Queries

Queries let you filter Objects by their property values using structured filter rules. Unlike search, which matches free-text across all content, queries target specific properties with typed operators.

How it works

Queries use structured FilterRule conditions to match Objects. Each rule specifies a property, an operator, and a value. When multiple rules are provided, they are combined with AND logic — only Objects matching all conditions are returned.

The type property is a special filter that matches the Object’s type name. All other properties match against frontmatter property values.

Listing objects

Use the CLI to list all objects or search:

# List all objects
tmd object list
tmd object list --json

# Full-text search
tmd search "concurrency"

Archived objects

Archived objects are excluded from queries and list results by default. This keeps your default views free of soft-deleted content without permanently removing it from the vault. To include archived objects, use the --include-archived flag:

tmd object list --include-archived

Filter operators

Views support type-aware filter operators. Each property type has a defined set of valid operators:

Property type	Operators
`string`, `url`	`is`, `is_not`, `contains`, `does_not_contain`, `starts_with`, `ends_with`, `is_empty`, `is_not_empty`
`number`	`eq`, `neq`, `gt`, `gte`, `lt`, `lte`, `is_empty`, `is_not_empty`
`date`, `datetime`	`eq`, `before`, `after`, `on_or_before`, `on_or_after`, `is_empty`, `is_not_empty`
`select`	`is`, `is_not`, `is_empty`, `is_not_empty`
`multi_select`, `relation`	`contains`, `does_not_contain`, `is_empty`, `is_not_empty`
`checkbox`	`is`, `is_not`

Filter rules are defined in view configurations:

filter:
  - property: status
    operator: is
    value: reading
  - property: rating
    operator: gt
    value: "3"

Multiple filters are combined with AND logic.

Fallback mode

If the SQLite index is unavailable (missing or corrupt), queries automatically fall back to filesystem scanning with in-memory filter matching. The fallback path supports all the same operators listed above, ensuring consistent results. Performance is degraded (O(n) file reads instead of indexed queries), but operations complete successfully. A warning is logged when fallback is triggered.

Sorting

Queries support sorting by property values. When used via the TUI view mode, sort rules are defined in the view configuration:

sort:
  - property: rating
    direction: desc

Sort direction is either asc (ascending) or desc (descending). Multiple sort rules are applied in order (first rule is the primary sort).