> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pnbr.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Search returns nothing > An empty search result does not show that the answer is absent, so find which cause applies before you tell the person. Troubleshooting · core > **Use when** > > A search returned no results, or fewer than you expect, for something that the project should hold. > **Looking for something else?** > > A File that is still processing (problem [A new File is not searchable yet](https://docs.pnbr.io/troubleshooting/new-file-not-searchable-yet.md)). A warning that search by meaning is unavailable (card rule search.2). ## Signs * `penumbra files search ""` prints no passages and the line `No passages match "".`, followed by a hint. * The first line reads like `mode: hybrid -> lexical; semantic coverage: none (0/4)`. * `penumbra search ""` prints `files: 0 passages` and `Nothing matched.` * MCP: `omnisearch` prints a line that starts with Files: no relevant results when it left out weak matches. The line says how many. * You saw the File in `penumbra files list`, and the search still skips it. ## Why it happens One empty result has several causes. Each cause is a different step in the chain from File to answer. * **Your words.** Search by exact words needs every plain word of the query in one passage. A word from another passage gives no match. The name, tags and description of the File count as part of each passage. Penumbra also reduces words to a base form and ignores very common words. * **The File.** Search reads only the current version of a live File that is ready. A File in the trash, a File that is still processing, a File that failed, and a File with no readable text are all absent. The coverage count does not include them. * **The meaning data.** Search by meaning reads only versions that have their data. With none ready, it returns nothing, and a hybrid search falls back to exact words. * **The filters.** A tag, a File id, a collection id or a media type narrows the search. A narrow filter can leave nothing. * **Your access.** A credential limited to a View searches only the Files in the View. The rest read as missing. * **The catalog.** Passages and entities have separate searches. A passage search never returns an entity. ## What Penumbra does By itself: * Searches the current version of each live File that is ready. It skips Files in the trash, Files still processing, Files that failed and Files with no readable text. * In exact-word mode, needs every plain word of the query to match. It accepts a phrase in double quotation marks, the word `or`, and a minus sign before a word to exclude it. * Searches by meaning only the versions whose data is ready, and reports the coverage as `partial` or `none` with a warning. * Prints the mode you asked for, the mode it used and the coverage with every result of `penumbra files search`. * Limits a credential that is bound to a View with Files or collections to the Files in the View. * Searches passages by default in hybrid mode. Entity search through `penumbra graph search` uses exact words by default. * MCP: `omnisearch` leaves out weak matches by meaning and says so. `penumbra files search` applies no such cut. You must: * Read the mode and the coverage before you decide that nothing matches. * Try the query again as exact words, with fewer words, as a phrase or with `or`. * Check the state of the File and your own access. * Tell the person which cause applied, or which causes you could not exclude. Not handled: * The coverage count ignores versions that are still processing, so a full count does not prove that the search covered every File. ## Do 1. Run the search and read its first line: `penumbra files search ""`. Note the mode and the coverage. If the hint says that no File has searchable text yet, run `penumbra files list` and read the status of each File (problem [new-file-not-searchable-yet](https://docs.pnbr.io/troubleshooting/new-file-not-searchable-yet.md)). 2. Remove the filters that you passed: `--tag`, `--file-id`, `--collection-id`, `--filter-media-type` and `--source`. The hint names the filters you used. 3. Search by exact words with fewer words: `penumbra files search "renewal" --mode lexical`. For a phrase, put it in double quotation marks inside the query. For alternatives, use `or`. 4. Search by meaning and words together: `penumbra files search "" --mode hybrid`. If the coverage is `partial` or `none`, only some versions are searchable by meaning. Exact words cover the rest. MCP: call `omnisearch` again in lexical mode, with fewer words. 5. Check the File: `penumbra files find ""`, then `penumbra files inspect `. The `processing:` line shows the lexical state and the semantic state. Run `penumbra files list --trashed` to see whether someone trashed the File. If the text is empty or garbled, run `penumbra files text ` (recipe [check-file-text](https://docs.pnbr.io/guides/check-file-text.md)). 6. Check what you can see: `penumbra access me`. If a View limits you, items outside the View look absent, and counts cover the View only (problem [hidden-reads-as-missing](https://docs.pnbr.io/troubleshooting/hidden-reads-as-missing.md)). 7. Search the entities too: `penumbra graph search "" --mode hybrid`. `penumbra search ""` searches passages and entities in one call. 8. Report the result with its limits. Say what you searched, the mode, the coverage, and what you could not see. ## Don't * Don't tell the person that a fact is not in the project after one empty search. The File may be processing, outside your View, or not matched by your words. * Don't read a full coverage count as proof that the search covered every File. The count leaves out a File that is still processing. * Don't search by meaning only (`--mode semantic`) while the coverage is `partial` or `none`. That mode skips the versions without data and can return nothing. * Don't upload the File again. The same bytes give the same File and change nothing (problem [same-bytes-no-new-version](https://docs.pnbr.io/troubleshooting/same-bytes-no-new-version.md)). ## Check * The query returns a passage with its File id, version id and passage id: `penumbra search ""` prints them on a `cite:` line. * Or you can name the cause: the words, the File state, the data for meaning, a filter, or your View. The person has heard it. ## Related Card [search](https://docs.pnbr.io/concepts/search.md), with rule [search.2](https://docs.pnbr.io/concepts/search.md#rule-search-2). Card [file](https://docs.pnbr.io/concepts/file.md). Problems [new-file-not-searchable-yet](https://docs.pnbr.io/troubleshooting/new-file-not-searchable-yet.md) and [hidden-reads-as-missing](https://docs.pnbr.io/troubleshooting/hidden-reads-as-missing.md). Recipes [check-file-text](https://docs.pnbr.io/guides/check-file-text.md) and [answer-with-citations](https://docs.pnbr.io/guides/answer-with-citations.md). ## Keep going [Search](https://docs.pnbr.io/concepts/search.md) · [File](https://docs.pnbr.io/concepts/file.md) · [Passage and citation](https://docs.pnbr.io/concepts/passage.md) · [A new File is not searchable yet](https://docs.pnbr.io/troubleshooting/new-file-not-searchable-yet.md) · [Something outside the View reads as not found](https://docs.pnbr.io/troubleshooting/hidden-reads-as-missing.md) Penumbra Grammar 0.6.26 This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.