Rel Search

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Write first. Find it later.

Rel is short for relations: search not only by what a note says, but also by where it lives and what it connects to.

Stopping to choose the perfect folder, note, heading, tag, or Canvas position can break the flow of a thought. Rel Search lets you put a note wherever it is convenient, then find it later using both its content and the structure around it.

Search uses structure too

The words in a note are not the only clues. Where the note lives and what it is connected to can matter too.

nearby in the folder tree
  → same folder
    → same Canvas
      → same Canvas Group or connected by edges
        → same Canvas node or Markdown note
          → same heading or nested block
            → same paragraph or code block

The scopes become narrower from top to bottom. This is not a literal containment hierarchy. A Canvas node can belong to a Canvas and a Group while also being connected to other nodes by edges. Rel Search treats each of those relationships as a separate search clue.

Show only the context that is needed

If every search term appears in one paragraph, that paragraph is enough. If the evidence is spread through a list or Callout, the result expands to that container. If it is split across Canvas nodes, the result can expand to the Group or edge relationship connecting them.

The rule is to show enough context to understand the match, not the entire file by default. Nested headings, lists, Callouts, and Admonitions are searched in place, preserving their structure.

The goal is simple: write roughly now and still find it later.

What you write in Canvas is a note too

Obsidian's built-in search can find Canvas text, but tags inside Canvas cards do not participate in the built-in tag and metadata workflow like tags in Markdown notes. Rel Search includes those tags and also uses Canvas Groups and edges as retrieval clues.

What to know

• Open Rel Search or Rel Tags from the command palette.
• Choose which objects and relationships may become results under Settings → Rel Search.
• Search covers Markdown notes and Canvas text nodes. Headings, lists, Callouts, and Admonitions follow their nested structure; code blocks are treated as single units.
• The plugin works locally without an account, network requests, or telemetry.
• Source code is maintained in a private repository. The Obsidian Community Directory can verify that each public build was produced from that source.
• Distributed under the Rel Search Binary License.