and grouping.

Exact Phrase Search

Use double quotes to search for exact phrases:

"write documentation"

This will only match tasks containing the exact sequence "write documentation".

OR Logic

Use OR to match either term:

meeting OR call

This will match tasks containing "meeting" OR "call".

AND Logic (Implicit)

Multiple terms without operators use implicit AND:

meeting work

This will match tasks containing BOTH "meeting" AND "work".

Exclusion (NOT Logic)

Use - to exclude terms:

meeting -personal

This will match tasks containing "meeting" but NOT "personal".

Grouping with Parentheses

Use parentheses for complex expressions:

(meeting OR call) -personal

This will match tasks containing "meeting" OR "call" but NOT "personal".

Multiple Exclusions

You can exclude multiple terms:

project -personal -home

This will match tasks containing "project" but excluding both "personal" and "home".

Advanced Search Examples

"send email" (projectX OR projectY) -external

Find "send email" tasks that mention either "projectX" or "projectY" but exclude "external".

(meeting OR call) project -weekend

Find project-related meetings or calls that don't mention "weekend".

work (home OR office) -phone

Find work tasks related to home or office, excluding phone related ones.

Search Filters

TODOseq supports filter keywords similar to Obsidian's general vault search for targeted searching.

Available Prefix Filters

Prefix	Description	Example
path:	Find tasks in specific file paths	path:Journal
file:	Find tasks in files with matching names	file:meeting.md
tag:	Find tasks containing specific tags	tag:urgent
state:	Find tasks with specific states	state:DOING
priority:	Find tasks with specific priorities	priority:high
content:	Find tasks with specific content	content:project
scheduled:	Find tasks with scheduled dates	scheduled:due
deadline:	Find tasks with deadline dates	deadline:"this week"
property:	Find tasks based on page properties	property:[type:Project]

Using Search Filters

Search filters can be used alone or combined with other search terms:

path:projects

Find all tasks in the "projects" folder.

file:meeting content:project

Find tasks with "project" in the task details only in files containing "meeting" in the file name.

state:TODO priority:high

Find high priority tasks that are in TODO state.

The state: filter and state autocomplete suggestions follow the effective keyword configuration from settings. This includes custom keywords and advanced built-in overrides. Archived keywords are excluded from state search suggestions because archived tasks are not collected into the task index.

[type:Project]

Find tasks on pages marked as projects.

Date Filter Expressions

TODOseq provides powerful date-based filtering expressions.

Basic Date Expressions

Expression	Description
overdue	Tasks that are past their deadline
due	Tasks due today or overdue
today	Tasks due today
tomorrow	Tasks due tomorrow
this week	Tasks due this week*
next week	Tasks due next week*
this month	Tasks due this month
next month	Tasks due next month

*Weeks start on Monday by default; this can be changed in the settings.

Date Expression Examples

scheduled:today

Find tasks scheduled for today.

deadline:overdue

Find tasks with overdue deadlines.

scheduled:"this week"

Find tasks scheduled for the current week.

deadline:"next month"

Find tasks with deadlines in the next month.

Next N Days Expression

scheduled:"next 7 days"

Find tasks scheduled in the next 7 days.

deadline:"next 14 days"

Find tasks with deadlines in the next 14 days.

Date Range Syntax

Use .. to specify date ranges in YYYY-MM-DD format.

Date Range Examples

scheduled:2026-01-01..2026-01-31

Find tasks scheduled in January 2026.

deadline:2026-06-01..2026-06-30

Find tasks with deadlines in June 2026.

scheduled:2026-01-01..2026-03-31

Find tasks scheduled in Q1 2026.

Combining Date Ranges with Other Filters

scheduled:2026-01-01..2026-01-31 priority:high

Find high priority tasks scheduled in January 2026.

deadline:2026-06-01..2026-06-30 state:TODO

Find TODO tasks with deadlines in June 2026.

Priority Filter Values

TODOseq supports multiple ways to filter by priority.

Value	Description
high	High priority tasks ([#A])
med	Medium priority tasks ([#B])
low	Low priority tasks ([#C])
A	Short form for high priority
B	Short form for medium priority
C	Short form for low priority
none	Tasks without priority

Priority Filter Examples

priority:high

Find high priority tasks.

priority:med -state:DOING

Find medium priority tasks excluding those in DOING state.

priority:a OR priority:b

Find high or medium priority tasks.

priority:none

Find tasks without priority assignments.

Property Search

You can search for tasks based on page properties (frontmatter/YAML metadata). This allows you to filter tasks by the properties set on your markdown files, providing a powerful way to organize and find tasks based on document context.

Basic Property Search

To search for tasks on pages with a specific property, use brackets with the property name and value separated by a colon. For example, to find all tasks on pages marked as a "Project", you would use [type:Project]. The property name and value are separated by a colon within the brackets. You can use quotes around either the property name or value for exact matching. Without quotes, the search will match partially (case insensitive by default).

[type:Project]

This syntax is consistent with Obsidian's native property search format, making it familiar if you've used Obsidian's property search before. The quotes are optional but recommended for exact matching.

Key-Only Search

You can also search for pages that have a specific property regardless of its value. Use [type:] or just [type] to find all pages with the type property set. This is useful when you want to see all tasks on pages of a certain category, regardless of their specific status or other property values.

[type:]

This will match all pages that have a type property, whether it's set to "Project", "Personal", "Note", or any other value.

Exact vs Partial Matching

By default, property searches match partially. The search [type:ject] would match "Project" because "ject" is contained within "Project". For exact matching, use quotes around the value: [type:"Project"]. This will only match pages where the property value is exactly "Project".

[type:"Project"]

Exact matching is case sensitive, while partial matching is case insensitive by default. You can also toggle case sensitivity using the A/a button in the toolbar.

Negation

You can exclude pages with specific properties using the minus sign. For example, -[type:Personal] will exclude all pages where the type property is "Personal".

-[type:Personal]

This is particularly useful when you want to focus on work-related tasks and exclude personal ones.

Null Values

You can search for properties that exist but have no value using [type:null] or [type:]. This is different from searching for pages where the property doesn't exist at all. Null value matching is useful for finding pages where a property has been initialized but not yet filled in.

[type:null]

This will match pages where the type property exists but has no value assigned to it.

OR Operator

You can combine multiple values using the OR operator within a property search. For example, [status:Draft OR Published] will match pages where the status is either "Draft" or "Published".

[status:Draft OR Published]

This allows you to search for tasks across multiple related categories without needing separate searches.

Type-Aware Comparisons

For numeric properties, you can use comparison operators like >, <, >=, and <=. For example, ["size":>100] matches pages where the size property is greater than 100.

["priority":>5]

This type-aware comparison works with numeric values and allows for more precise filtering based on quantitative properties.

Date Property Comparisons

Comparison operators also work with date properties, enabling you to filter tasks based on page property date ranges. You can use >, <, >=, and <= with dates in YYYY-MM-DD format to find tasks with dates before or after a specific point in time.

[deadline:>2026-01-15]

This finds tasks on pages with a deadline property after January 15, 2026. Similarly, [created:<2026-01-01] would find tasks created before the start of 2026.

Checkbox (Boolean) Property Search

Boolean properties can be searched using true and false values.

[published:true]

This finds tasks on pages where the published property is set to true. Conversely, [active:false] would find tasks on pages where the active property is explicitly set to false.

Array Property Matching

When a property contains multiple values (an array or list), the search will match if any element in the array matches your search term. For example, if a page has tags: [work, urgent], both [tags:work] and [tags:urgent] will match that page.

[tags:work]

This finds tasks on pages where "work" appears anywhere in the tags array.

Property Search Cache

TODOseq builds its own index of all properties across your vault for fast, efficient searching. This approach ensures that property searches work even for files that haven't been recently accessed, providing comprehensive coverage of your entire vault.

The property search engine automatically updates when files change, ensuring that your search results are always current.

Combining Search Techniques

TODOseq allows combining all search features for powerful, targeted filtering.

Complex Query Examples

path:projects tag:urgent priority:high scheduled:"this week"

Find urgent, high priority tasks scheduled for this week in the projects folder.

(file:meeting OR file:notes) content:project state:TODO -tag:blocked

Find TODO project tasks in meeting or notes files, excluding tasks with the #blocked tag.

"code review" (state:TODO OR state:DOING) deadline:"next 7 days"

Find code review tasks that are TODO or DOING with deadlines in the next 7 days.

path:work/ scheduled:2026-01-01..2026-01-31 priority:A OR priority:B

Find high or medium priority tasks scheduled in January 2026 in the work folder.

[type:Project] (state:TODO OR state:DOING) -[status:Blocked]

Find TODO or DOING tasks on project pages, excluding those with blocked status.

Search Logic and Behavior

Search Matching Rules

1. Case Sensitivity: Off by default, toggle with A/a button
2. Whitespace: Multiple spaces are treated as single space
3. Punctuation: Most punctuation is treated as literal characters
4. Order: Search terms can appear in any order in results
5. Proximity: Terms don't need to be adjacent unless using quotes