Search & Discovery
Find exactly what you need. Lexic offers multiple search modes designed to surface relevant information whether you remember the exact words or just the concept.
Search Modes
Different situations call for different search approaches. Lexic provides five distinct search modes, each optimized for specific use cases.
Full-Text Search
Keyword matching with relevance scoringTraditional keyword search that finds exact matches and variations of your search terms. Results are ranked by relevance based on term frequency and document length.
Best for:
- •Finding notes with specific names or terms
- •Searching for exact phrases or quotes
- •Quick lookups when you know the exact wording
Semantic Search
Find conceptually similar contentUses AI embeddings to find notes that are conceptually related to your query—even when they don't contain the exact words you searched for. Powered by vector similarity using HNSW indexing for fast results.
Best for:
- •Finding related content when you can't remember exact terms
- •Discovering notes about similar topics or themes
- •Searching for ideas expressed in different words
Hybrid Search
Recommended • Default modeCombines full-text and semantic search for the best of both worlds. Results are scored using configurable weights (default 50/50) to balance exact matches with conceptual relevance.
How it works
- Runs both search types in parallel
- Normalizes scores from each mode
- Combines using weighted average
- Returns unified, ranked results
Weight configuration
Default: 50% text / 50% semantic
Adjust weights to favor exact matches or conceptual similarity based on your needs.
Tip: Hybrid search is the default because it handles the widest variety of queries well. Start here unless you have a specific reason to use another mode.
Graph Search
Find connected notes with path trackingTraverses the knowledge graph to find notes connected through shared entities, topics, or explicit links. Shows the path of connections so you understand why results are related.
Best for:
- •Exploring how ideas connect across your knowledge base
- •Finding notes related to a specific person, project, or concept
- •Discovering unexpected connections between topics
2
Max depth (hops)
0.3
Min connection strength
Comprehensive Search
All modes combinedRuns all search modes simultaneously and merges the results. Use this when you want to cast the widest possible net and don't want to miss anything potentially relevant.
Note: Comprehensive search uses more resources and may return a larger result set. Best for exploratory searches when recall is more important than precision.
Search Configuration
Lexic's search is tuned for optimal performance out of the box, but understanding these parameters helps you interpret results.
Minimum semantic similarity score for results. Higher values return more precise matches; lower values return more results.
Maximum hops to traverse in graph search. Depth of 2 finds notes connected through one intermediate node.
Minimum connection strength to follow in graph traversal. Filters out weak or tangential connections.
Hierarchical Navigable Small World index enables fast approximate nearest neighbor search at scale.
Filtering Options
Narrow down your search results with powerful filters. Combine multiple filters to find exactly what you're looking for.
Workspace Filtering
Limit search to specific workspaces. Useful when you know the general area where the information lives.
Date Range Filtering
Filter by creation or modification date. Find notes from a specific time period or recent updates.
Tag-Based Filtering
Filter by tags you've applied or AI-extracted tags. Combine multiple tags with AND/OR logic.
Connection-Aware Ranking
Boost results that have more connections in your knowledge graph. Well-connected notes often contain key insights.
Search Features
Match Highlighting
Search results show highlighted snippets where your terms appear in the content. For semantic matches, the most relevant passage is highlighted even if it doesn't contain exact keywords.
...discussed the quarterly planning process with Sarah and agreed on...
Search Suggestions
When your search returns few results, Lexic suggests alternative queries and related tags that might help you find what you're looking for.
Search History
Lexic tracks your recent searches so you can quickly revisit previous queries. History is stored locally and synced across your devices.
Pagination Support
Large result sets are paginated for performance. Navigate through pages or load more results as needed. Results maintain consistent ordering across pages.
Quick Tips for Effective Searching
- 1.Start with hybrid search — It balances precision and recall for most queries.
- 2.Use semantic search for "tip of the tongue" moments — When you remember the concept but not the words.
- 3.Use graph search to explore connections — Great for discovering how ideas relate.
- 4.Combine filters to narrow results — Workspace + date range is a powerful combination.
- 5.Check search suggestions — They often surface better queries.