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Search

linkding provides a comprehensive search function for finding bookmarks. This guide gives on overview of the search capabilities and provides some examples.

Every search query is made up of one or more expressions. An expression can be a single word, a phrase, a tag, or a combination of these using boolean operators. The table below summarizes the different expression types:

ExpressionExampleDescription
WordhistorySearch for a single word in title, description, notes, URL
Phrase"history of rome"Search for an exact phrase by enclosing it in quotes
Tag#bookSearch for a tag
AND operator#history and #bookBoth expressions must match
OR operator#book or #articleEither expression must match
NOT operatornot #articleExpression must not match
Grouping#history and (#book or #article)Control evaluation order using parenthesis

When combining multiple words, phrases or tags without an explicit operator, the and operator is assumed. For example:

history rome #book

is equivalent to:

history and rome and #book

Some additional rules to keep in mind:

  • Words, phrases, tags, and operators are all case-insensitive.
  • Tags must be prefixed with a # symbol. If the lax tag search mode is enabled in the settings, the # prefix is optional. In that case searching for a word will return both bookmarks containing that word or bookmarks tagged with that word.
  • An operator (and, or, not) can not be used as a search term as such. To explicitly search for these words, use a phrase: "beyond good and evil", "good or bad", "not found".

Here are some example search queries and their meanings:

history rome #book

Search bookmarks that contain both “history” and “rome”, and are tagged with “book”.

"history of rome" #book

Search bookmarks that contain the exact phrase “history of rome” and are tagged with “book”.

#article or #book

Search bookmarks that are tagged with either “article” or “book”.

rome (#article or #book)

Search bookmarks that contain “rome” and are tagged with either “article” or “book”.

history rome not #article

Search bookmarks that contain both “history” and “rome”, but are not tagged with “article”.

history rome not (#article or #book)

Search bookmarks that contain both “history” and “rome”, but are not tagged with either “article” or “book”.

A new search engine that supports the above expressions was introduced in linkding v1.44.0. If you run into any issues with the new search, you can switch back to the old one by enabling legacy search in the settings. Please report any issues you encounter with the new search on GitHub so they can be addressed. This option will be removed in a future version.