qmd
Search the vault using QMD semantic search. Use PROACTIVELY before reading files directly — whenever the user asks about past decisions, incidents, people, meetings, architecture, patterns, or any vault content. Always prefer QMD over Grep/Glob for vault queries. Also use after creating/editing notes to check for duplicates and related content.
Best use case
qmd is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Search the vault using QMD semantic search. Use PROACTIVELY before reading files directly — whenever the user asks about past decisions, incidents, people, meetings, architecture, patterns, or any vault content. Always prefer QMD over Grep/Glob for vault queries. Also use after creating/editing notes to check for duplicates and related content.
Teams using qmd should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/qmd/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How qmd Compares
| Feature / Agent | qmd | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Search the vault using QMD semantic search. Use PROACTIVELY before reading files directly — whenever the user asks about past decisions, incidents, people, meetings, architecture, patterns, or any vault content. Always prefer QMD over Grep/Glob for vault queries. Also use after creating/editing notes to check for duplicates and related content.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# QMD — Vault Semantic Search Before reading vault files directly, search with QMD first. It returns relevant snippets without burning context on full file reads. ## Commands ### Search (pick one per query) - `qmd query "..." --json -n 10` — Best quality. Hybrid BM25 + vector + LLM reranking. Use for complex or conceptual queries. - `qmd search "..." --json -n 10` — Fast BM25 keyword. Use for exact terms, names, ticket numbers, dates. - `qmd vsearch "..." --json -n 5` — Semantic only. Use for exploratory queries where you don't know the exact words. ### Retrieve - `qmd get "path/to/file.md"` — Full document by path. - `qmd get "#docid"` — Full document by ID (from search results). - `qmd multi-get "org/people/*.md" --json -l 40` — Batch retrieve by glob pattern. ### Index Management - `qmd update` — Re-index after file changes (fast, ~1-2s incremental). - `qmd embed` — Regenerate vector embeddings (slower, run after bulk changes). ## When to Search - User mentions a past decision, incident, person, project → `qmd query` - User asks "what did we decide about X" → `qmd query` - User mentions a person by name → `qmd search "<name>"` - Before creating a new note → `qmd vsearch "<topic>"` to check for existing content - After creating a note → `qmd vsearch "<note title>"` to find notes that should link to it - Loading context for review prep → `qmd multi-get "perf/evidence/*.md"` - Loading 1-on-1 context → `qmd search "<person name> 1-1"` ## After Bulk Changes Run `qmd update && qmd embed` to keep the index fresh. The SessionStart hook does `qmd update` automatically, but `qmd embed` should be run explicitly after sessions that create many notes.
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