gest search

Search across tasks and artifacts by keyword. The query is matched against titles, descriptions, and body content. Queries support structured filter prefixes to narrow results by type, status, or tag.

Usage

gest search [OPTIONS] <QUERY>

Arguments

Argument	Description
<QUERY>	Text and filter expressions matched against titles, descriptions, and body content

Query Syntax

A query is made up of free text and filter expressions, separated by spaces. Free text is matched against titles, descriptions, and body content. Filter expressions use a prefix:value format to constrain results by specific fields.

Filter Prefixes

Prefix	Description	Example
is:	Filter by entity type (task, artifact, iteration)	is:task
tag:	Filter by tag name	tag:urgent
status:	Filter by status	status:open
type:	Filter by artifact kind	type:spec

Both prefixes and values are case-insensitive -- IS:Task, is:task, and Is:TASK all behave the same.

Negation

Prefix any filter with - to exclude matching items:

-tag:wip          # exclude items tagged "wip"
-status:done      # exclude items with status "done"
-is:artifact      # exclude artifacts from results

Combination Rules

Filters combine using these rules:

• Same prefix filters are OR-combined -- is:task is:artifact matches tasks or artifacts.
• Different prefix filters are AND-combined -- is:task tag:urgent matches tasks that are also tagged "urgent".
• Free text is AND-combined with filters -- is:task fix login matches tasks whose content contains both "fix" and "login".
• Negation filters are AND-combined with everything else -- tag:urgent -status:done matches urgent items that are not done.

Options

Flag	Description
-a, --all	Include archived and resolved items
-e, --expand	Show full detail for each result
-j, --json	Emit results as JSON
-v, --verbose	Increase verbosity (repeatable)
-h, --help	Print help

When results are displayed on a terminal, output is piped through a pager ($PAGER, defaulting to less -R). Pager behavior is TTY-only — piped or redirected output is sent directly to stdout.

Examples

# Basic keyword search
gest search "authentication"

# Filter to tasks only
gest search "is:task"

# Tasks tagged "urgent"
gest search "is:task tag:urgent"

# Tasks or artifacts matching "login"
gest search "is:task is:artifact login"

# Exclude work-in-progress items
gest search "tag:api -tag:wip"

# Open tasks about migrations
gest search "is:task status:open migration"

# Filter to iterations
gest search "is:iteration"

# Artifacts of type "spec"
gest search "type:spec"

# Combine negation with free text
gest search "is:task -status:done fix auth"

# Include archived/resolved items
gest search "login" --all

# Expanded detail view
gest search "is:task tag:urgent" --expand

# JSON output for scripting
gest search "status:open" --json