Features overview¶

Sevak includes built-in result sources (plugins) for applications, calculations, files, bookmarks and more. Each plugin answers queries, and the search engine routes and ranks results to show the most relevant ones first.

All built-in features¶

For optional additions, browse the extensions catalog.

Plugin	Trigger	Keyword	What Enter does	Learn more
Applications	Type any app name	(global)	Launch the application	Applications →
Calculator	Type a math expression	(global)	Copy the result	Calculator →
Web search	`<keyword> <search>`	g, yt, gh	Open search results	Web search →
Files	`f <name>` or path-browse	f	Open the file or folder	Files →
Whole-disk and content search	`ff <name>`, `in <words>`	ff, in	Open the file	Files →
File buffer	`Alt`+`Down` on a file	(key)	Act on all collected files	Files →
Bookmarks	`b <bookmark name>`	b	Open the URL	Bookmarks →
System commands	Type a command name	(global)	Run the command	System →
Automation tasks	Type a task name, or `t`	t (also global)	Run the task	Tasks →
Media controls	`pause`, `next`, `play`	play (also global)	Press the media button	Media →
Window layouts	`win left`, `win max`, `win next display`	win	Snap or move the window you were using	Window management →
Window switcher	`w <title or app>`	w	Bring that window to the front	Window management →
Terminal commands	`> <command>`	>	Run in a terminal	Shell →
Clipboard history	`cb <text>`	cb	Paste the text, image or files	Clipboard →
Snippets	`s <snippet>`, or the keyword in any app	s	Paste the saved text	Snippets →
Emoji picker	`:<name>` or `emoji <name>`	:, emoji	Paste the emoji	Emoji →
Contacts (opt-in)	`c <name>` or `@<name>`	c, @	Copy the e-mail address	Contacts →
1Password (opt-in)	`1p <login>`	1p	Open the login's website	1Password →
Dictionary and spelling	`define <word>`, `spell <word>`	define, spell	Copy the definition / paste the spelling	Dictionary →
AI assistant (opt-in)	`ai <question>`	ai	Send the question to the provider you chose; Enter on the answer copies it	AI assistant →
Universal Actions	Press hotkey on selection	(hotkey)	Open action menu	Selection →
Script plugins	Your plugin's keyword	(yours)	What the script says	Script plugins →
Workflows	Your workflow's keyword, hotkey or trigger	(yours)	Run the workflow	Workflows →
Extensions store	`ext <name>`, `store <name>`	ext, store	Install or update it	Extensions →
UUID generator	`uuid`	uuid	Copy a generated UUID	—

How query routing works¶

The search engine routes each query to the right plugins using these rules:

flowchart TD
    A["Query entered"] --> B["Trim whitespace"]
    B --> C{"Keyword found?<br/>(first word + space)"}
    C -->|Yes| D["Route to keyword<br/>plugin only"]
    C -->|No| E{"Symbol keyword?<br/>> or >>"}
    E -->|Yes| F["Route to<br/>symbol plugin"]
    E -->|No| G["Route to all<br/>global plugins"]
    D --> H["No fallback:<br/>run keyword<br/>plugin results"]
    F --> H
    G --> I{"Any results?"}
    I -->|Yes| J["Return results<br/>ranked by score<br/>and usage"]
    I -->|No| K["Try fallback<br/>plugins<br/>in order"]
    K --> L["Return fallback<br/>results or<br/>empty"]
    J --> M["Done"]
    L --> M

Keyword routing¶

Type <keyword><space><rest> to query only plugins with that keyword. For example: - f documents/report searches only in Files - g rust traits searches only Google - b github searches only Bookmarks

The space is optional after symbol keywords: both > ls and >ls route to Terminal commands.

Global queries¶

Without a keyword, global plugins answer every query: - Applications (global, no keyword) - Calculator (global, no keyword) - System commands (global, no keyword) - Automation tasks and Media controls (global if enabled; global = true in [tasks] and [media]) - Files (global if enabled; global = true in config) - Bookmarks (global if enabled; global = true in config)

Plugins with a keyword but also answering globally (e.g., Files with f keyword) have their results multiplied by 0.5 to rank below their dedicated keyword searches.

Ranking¶

Results are scored by: 1. The plugin's own scoring (e.g., how closely a filename matches the query) 2. Your usage history (frequently picked results rank higher) 3. Query time (results from slower plugins lag behind faster ones)

Exact matches and keyword-triggered results keep the order their plugin gave them. They do not get boosted by usage history because they are already highly relevant.

Fallback¶

When no global plugin found any results, the search engine tries fallback plugins in order. This catches cases like: - Empty search → show suggestions from configured web engines (default: Google) - No file or app matches → try web search - New plugin answer → still show something useful

Fallback plugins run after all global plugins have answered, and results are shown in the fallback plugins' configured order (not re-ranked).

Keyword hints¶

Type just the keyword (g, f, b) and the search engine appends that plugin's keyword row, so Tab can complete to g, f, b ready for input.

Turning plugins on and off¶

In Settings¶

Open Settings → Plugins. Toggle any plugin or instance to enable or disable it.

In config¶

Add plugin ids or instance ids to [plugins] disabled:

[plugins]
disabled = ["clipboard", "web:yt"]   # turn off clipboard history and YouTube

Family ids turn off all instances: disabled = ["web"] turns off every web engine. Instance ids turn off one instance: disabled = ["web:g"] turns off Google only.

The built-in ids are apps, calculator, web (instances web:<keyword>), files (its instances files:names and files:content are the ff and in searches), bookmarks, system, tasks, media, windows (windows:switch is the window switcher), shell, clipboard, snippets, emoji (emoji:word and emoji:colon are its two keywords), selection (Universal Actions), contacts, 1password, dict and uuid. Script plugins use script:<name> (or script for all), and workflows workflow:<folder> (or workflow for all). The full list is in the configuration reference.

To find a plugin's id, hover over a result for a moment—the id appears at the bottom.

Customizing keywords and defaults¶

Read individual feature pages for options: - Web search keywords and engines - Files keyword and folders - Bookmarks keyword and browsers - Calculator functions and units - Automation tasks and media controls - Window management - Contacts, 1Password and the dictionary

Every plugin has its options in Settings (see Settings window) and in a [section] of config.toml. After editing the file by hand, choose Reload index from the tray menu or restart Sevak.