qmd in daily use

Lesson outcome

You will know when to use qmd instead of browsing, and you will have practiced the patterns that produce the best retrieval results.

Why this matters in an agency

The vault is only useful if you can find the right note quickly. As the vault grows, the cost of not using search increases. A 500-note vault with no search is just a folder full of files. A 500-note vault with good search is a knowledge system. qmd is what makes the vault scale from 20 notes to 500 without losing findability.

Inputs, tools, and prerequisites

qmd installed and indexing your vault from the previous lesson. Claude Code running on the VPS. Real business questions to practice with.

Step-by-step walkthrough

When to use qmd versus browsing

Use qmd when:

• You do not remember the exact note title
• You know the concept but not where it is stored
• You need to find all notes related to a topic
• You want to check if a note already exists before creating a new one

Browse when:

• You know the exact folder and title
• You are reviewing a specific folder's contents
• You are doing a visual survey of what exists

In practice, qmd becomes the default. Browsing becomes the exception.

Pattern: Check before creating

Before creating a new note, search for it first:

```
Use qmd to check if there is already a note about "quarterly business review process" in the vault.
```

If qmd finds one, update it instead of creating a duplicate. If it finds nothing, create the new note. This prevents the most common vault problem: duplicate notes on the same topic in different folders.

Pattern: Find context before answering

When you need to answer a business question or make a decision, search the vault first:

```
I need to write a proposal for a garage door company. Use qmd to find all notes related to our garage door marketing services, pricing, and any existing client notes for similar companies.
```

qmd will return multiple notes. Claude Code can read them all and synthesize the information. This produces proposals grounded in your actual business data, not generic templates.

Pattern: Maintain note quality

Poor search results usually mean poor note quality, not poor search. When qmd returns the wrong note or misses the right one, diagnose why:

• Weak title — "Notes 2" does not help search. Rename to "Q1 2026 Revenue Review."
• Weak opening paragraph — qmd weighs the beginning of a note heavily. Start notes with a clear statement of what the note is about.
• Missing keywords — If you search for "SOPs" but your notes say "Standard Operating Procedures," add both terms to the note.
• Split content — If the information is spread across five short notes, consolidate into one comprehensive note.

Fix the note, re-index, and search again.

Pattern: Multi-query retrieval

For complex questions, use multiple search types together:

```
Search for information about our client retention strategy using:

1. Keyword search for "retention"
2. Semantic search for "how we keep clients from churning"
3. Hypothetical search for "a note describing strategies for preventing client cancellation and improving satisfaction"
   ```

Each query may find different notes. Together, they give you the most complete picture.

Failure modes and verification checks

The main failure is reverting to browsing out of habit instead of using search. The second failure is blaming the search tool when the real problem is note quality.

Verification: for one full week, use qmd as your first retrieval method for everything. Track how often it finds the right note immediately, how often it requires a refined query, and how often it fails entirely. If the failure rate is above 20%, focus on improving note titles and opening paragraphs.

Implementation checklist

• Use qmd as default retrieval, not browsing.
• Always search before creating a new note.
• Search for context before answering business questions.
• When search fails, fix the note quality, not just the query.
• Use multi-query retrieval for complex questions.

Immediate next action

Move to the next module. You now have the complete operator stack working: Claude Code, vault, BWS, VPS, CLAUDE.md, plan mode, and qmd. The next module ties it all together into a daily workflow.

Exercise

Spend 15 minutes adding opening paragraphs to any vault notes that do not have clear first sentences. Start each note with a one-sentence description of what the note is about and why it exists. Then re-index and run the three searches from the previous exercise again. Compare the results before and after. Better opening paragraphs should produce better search results.