# SearchBox manual

Welcome! SearchBox is a free app that finds anything on your computer by looking *inside* your files — PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, notes, even images — not just at their names. Think of it as your own private search engine: everything runs on your computer, and nothing you index or search ever leaves it. This page is the front door to the manual — by the end of it you'll know exactly which guide to open next.

![The SearchBox home screen](img/home-screen.png)
<!-- SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Launch SearchBox and log in. Make sure at least one bookmark tile is filled (add one via a + tile if needed) so the home screen doesn't look empty. Capture the full app window showing the SearchBox logo, the search bar, the Search Documents / Search Images / Explore buttons, the five bookmark tiles below, the three round buttons in the top-right corner, and the ? button in the bottom-right. Do not type anything into the search bar. -->

## Start here

New to SearchBox? Three steps take you from nothing to your first result:

1. **Install it** — the [installation steps](./getting-started.md#install-searchbox-on-windows) in the getting started guide cover downloading and running the Windows installer.
2. **Set it up** — the rest of [Getting started](./getting-started.md) walks you through creating your account, saving your recovery key (important!), and adding your first folder.
3. **Search** — the [Your first search](./tutorials/first-search.md) tutorial turns that indexed folder into your first real find.

## Guides

Everyday reference for each part of the app:

- [Getting started](./getting-started.md) — Install SearchBox, create your account, and index your first folder.
- [Searching](./searching.md) — Everything the search bar can do, from plain words to filters like `::pdf` and the color-coded syntax hints.
- [Images and Explore](./images-and-explore.md) — Find pictures with image search and flip through your whole library visually.
- [The private vault](./vault.md) — Lock sensitive files behind your password with encryption, and understand the recovery key.
- [Folders and archives](./folders-and-archives.md) — Index folders, ZIP files, and offline-Wikipedia (ZIM) archives, and keep them in sync.
- [AI summaries](./ai-summaries.md) — Optional short summaries of your search results, generated by a free AI that runs on your own machine.
- [Bookmarks and history](./bookmarks-and-history.md) — Pin your most-used documents to the home screen and jump back to recent searches.
- [Settings](./settings.md) — A walk through every option: vault security, the search engine, updates, and more.
- [Linux and Docker](./linux-and-docker.md) — Run SearchBox outside Windows, from a tarball or a container.

## Tutorials

Step-by-step projects you can follow along with:

- [Your first search](./tutorials/first-search.md) — A short walkthrough from an empty index to your first result.
- [Offline Wikipedia](./tutorials/offline-wikipedia.md) — Put an entire encyclopedia on your PC and search it without internet.
- [Set up a private vault](./tutorials/private-vault.md) — Encrypt your first sensitive file, step by step.
- [AI summaries with Ollama](./tutorials/ai-with-ollama.md) — Install a free local AI and turn on result summaries.

## Help

- [Troubleshooting](./troubleshooting.md) — Fixes for the most common hiccups, like the search engine showing as off or the app not opening.

## For developers

Building from source, the tech stack, and contribution notes live in the [developer documentation](../dev/README.md).

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