diff --git a/script.js b/script.js
index ebc4000..c06bdc5 100644
--- a/script.js
+++ b/script.js
@@ -914,9 +914,28 @@
       $q.focus();
     }
 
+    function buildSearchMatchExpression(rawInput) {
+      const trimmed = String(rawInput || '').trim();
+      if (!trimmed) return '';
+
+      // Preserve power user syntax (field scoping, phrase searches, boolean ops)
+      if (/["':*()^+-]/.test(trimmed)) {
+        return trimmed;
+      }
+
+      const tokens = trimmed
+        .split(/\s+/)
+        .map((token) => token.replace(/[^0-9a-z]/gi, '').toLowerCase())
+        .filter(Boolean);
+
+      if (!tokens.length) return '';
+
+      return tokens.map((token) => `${token}*`).join(' ');
+    }
+
     function runSearchImmediate() {
-      const term = state.query.trim();
-      if (!term) {
+      const matchExpr = buildSearchMatchExpression(state.query);
+      if (!matchExpr) {
         table.clear();
         listState.showIdle('Type to search…');
         return;
@@ -931,10 +950,11 @@
       try {
         console.debug('[Search] Preparing count query', {
           sql: countSql.trim(),
-          params: [term],
+          params: [matchExpr],
+          chars: Array.from(matchExpr).map((ch) => ch.codePointAt(0)),
         });
         const countStmt = db.prepare(countSql);
-        countStmt.bind([term]);
+        countStmt.bind([matchExpr]);
         if (countStmt.step()) {
           const row = countStmt.getAsObject();
           total = Number(row.count) || 0;
@@ -951,10 +971,11 @@
           state.page = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(total / state.pageSize));
         }
 
-        const searchParams = [term, state.pageSize, (state.page - 1) * state.pageSize];
+        const searchParams = [matchExpr, state.pageSize, (state.page - 1) * state.pageSize];
         console.debug('[Search] Preparing row query', {
           sql: effectiveSearchSql.trim(),
           params: searchParams,
+          chars: Array.from(matchExpr).map((ch) => ch.codePointAt(0)),
         });
         const searchStmt = db.prepare(effectiveSearchSql);
         searchStmt.bind(searchParams);