Getting started with Smart Lookup

Smart Lookup helps you find notes by meaning when you remember the idea, but not the exact words, title, heading, tag, or folder.

Smart Lookup finds sources. It does not write an answer.

You can type a question, but Lookup uses it to return a ranked list of notes or note sections that may contain the answer.

Your first useful result

Run one real query, expand one result, and confirm that it contains useful material from your vault even though the wording differs from your query.

What you will do

Open Smart Lookup.
Describe one idea you know exists somewhere in your notes.
Run the search.
Expand 1 to 3 promising results.
Open or link the result that helps your work.

You do not need an API key, a chat model, Smart Context, or advanced settings for this first test.

Before you start

Confirm that:

Smart Connections is installed and enabled
Smart Environment has finished, or is visibly finishing, its initial source and embedding preparation
your vault contains at least one meaningful note about the topic you plan to search

Use a real topic from your vault. A vague demo query is difficult to judge because you may not know what a good result should contain.

1. Open Smart Lookup

Use either route:

Click the Smart Lookup magnifying-glass icon in Obsidian's ribbon.
Press Ctrl/Cmd + P, then run:

Smart Lookup: Open: Lookup view

The Smart Lookup sidebar opens with a query box that says:

Describe the idea, topic, or question you want to explore...

If the exact command is missing

Confirm Smart Connections is enabled, then restart Obsidian after installing or updating it.

If the command still does not appear, the instructions do not match your installed build. Do not keep looking for a control that is not there. Open Help from that build or verify which release includes Smart Lookup.

2. Describe what you want to find

Write one idea in ordinary language.

A useful pattern is:

subject + context + distinguishing detail

Examples:

preventing information overload while researching

prior decisions about Context Builder tradeoffs

customer onboarding friction and activation

A question also works:

What have I written about information overload and focus?

Lookup uses that question to find likely source material. It does not compose the answer.

Describe the material you want to recover, not the report you want an AI to write afterward.

Instead of:

Summarize my notes and recommend the best next actions.

Search for:

project risks, unresolved decisions, and next actions

3. Run the search

With Auto-submit enabled, pause briefly after typing and Lookup updates the results automatically.
With Auto-submit disabled, click Lookup.

Use one clear intent per query. A longer prompt is not automatically a better search.

4. Verify one result

Start with the first 1 to 3 results.

Click the arrow beside a promising result to expand its excerpt.
Read enough to understand why it matched.
On desktop, hold Ctrl/Cmd while hovering a result to use Obsidian's preview when available.
Click the result title when you need the full note.

A result may show:

a similarity score
the note title
a heading path
a line range
an arrow for expanding the excerpt

The score tells you what to inspect first. It does not prove that the source is correct or useful.

Preview before opening. Open before trusting.

5. Use the useful result

Lookup has created value when the recovered source changes the work you are doing.

You might:

recover a prior decision, example, constraint, or explanation
open the source and continue reading
drag the result link into the note you are editing where your version supports it
add a normal Obsidian link and state why it matters

For example:

## Context

- [[Useful result note]]
	- Use for: [why this note matters to the current question or outcome]

You know the first workflow succeeded when:

Check	You know it worked when...
Lookup opened	The sidebar shows the query box.
Query ran	A ranked result list appears.
Match was verified	An expanded result contains material related to your idea.
Result became useful	You opened, linked, or applied something from the source.

If your first Lookup does not work

What happened	Try first
The Lookup command is missing	Confirm Smart Connections is enabled, restart Obsidian, and verify that this guide matches your installed version.
No results appear	Wait for Smart Environment preparation to finish, then try a topic you know appears in several meaningful notes.
Results are too broad	Add one distinguishing detail, such as the project, audience, constraint, or problem.
Results are too narrow	Remove the least important detail and search the broader idea.
You need an exact phrase or title	Use Obsidian search instead.
You expected a written answer	Smart Lookup only finds source material. Continue to an AI workflow after you verify the useful sources.

If several real queries return no useful results, review Smart Milestones or Smart Environment settings before changing retrieval settings.

Continue after the first result

Use the full Smart Lookup search workflow when you need to:

refine broad or narrow queries
understand scores, headings, and line ranges
choose Sources or Blocks
turn verified notes into context for a written AI answer

Do not tune settings until the basic workflow above has produced one result worth using.