# Links, backlinks and search

Link notes with Markdown links, see backlinks and tags, and search your vault by name, text or meaning.

This page shows how notes link to each other, how backlinks and tags work, and how to search by name, by text or by meaning.

## Link notes

Link one note to another with a standard Markdown link, such as `[Plan](Projects/Plan.md)`. The path is relative to the note that holds the link. Loam uses these links for backlinks, the graph and renames.

> **Warning:** Wikilinks such as `[[Plan]]` are styled in the editor, but they do not count for backlinks, the graph or renames. Use a standard Markdown link when a link must be tracked.

## Backlinks

Backlinks are the notes that link to the open note. In the app, the Links tab of the right sidebar lists them with the lines where they link, and it also lists unlinked mentions of the note name.

From the command line, list the backlinks of a note. It prints the paths of the notes that link to it:

```bash
loam --vault ~/Notes notes.backlinks path=Projects/Plan.md
```

## Tags

Write a tag as `#project` or `#work/q4` anywhere in the text. You can also list tags in the frontmatter, as `tags: [project]`. Both forms count. The Tags section of the left sidebar lists every tag with its count.

Find the notes with a tag from the command line:

```bash
loam --vault ~/Notes query.run tag=project
```

## Search

Search comes in three modes. Name and text search work out of the box. Search by meaning needs Truffle, a separate tool.

| Command | Finds | Needs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `search.names q=plan` | Notes whose file name matches, with fuzzy matching. | Nothing |
| `search.content q=plan` | Lines of text in the notes, with the line number. | Nothing |
| `search.meaning q="the plan"` | Notes by what they say, in any language. | Truffle running |
| `search.status` | Whether Truffle is running, and what it has indexed. | Nothing |

To search by meaning, install Truffle with `brew install azilone/tap/truffle`, then run `truffle setup` or start `truffle serve`.

In the app, Cmd+O opens the quick switcher, and Shift+Cmd+F opens a search popup.

> **Tip:** For AI agents: `loam guide commands` lists the search and link commands. Use `search.content` for text and `search.names` for titles.