Notion Search Content

Notion: Search & Find Content

When to Activate

User is looking for information in Notion — pages, databases, specific content, or trying to find something they remember vaguely.

Step 1: Choose Search Strategy

Known title/keyword → Direct search Browse workspace → List all items Database query → Filtered query Content inside pages → Search + read blocks

Step 2: Search Pages & Databases

Title search:

NOTION_FETCH_DATA(fetch_type="all", query="product roadmap", page_size=50)

Filter by type:

# Only pages
NOTION_FETCH_DATA(fetch_type="pages", query="meeting notes", page_size=50)

# Only databases
NOTION_FETCH_DATA(fetch_type="databases", query="tasks", page_size=50)

Browse all accessible items:

NOTION_FETCH_DATA(fetch_type="all", page_size=100)

Known limitation: Notion's search indexing is not immediate. If a specific search returns empty results despite knowing items exist, try an empty query as fallback and filter client-side.

Step 3: Query Databases

When data is in a database (table, board, gallery):

All rows (no filter):

NOTION_QUERY_DATABASE(database_id="<uuid>", page_size=50)

Filtered query:

NOTION_QUERY_DATABASE_WITH_FILTER(
  database_id="<uuid>",
  filter={...},       # Property-based filters
  sorts=[{"property_name": "Due Date", "ascending": true}]
)

Get database structure first:

NOTION_FETCH_DATABASE(database_id="<uuid>") → properties, column types

Step 4: Read Page Content

• Traversal: Iterate through promising results.
• Reading Content: Use NOTION_FETCH_PAGE_AS_MARKDOWN for pages. For databases, fetch schema with NOTION_FETCH_DATABASE and query with NOTION_QUERY_DATABASE or NOTION_QUERY_DATABASE_WITH_FILTER.
• Synthesis: Consolidate findings into a structured report with links and key data points.

Step 5: Synthesize Results

Don't just dump results — organize them:

Found 5 results for "product roadmap":

1. "Product Roadmap Q1 2025" (page)
   Last edited: 2 days ago | Parent: Product Team
   
2. "Roadmap Tracker" (database)
   47 entries | Properties: Status, Priority, Owner
   
3. "Roadmap Review Notes" (page)
   Last edited: 1 week ago | Parent: Meetings

Progressive Search Strategy

1. Start specific: NOTION_FETCH_DATA(fetch_type="all", query="Q1 product roadmap 2025")
2. Broaden if empty: NOTION_FETCH_DATA(fetch_type="all", query="product roadmap")
3. Browse if still empty: NOTION_FETCH_DATA(fetch_type="all") → filter client-side
4. Check databases: The info might be a row in a database, not a standalone page

Anti-Patterns

• Returning raw API response (always synthesize)
• Searching with very long queries (Notion search is basic title matching)

Using spawn_subagent for Multiple Pages

When you need to read content from multiple Notion pages, the parent agent drives the loop — it spawns one subagent per page (or per batch of pages) to keep the main context clean. Subagents cannot spawn further subagents.

# Parent finds page IDs via search
results = NOTION_FETCH_DATA(fetch_type="pages", query="product roadmap", page_size=50)

# Parent spawns one subagent per page (in parallel where possible)
digest_1 = spawn_subagent(
  task="""
    Fetch and fully process page <page_id_1>:
    NOTION_FETCH_PAGE_AS_MARKDOWN(page_id="<page_id_1>")
    Extract: main goals, timeline, key decisions, action items, open questions.
    Return a structured digest.
  """
)
digest_2 = spawn_subagent(
  task="""
    Fetch and fully process page <page_id_2>:
    NOTION_FETCH_PAGE_AS_MARKDOWN(page_id="<page_id_2>")
    Extract: blockers, decisions, recent updates.
    Return a structured digest.
  """
)

# Parent waits for all digests, then synthesizes

This allows parallel reading of multiple pages while keeping the main context clean.