# Search your saves by describing them

> Type what you remember, in your own words, and Noodle finds the save even when it uses different words. Filter by source, category, tag or date, or search by voice.

Noodle Assistant user guide · Finding things · Updated 2026-10-21 · https://www.noodleassistant.com/docs/search

Search finds a save from a description, so you don't need the exact words. Type "what to pack for Portugal" and Noodle finds your Lisbon packing list, even though the note never says "Portugal". It works offline.

## Search for something

1. Tap the **Search** tab.
2. Type what you remember in **Search your brain…**: a few words, a question, a channel name. The box is ready as soon as the tab opens.
3. Tap the search key on your keyboard. Results appear, best match first, with "11 results" above them.
4. Tap a result to open it.

![Search for "what to pack for Portugal" showing the Lisbon packing list first and a Lisbon day trip second](https://www.noodleassistant.com/docs/screenshots/search-results.webp)

Each result shows the passage that matched, with a label saying where it came from: **Your note**, **Transcript**, **Article**, **Caption**, **Text in image** or **PDF**. If the match is in a video, the result says **Play from** and a time; tapping it opens the video at that moment. A match in an article or PDF opens the reader at that spot.

## Narrow the results

1. Tap **Filters**. Rows of choices open under the buttons.
2. Tap a source (**YouTube**, **Instagram**, **Photos, videos & PDFs** and more), a category, a tag such as **#bread**, or a time (**Past week**, **Past month**, **Past year**).
3. To undo a choice, tap **All**, **All categories** or **Any time** in its row, or tap the tag again. While filters are on, the button reads **Filters · 2** (the number of filters).

![Search with filters open: source chips, category chips with counts, the tags bread and sourdough, and Any time, Past week and Past month](https://www.noodleassistant.com/docs/screenshots/search-filters.webp)

## Search by voice

1. Tap the mic in the search box. **Listening…** appears.
2. Say what you're looking for, then tap **Search**.

Nothing you say is saved. Voice search needs the voice download for your language.

## Other buttons on the Search tab

| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| **×** | Clears the search box |
| **Select** | Pick several results to file or delete at once |
| **Ask instead** | Sends your words to [Ask Noodle](https://www.noodleassistant.com/docs/ask-noodle) as a question (shows once Ask is downloaded) |

When the box is empty, your recent searches are listed. **Clear** removes them.

## Tips for better results

- Describe the thing, not the file: "the video about fixing a dripping tap" works better than "video".
- Search in any language you set up. Saves in other languages are translated to English so they're found too.
- Photos are found by what's in them once the photo search download is on your phone: "cat on a sofa", "receipt from the hardware store".
- If Noodle shows **No close matches**, it lists related saves instead. Try other words or remove a filter. With **No matches** and filters on, **Clear filters** turns them all off.

> **What Noodle doesn't do (yet)**
>
> Search doesn't cover your Plan tasks, and it can't search other apps or the web. A save that's still being read shows up once Noodle has finished reading it.

## Related

- [Library](https://www.noodleassistant.com/docs/library)
- [How saving and finding works](https://www.noodleassistant.com/#how)

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Noodle Assistant is a free Android app that saves videos, posts, articles, photos, PDFs and voice notes, reads what is inside them, and finds them again when you describe them. Everything stays on the phone. Download: https://www.noodleassistant.com/download