Search Your Reference Library With Operators
Search operators narrow a reference search by saved information. Start with the subject you remember, then add a filter you can verify in the results. A filename or tag query searches recorded information; it does not infer that information from every image.
Plain text matches any part of a name, so onic finds sonic.png. If nothing matches, refern shows close spellings and labels them as such.
Start with one filter
Type an operator in refern's search field and use its suggestions to complete the value. These examples use the current public operator names:
| Query | Purpose |
|---|---|
type:image | Restrict to image entries |
type:video | Restrict to video entries |
tag:anatomy | Filter by an existing anatomy tag |
rating:>=4 | Find entries rated four or five |
is:untagged | Find entries without tags |
tags:<=1 | Find entries with one tag or none |
sort:tags-asc | Show the least-tagged entries first |
aspect:portrait | Find entries taller than they are wide |
has:creator | Find entries with a credited creator (no:creator finds the rest) |
is:favourite | Find marked favorites |
label:blue | Filter by an assigned blue color label |
color:#3a2b1e | Search by image color |
added:>=2026-09-01 | Filter by when entries were added |
The literal date stays fixed. It does not become "this month" automatically. A color label is metadata you assign; image-color search uses visual information. Choose the one that matches your question.
Combine conditions deliberately
Try type:image tag:anatomy rating:>=4. Remove the rating filter if you get no results, then check the tag. This makes it easier to discover which condition excluded an image.
For explicit tag combinations, tag:all:anatomy,hands asks for both tag names. Use the autocomplete and filter controls when names contain punctuation or spaces. The current release supports quoted tag names and escaped punctuation; check the completed filter before saving a complicated query.
Other available keywords include ext:, has:, no:, modified:, source:, creator:, auto:, in:, derived:, grouped:, linked:, duration:, fps:, codec:, and sort:. Their valid values differ. Follow each operator's suggestions instead of reusing a value from another filter.
aspect: (also written shape: or ratio:) filters by shape. It accepts landscape, portrait, square, panorama, and vertical-panorama, a ratio such as aspect:16:9 or aspect:2.35, and comparisons or ranges such as aspect:>=2 or aspect:1.3..1.8. sort:tags orders results by tag count with the most-tagged first; sort:tags-asc puts the fewest first, and sort:tags-desc the most. To order by rating without typing an operator, choose Rating (Highest) or Rating (Lowest) in the toolbar sort menu.
Check scope before changing metadata
A folder-local search and a workspace search can cover different files. Check the selected folder, content root, descendant setting, and active filters when a known image is missing. Searching an unavailable drive cannot restore its media.
The is:duplicate filter identifies perceptual-hash candidates. Inspect them using the duplicate-review workflow; a match is not permission to delete a file.
You can also run these searches by describing them to Claude Code or Codex. For selections you revisit, create a smart folder with supported saved rules. Use visual similarity when visual resemblance is more useful than the metadata you remember.