> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/hempun10/devdaily/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Work Search & Recall

> Search your work journal to find when you last worked on features, files, or tickets

The recall command lets you search through your work journal to answer questions like "When did I last work on the auth feature?" or "What commits touched this file?"

## Quick Start

Search your work history:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily recall "authentication"
```

Search for a specific file:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily recall --file src/auth.ts
```

Get an AI summary of search results:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily recall "login page" --ai
```

## How It Works

<Steps>
  <Step title="Query Input">
    Accept a search query, file path, or tag to search for in your journal.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Journal Search">
    Search through saved snapshots for matches in commits, PRs, branches, files, notes, and tags.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Rank Results">
    Score and rank results by relevance, showing the most relevant entries first.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Display Matches">
    Show matching snapshots with context, highlighting matched text and showing match reasons.
  </Step>

  <Step title="AI Summary (Optional)">
    Generate a concise summary answering "What did I do related to X?"
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Recall requires journal snapshots. Run `devdaily snapshot` regularly to build your searchable work history.
</Note>

## Command Syntax

```bash theme={null}
devdaily recall [query...] [options]
```

### Arguments

| Argument     | Description                                              |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| `[query...]` | Search keywords (e.g., "auth", "login page", "PROJ-123") |

### Search Options

| Option                 | Description                       | Default      |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------- | ------------ |
| `-p, --project <id>`   | Filter by project identifier      | All projects |
| `--from <date>`        | Start date for range (YYYY-MM-DD) | 90 days ago  |
| `--to <date>`          | End date for range (YYYY-MM-DD)   | Today        |
| `-d, --days <number>`  | Search last N days                | `90`         |
| `-t, --tag <tags...>`  | Filter by tags                    | -            |
| `-f, --file <path>`    | Search for specific file path     | -            |
| `-l, --limit <number>` | Max results to show               | `10`         |

### Output Options

| Option      | Description                            |
| ----------- | -------------------------------------- |
| `--ai`      | Generate AI-powered summary of results |
| `--no-copy` | Don't copy AI summary to clipboard     |
| `--json`    | Output results as JSON                 |
| `--debug`   | Show debug output                      |

## Search Types

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Text Search">
    Search across commits, PRs, branches, notes, and more:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Search for any mention of "authentication"
    devdaily recall authentication

    # Search for a phrase
    devdaily recall "login page redesign"

    # Search for a ticket ID
    devdaily recall PROJ-123
    ```

    Searches in:

    * Commit messages
    * Branch names
    * PR titles
    * Ticket IDs and titles
    * File paths
    * Notes
    * Tags
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="File Search">
    Find when you last worked on a specific file:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Full path
    devdaily recall --file src/components/Auth.tsx

    # Partial path
    devdaily recall --file Auth.tsx

    # Wildcards work in paths
    devdaily recall --file "src/auth*"
    ```

    Shows:

    * Dates the file was modified
    * Commits that touched the file
    * Specific changes per commit
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Tag Search">
    Filter by tags you've added to snapshots:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Single tag
    devdaily recall --tag bugfix

    # Multiple tags
    devdaily recall --tag feature --tag backend
    ```

    Tags are added via:

    ```bash theme={null}
    devdaily snapshot --tag feature --tag api
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Combined Search">
    Combine search criteria:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Text + project filter
    devdaily recall "oauth" --project my-api

    # Text + date range
    devdaily recall "refactor" --from 2024-01-01 --to 2024-01-31

    # File + days
    devdaily recall --file auth.ts --days 30
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Search Results

### Example Output

```
🔍 Recall — 5 result(s) for "authentication"

  1. 2024-01-18 (today)  📂 my-api  🌿 feature/oauth2  ●●●●●●●●●○
     Matched: commit message, branch name, ticket PROJ-123
     a3f2c91 Implement OAuth2 token refresh endpoint
     b7e1d42 Add authentication middleware
     ... +3 more commit(s)
     ○ PR #45 Add OAuth2 authentication support

  2. 2024-01-15  📂 my-api  🌿 fix/auth-redirect  ●●●●●●●○○○
     Matched: commit message, file: src/auth.ts
     c9d4e21 Fix authentication redirect after login
     d2f8a33 Update auth error handling
     5 files +123/-45

  3. 2024-01-10  📂 dashboard  🌿 feature/sso  ●●●●●○○○○○
     Matched: commit message, note
     e5b3c44 Add SSO authentication flow
     📌 Started work on single sign-on authentication
     tags: feature, auth

  ...

Searched 156 snapshots across 3 project(s) from 2023-10-20 to 2024-01-18

Tip: Add --ai for an AI-powered summary of these results
```

### Result Components

**Header:**

* Date (with "today" indicator)
* Project name
* Branch name
* Relevance score (●●●●●)

**Match Reasons:**

* Where the query matched (commit message, branch, file, etc.)

**Commits:**

* Relevant commits (highlighted if matching)
* Remaining commit count

**PRs:**

* Relevant pull requests with state indicators

**Notes:**

* Matching notes with 📌 indicator

**Diff Stats:**

* Files changed, lines added/removed

**Tags:**

* Associated tags

## File History View

Special view for file-specific searches:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily recall --file src/auth.ts
```

```
📄 File History: src/auth.ts

  │ 2024-01-18 (today)
  │   a3f2c91 Refactor auth middleware [src/auth.ts]
  │   b7e1d42 Add token validation [src/auth.ts, src/api/tokens.ts]
  │
  │ 2024-01-15
  │   c9d4e21 Fix auth redirect bug [src/auth.ts]
  │   d2f8a33 Update error messages [src/auth.ts]
  │   e5b3c44 Add auth tests [src/auth.ts, tests/auth.test.ts]
  │   ... +2 more commits
  │
  │ 2024-01-10
  │   f1a2b34 Initial auth implementation [src/auth.ts]
  ╵

Showing 10 of 15 days. Use --limit to see more.
```

## AI-Powered Summaries

Get a narrative summary of search results:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily recall "authentication" --ai
```

### Example AI Summary

```
╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ 🔍 AI Summary: "authentication"                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                 │
│ **Summary**                                     │
│ Authentication work spans 3 weeks across API    │
│ and dashboard projects. Started with OAuth2     │
│ integration (PROJ-123), then added SSO support, │
│ and recently fixed redirect bugs.               │
│                                                 │
│ **Timeline**                                    │
│ - Jan 10: SSO implementation began (dashboard)  │
│ - Jan 12-15: OAuth2 provider setup (API)        │
│ - Jan 15: Fixed auth redirect bug               │
│ - Jan 16-18: Token refresh and middleware       │
│                                                 │
│ **Key details**                                 │
│ - Branch: feature/oauth2-integration            │
│ - PR #45: OAuth2 support (in review)            │
│ - Files: src/auth.ts, src/api/oauth.ts          │
│ - Tickets: PROJ-123, PROJ-128                   │
│                                                 │
│ **Current state**                               │
│ OAuth2 work is in review. SSO implementation    │
│ complete and merged. Auth system is now more    │
│ robust with better error handling.              │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
```

The AI summary:

* Synthesizes all matching snapshots
* Creates a chronological narrative
* Highlights key branches, PRs, and files
* Determines current state (done/in-progress/abandoned)

<Tip>
  AI summaries are automatically copied to clipboard (disable with `--no-copy`).
</Tip>

## Search Filters

### By Project

```bash theme={null}
# Search only in my-api project
devdaily recall "refactor" --project my-api
```

### By Date Range

```bash theme={null}
# Last 30 days
devdaily recall "bugfix" --days 30

# Specific month
devdaily recall "feature" --from 2024-01-01 --to 2024-01-31

# Specific date
devdaily recall "deploy" --from 2024-01-15 --to 2024-01-15
```

### By Tags

```bash theme={null}
# All work tagged as bugfix
devdaily recall --tag bugfix

# Multiple tags (AND logic)
devdaily recall --tag feature --tag backend
```

### Result Limit

```bash theme={null}
# Show top 5 results
devdaily recall "api" --limit 5

# Show 20 results
devdaily recall "test" --limit 20
```

## JSON Output

For automation and integrations:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily recall "feature" --json
```

```json theme={null}
[
  {
    "date": "2024-01-18",
    "projectId": "my-api",
    "branch": "feature/oauth2",
    "score": 9,
    "matchReasons": ["commit message", "branch name", "ticket PROJ-123"],
    "commits": 5,
    "prs": 1,
    "tags": ["feature", "auth"],
    "notes": null
  },
  ...
]
```

## Use Cases

### Finding Past Work

```bash theme={null}
# When did I last touch the auth system?
devdaily recall "authentication" --ai

# What did I do related to PROJ-123?
devdaily recall PROJ-123
```

### File History

```bash theme={null}
# When was this file last modified?
devdaily recall --file src/components/LoginForm.tsx

# All work on auth files
devdaily recall --file "src/auth"
```

### Project Review

```bash theme={null}
# What features were added this month?
devdaily recall "feature" --from 2024-01-01 --to 2024-01-31 --ai

# All bugfixes in a project
devdaily recall --tag bugfix --project my-api
```

### Context for Discussions

```bash theme={null}
# Prepare for code review discussion
devdaily recall "refactor database" --ai

# What work was done on the API?
devdaily recall --project api --days 30 --ai
```

## Match Highlighting

Search terms are highlighted in results:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily recall "authentication"
```

```
a3f2c91 Implement OAuth2 authentication middleware
                      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^  (highlighted)
```

## Example Workflows

### Quick File Check

```bash theme={null}
# Fast file history lookup
devdaily recall --file auth.ts --limit 5
```

### Deep Investigation

```bash theme={null}
# Full AI-powered analysis
devdaily recall "performance optimization" --days 90 --ai
```

### Tag-Based Review

```bash theme={null}
# All feature work this quarter
devdaily recall --tag feature --from 2024-01-01 --to 2024-03-31
```

### Project Timeline

```bash theme={null}
# Export project history
devdaily recall --project my-api --json > project-history.json
```

## Help and Usage

Running `devdaily recall` without arguments shows help and journal stats:

```
🔍 Recall — Search Your Work History

  Search across all your journal snapshots to find when you
  last worked on something, touched a file, or used a branch.

  Usage:
    devdaily recall <query>              Search by keyword
    devdaily recall "auth feature"       Search for a phrase
    devdaily recall PROJ-123             Search for a ticket
    devdaily recall --file src/auth.ts   Search for a file
    devdaily recall --tag bugfix         Search by tag
    devdaily recall login --ai           Get AI summary

  Your journal: 156 snapshots across 3 project(s), 42 day(s)
  Range: 2023-10-15 → 2024-01-18
```

## Configuration

Customize in `.devdaily.json`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "output": {
    "copyToClipboard": true
  }
}
```

## Troubleshooting

<Accordion title="No matches found">
  If you see "No matches found for X":

  * Try a broader search term
  * Increase lookback: `--days 180`
  * Search all projects (remove `--project` filter)
  * Ensure you've been taking snapshots: `devdaily snapshot --list`
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Journal is empty">
  Start building your journal:

  ```bash theme={null}
  # Take a snapshot now
  devdaily snapshot

  # Enable auto-snapshots (enabled by default)
  devdaily standup  # Creates snapshot
  devdaily pr       # Creates snapshot
  ```
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Search is too slow">
  Reduce search scope:

  ```bash theme={null}
  # Limit days
  devdaily recall "query" --days 30

  # Limit results
  devdaily recall "query" --limit 5

  # Filter by project
  devdaily recall "query" --project my-api
  ```
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="AI summary fails">
  Install GitHub Copilot CLI:

  ```bash theme={null}
  gh extension install github/gh-copilot
  ```
</Accordion>

## Related Commands

* [`devdaily snapshot`](/cli/snapshot) - Take and manage work snapshots
* [`devdaily context`](/features/context-recovery) - Recover work context
* [`devdaily week`](/features/weekly-summaries) - Generate weekly summaries
* [`devdaily standup`](/features/standup) - Generate daily standups