Search is how agents find material in a project too big to read whole. Keyword search is on from the start; search by meaning is opt-in.
Keyword search
Nothing to set up. The Search popup offers By keyword and By meaning; keyword matching covers Markdown, plain text, HTML, and JSON files, plus the text StashBase prepares from PDFs, DOCX files and images. Results point back to the visible source file.
Some files need preparation before they can appear. Search reports what is still being prepared, and failed preparation can be retried. Muted files stay out of Search and automatic Chat context.
Search by meaning
Search by meaning finds material that says what you mean in different words. StashBase builds a vector index beside the keyword index and combines both at query time.
Add your own OpenAI or OpenRouter key under Settings → Advanced → Search by Meaning. Your provider’s pricing and data terms apply. Default Agent credits do not cover search by meaning.
With setup complete, StashBase prepares eligible files across your projects and keeps the index in sync as files change. This runs in the background and is independent of building Wiki Pages.
In Chat, the Search by meaning switch sits in the composer. Turning it off keeps keyword matching, including prepared document text, and does not pause indexing. When credits run out, keyword search and local workflows keep working.
Recordings
StashBase plays audio and video when the format is supported, but it does not transcribe them, so their words are not searchable. To search a recording, save its transcript as a text or Markdown file in the project; keyword search, search by meaning and your agent then cover it.
What leaves your machine
Keyword search, OCR, and every file workflow run locally. Hosted search by meaning sends the relevant text to the selected embedding provider for indexing and each query for retrieval. Extracted text and indexes stay in app-managed storage, not in your folder, and removing a project from StashBase clears them without touching your files.
For how the two kinds of search divide the work, read Semantic search across your local files. To put the index to use, go back to building your first Wiki.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an API key to search my files?
Not for keyword search, which works from the start with no account and no key. Search by meaning needs your own OpenAI or OpenRouter key, added under Settings → Advanced → Search by Meaning.
Can StashBase search scanned PDFs and images?
Yes. PDF text extraction and OCR run on your computer, and both keyword search and search by meaning cover the prepared text. A file that is still being prepared does not appear in results yet, and Search tells you what is pending.
How much does search by meaning cost?
You pay your embedding provider, not StashBase. OpenAI's small embedding model costs $0.02 per million tokens (as of August 2026), so indexing a large personal collection costs cents. Default Agent credits do not cover it.
Can StashBase search my recordings?
Not directly. StashBase plays audio and video but does not transcribe them. Save a transcript as a text or Markdown file in the project, and both kinds of search cover it.