The Friction
Tags in Bear are powerful for both hierarchy (nested tags) and cross-cutting topics. But there’s no way to query across both dimensions without duplicating tags.
Example: I have / for software notes related to my company, and I want a flat SW tag for general software knowledge. Some notes are both — Company-specific and generally useful. Today I have to double-tag them, which creates duplication and cognitive overhead every time I create a note.
What I want
A way to save a search and access it from the sidebar — like a \“Smart Tag\” or \“Saved Search.\”
So I could define \“sw across everything\” as a saved query matching any tag containing sw, or a multi-term search like #company AND #sw. One click, filtered view, no tag duplication needed.
Why it fits Bear
Bear is great because it stays simple. This wouldn’t add complexity to the default experience - just an optional power-user feature for people who’ve outgrown flat tag lists. Apple Notes, Finder, and other native apps have smart folders; it’s a familiar pattern."
