Getting started with Smart Lookup
Smart Lookup helps when you remember an idea but not the exact words, title, or location. The first win is one recovered source that becomes useful in your current work.
You can type a question, but Lookup returns ranked notes or note sections. It does not write the answer.
What you will do
- Open Smart Lookup.
- Describe one idea you know exists in your notes.
- Run the query.
- Expand one result.
- Verify the result.
- Open or use the source.
No API key, chat model, or Smart Context setup is required for this first search.
Before you start
Confirm that:
- Smart Connections is installed and active
- Smart Environment has prepared the relevant sources and embeddings
- the vault contains at least one meaningful note about the topic
Use a real topic whose good result you could recognize. A generic demo query is difficult to judge.
1. Open Smart Lookup
Use the ribbon magnifying-glass action or run:
Smart Lookup: Open: Lookup view
The Lookup sidebar opens with a query box. If the command is missing, use this sequence:
- Confirm that Smart Connections is enabled.
- Restart Obsidian after installation or update.
- Confirm that Smart Connections is up to date.
2. Describe what you want to find
Use one semantic intent:
subject + context + distinguishing detail
Examples:
customer onboarding friction and activation
prior decisions about Context Builder tradeoffs
What have I written about information overload and focus?
You can also start from wording already in a note. Select the complete phrase or question:
Then choose Search selection with Smart Lookup:
Search for the material that you want to recover. Do not search for the report that you hope to create later. For example, use project risks, unresolved decisions, and next actions instead of summarize everything and recommend the best action.
3. Run the search
- With Auto-submit enabled, pause after typing and let Lookup refresh.
- With Auto-submit disabled, choose Lookup.
One clear intent usually produces a more interpretable result set than a long multi-part prompt.
4. Verify one result
Start with the first one to three rows.
- Expand a promising result.
- Read enough of the excerpt to understand why it matched.
- Check the note title, heading, path, or line range.
- Open the source when the excerpt is not enough.
The score helps order inspection. It does not guarantee usefulness or correctness.
Preview before opening. Open before trusting.
5. Use the useful source
Lookup has created value when the recovered note changes what you can do next. For example:
- continue reading the source
- add a normal Obsidian link to the working note and explain why it matters
- drag the source to a supported Context, Chat, Graph, or Connections destination
- use the evidence in a decision, draft, or review
After a drag or handoff, confirm that the expected source appears in the destination.
You know the first workflow succeeded when:
| Check | Successful state |
|---|---|
| Lookup opened | The sidebar shows the query box. |
| Query ran | A ranked result list appears. |
| Match was verified | An expanded or opened source contains relevant material. |
| Result became useful | You opened, linked, transferred, or applied the source. |
Stop when the recovered source has done its job. Make a result-set handoff only when the reviewed set, rather than one source, is the intended input. The top-right Context Builder and Graph controls are list-level.
If the first Lookup does not work
| What happened | Try first |
|---|---|
| The command is missing | Confirm that Smart Connections is active. Restart Obsidian. |
| No results appear | Wait for Environment preparation. Query a topic known to exist in several notes. |
| Results are too broad | Add one project, audience, constraint, or other distinguishing detail. |
| Results are too narrow | Remove the least important detail. |
| You need an exact phrase or title | Use Obsidian Search. |
| You expected a written answer | Review the sources. Then continue with Smart Context or Smart Chat. |
If several known topics remain empty or stale, review Smart Environment readiness before tuning retrieval behavior.
Continue after the first result
Use the complete Smart Lookup documentation to:
- choose Sources or Blocks
- understand result metadata and scores
- drag reviewed sources into another workflow
- explore a result set in Smart Graph
- refine broad or narrow queries
Do not tune advanced settings until the basic workflow has recovered one source worth using.