How do I install the Qmd skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/qmd-2 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Qmd?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Qmd by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Qmd
Author: modbender

Qmd

Fast local search for markdown files, notes, and docs using qmd CLI. Use instead of `find` for file discovery. Combines BM25 full-text search, vector semantic search, and LLM reranking—all running locally. Use when searching for files, finding code, locating documentation, or discovering content in indexed collections.

modbender Updated Sep 21, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

qmd — Fast Local Markdown Search

When to Use

Finding files — use instead of find across large directories (avoids hangs)
Searching notes/docs — semantic or keyword search in indexed collections
Code discovery — find implementations, configs, or patterns
Context gathering — pull relevant snippets before answering questions

Quick Reference

Search (most common)

# Keyword search (BM25)
qmd search "alpaca API" -c projects

# Semantic search (understands meaning)
qmd vsearch "how to implement stop loss"

# Combined search with reranking (best quality)
qmd query "trading rules for breakouts"

# File paths only (fast discovery)
qmd search "config" --files -c kell

# Full document content
qmd search "pattern detection" --full --line-numbers

Collections

# List collections
qmd collection list

# Add new collection
qmd collection add /path/to/folder --name myproject --mask "*.md,*.py"

# Re-index after changes
qmd update

Get Files

# Get full file
qmd get myproject/README.md

# Get specific lines
qmd get myproject/config.py:50 -l 30

# Get multiple files by glob
qmd multi-get "*.yaml" -l 50 --max-bytes 10240

Output Formats

--files — paths + scores (for file discovery)
--json — structured with snippets
--md — markdown formatted
-n 10 — limit results

Tips

Always use collections (-c name) to scope searches
Run qmd update after adding new files
Use qmd embed to enable vector search (one-time, takes a few minutes)
Prefer qmd search --files over find for large directories

Models (auto-downloaded)

Embedding: embeddinggemma-300M
Reranking: qwen3-reranker-0.6b
Generation: Qwen3-0.6B

All run locally — no API keys needed.

---name: qmd-2description: Fast local search for markdown files, notes, and docs using qmd CLI. Use instead of `find` for file discovery. Combines BM25 full-text search, vector semantic search, and LLM reranking—all running locally. Use when searching for files, finding code, locating documentation, or discovering content in indexed collections.---# qmd — Fast Local Markdown Search## When to Use- **Finding files** — use instead of `find` across large directories (avoids hangs)- **Searching notes/docs** — semantic or keyword search in indexed collections- **Code discovery** — find implementations, configs, or patterns- **Context gathering** — pull relevant snippets before answering questions## Quick Reference### Search (most common)```bash# Keyword search (BM25)qmd search "alpaca API" -c projects# Semantic search (understands meaning)qmd vsearch "how to implement stop loss"# Combined search with reranking (best quality)qmd query "trading rules for breakouts"# File paths only (fast discovery)qmd search "config" --files -c kell# Full document contentqmd search "pattern detection" --full --line-numbers```### Collections```bash# List collectionsqmd collection list# Add new collectionqmd collection add /path/to/folder --name myproject --mask "*.md,*.py"# Re-index after changesqmd update```### Get Files```bash# Get full fileqmd get myproject/README.md# Get specific linesqmd get myproject/config.py:50 -l 30# Get multiple files by globqmd multi-get "*.yaml" -l 50 --max-bytes 10240```### Output Formats- `--files` — paths + scores (for file discovery)- `--json` — structured with snippets- `--md` — markdown formatted- `-n 10` — limit results## Tips1. **Always use collections** (`-c name`) to scope searches2. **Run `qmd update`** after adding new files3. **Use `qmd embed`** to enable vector search (one-time, takes a few minutes)4. **Prefer `qmd search --files`** over `find` for large directories## Models (auto-downloaded)- Embedding: embeddinggemma-300M- Reranking: qwen3-reranker-0.6b- Generation: Qwen3-0.6BAll run locally — no API keys needed.

Frequently asked questions

Qmd