Features Unified Search

Unified Search

Search across multiple data sources in a single query. Results are returned from any configured search provider — files, applications, settings, documents, and more.

Actions

unified.search

Run a search query across all configured search providers.

Parameter	Type	Description
query	string	Search query text
categories	string[]?	Filter to specific categories (optional)
limit	uint?	Max results per category (default: 20)

deskbrid unified.search '{"query": "report", "categories": ["files", "apps"], "limit": 10}'

{
  "type": "unified.search",
  "query": "budget",
  "categories": ["files", "apps", "settings"],
  "limit": 10
}

Response:

{
  "type": "response",
  "status": "ok",
  "data": {
    "files": [
      {"path": "/home/user/Documents/budget-2024.xlsx", "type": "file", "score": 0.95},
      {"path": "/home/user/Desktop/budget-notes.txt", "type": "file", "score": 0.80}
    ],
    "apps": [
      {"name": "Gnome Calculator", "desktop_id": "org.gnome.Calculator.desktop", "score": 0.10}
    ],
    "settings": []
  }
}

unified.index

Trigger a re-index of all search providers. This refreshes the search index with the latest data.

deskbrid unified.index

No parameters. May take several seconds depending on the number of files and providers configured.

Python Example

from deskbrid import Deskbrid

client = Deskbrid()

# Search everything
results = client.unified_search(query="meeting notes", limit=5)

for category, items in results.items():
    if items:
        print(f"\n{category}:")
        for item in items:
            if category == "files":
                print(f"  📄 {item['path']}")
            elif category == "apps":
                print(f"  🚀 {item['name']}")

Requirements

• File search requires the baloo (KDE) or tracker3 (GNOME) desktop search daemon, or Deskbrid's built-in file indexer.
• App search uses the desktop's .desktop file database.
• Settings search requires D-Bus access to the desktop settings daemon.
• unified.index may require write access to the index storage directory.

Configuration

Search providers and their priorities are configured in config.toml:

[search]
index_path = "/var/lib/deskbrid/search"
providers = ["files", "apps", "settings", "documents"]
max_results_per_provider = 20
reindex_interval_hours = 24

Current Status

Experimental — v1.0.0 feature.