Every docmd project includes a powerful, full-text search engine built-in. Unlike traditional search tools that require external indexing services or server-side databases, docmd search runs entirely in the user’s browser.

How it Works

1. Build Phase: docmd analyzes your markdown and generates a compressed search-index.json.
2. Section Awareness: We don’t just index pages; we index headers. If a keyword appears in a specific ### section, the search result will link the user directly to that section using its permalink.
3. Local Execution: When a user types, the matching happens instantly in memory using MiniSearch. It works perfectly in air-gapped environments or on slow connections.

Configuration

The search plugin is active by default. You can customize its presence via the layout object.

// docmd.config.js
module.exports = {
  layout: {
    optionsMenu: {
      components: {
        search: true // Set to false to remove the search button
      }
    }
  }
}

Advanced Usage

Excluding Content

To prevent a specific page from being indexed (e.g., utility pages), add noindex to the frontmatter:

---
title: "Private Info"
noindex: true
---

Keyboard Shortcuts

We’ve optimized the search experience with native feeling shortcuts:

• Cmd + K (Mac) or Ctrl + K (Windows) to open.
• ESC to close.
• Arrow Keys and Enter to navigate.

Privacy First

Because the search happens entirely on the client, no data—not even keystrokes—is ever sent to a server. This makes docmd the Gold Standard for documentation search in privacy-sensitive industries (Healthcare, Finance, Security).

Comparison

Many documentation generators (like Docusaurus) rely on Algolia DocSearch. While Algolia is powerful, it introduces friction: