@gmickel/gno 0.18.0 → 0.19.0

package/README.md

@@ -32,7 +32,12 @@ GNO is a local knowledge engine that turns your documents into a searchable, con
 
 ---
 
-## What's New in v0.18
+## What's New in v0.19
+
+- **Exclusion Filters**: explicit `exclude` controls across CLI, API, Web, and MCP to hard-prune unwanted docs by title/path/body text
+- **Ask Query-Mode Parity**: Ask now supports structured `term` / `intent` / `hyde` controls in both API and Web UI
+
+### v0.18
 
 - **Intent Steering**: optional `intent` control for ambiguous queries across CLI, API, Web, and MCP query flows
 - **Rerank Controls**: `candidateLimit` lets you tune rerank cost vs. recall on slower or memory-constrained machines
@@ -162,6 +167,7 @@ gno vsearch "error handling patterns" # Semantic similarity
 gno query "database optimization"    # Full pipeline
 gno query "meeting decisions" --since "last month" --category "meeting,notes" --author "gordon"
 gno query "performance" --intent "web performance and latency"
+gno query "performance" --exclude "reviews,hiring"
 gno ask "what did we decide" --answer # AI synthesis
 ```
 

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@gmickel/gno",
-  "version": "0.18.0",
+  "version": "0.19.0",
   "description": "Local semantic search for your documents. Index Markdown, PDF, and Office files with hybrid BM25 + vector search.",
   "keywords": [
     "embeddings",

package/src/cli/commands/ask.ts

@@ -199,6 +199,7 @@ export async function ask(
       author: options.author,
       tagsAll: options.tagsAll,
       tagsAny: options.tagsAny,
+      exclude: options.exclude,
       noExpand: options.noExpand,
       noRerank: options.noRerank,
       candidateLimit: options.candidateLimit,
@@ -262,6 +263,8 @@ export async function ask(
         vectorsUsed: searchResult.value.meta.vectorsUsed ?? false,
         intent: searchResult.value.meta.intent,
         candidateLimit: searchResult.value.meta.candidateLimit,
+        exclude: searchResult.value.meta.exclude,
+        queryModes: searchResult.value.meta.queryModes,
         answerGenerated,
         totalResults: results.length,
         answerContext,

package/src/cli/program.ts

@@ -225,6 +225,10 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
     .option("--category <values>", "require category match (comma-separated)")
     .option("--author <text>", "filter by author (case-insensitive contains)")
     .option("--intent <text>", "disambiguating context for ambiguous queries")
+    .option(
+      "--exclude <values>",
+      "exclude docs containing any term (comma-separated)"
+    )
     .option("--tags-all <tags>", "require ALL tags (comma-separated)")
     .option("--tags-any <tags>", "require ANY tag (comma-separated)")
     .option("--full", "include full content")
@@ -270,6 +274,7 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
         ? parsePositiveInt("limit", cmdOpts.limit)
         : getDefaultLimit(format);
       const categories = parseCsvValues(cmdOpts.category);
+      const exclude = parseCsvValues(cmdOpts.exclude);
 
       const { search, formatSearch } = await import("./commands/search");
       const result = await search(queryText, {
@@ -282,6 +287,7 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
         categories,
         author: cmdOpts.author as string | undefined,
         intent: cmdOpts.intent as string | undefined,
+        exclude,
         tagsAll,
         tagsAny,
         full: Boolean(cmdOpts.full),
@@ -332,6 +338,10 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
     .option("--category <values>", "require category match (comma-separated)")
     .option("--author <text>", "filter by author (case-insensitive contains)")
     .option("--intent <text>", "disambiguating context for ambiguous queries")
+    .option(
+      "--exclude <values>",
+      "exclude docs containing any term (comma-separated)"
+    )
     .option("--tags-all <tags>", "require ALL tags (comma-separated)")
     .option("--tags-any <tags>", "require ANY tag (comma-separated)")
     .option("--full", "include full content")
@@ -377,6 +387,7 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
         ? parsePositiveInt("limit", cmdOpts.limit)
         : getDefaultLimit(format);
       const categories = parseCsvValues(cmdOpts.category);
+      const exclude = parseCsvValues(cmdOpts.exclude);
 
       const { vsearch, formatVsearch } = await import("./commands/vsearch");
       const result = await vsearch(queryText, {
@@ -389,6 +400,7 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
         categories,
         author: cmdOpts.author as string | undefined,
         intent: cmdOpts.intent as string | undefined,
+        exclude,
         tagsAll,
         tagsAny,
         full: Boolean(cmdOpts.full),
@@ -434,6 +446,10 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
     .option("--category <values>", "require category match (comma-separated)")
     .option("--author <text>", "filter by author (case-insensitive contains)")
     .option("--intent <text>", "disambiguating context for ambiguous queries")
+    .option(
+      "--exclude <values>",
+      "exclude docs containing any term (comma-separated)"
+    )
     .option("--tags-all <tags>", "require ALL tags (comma-separated)")
     .option("--tags-any <tags>", "require ANY tag (comma-separated)")
     .option("--full", "include full content")
@@ -505,6 +521,7 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
         ? parsePositiveInt("candidate-limit", cmdOpts.candidateLimit)
         : undefined;
       const categories = parseCsvValues(cmdOpts.category);
+      const exclude = parseCsvValues(cmdOpts.exclude);
 
       // Determine expansion/rerank settings based on flags
       // Priority: --fast > --thorough > --no-expand/--no-rerank > default
@@ -541,6 +558,7 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
         categories,
         author: cmdOpts.author as string | undefined,
         intent: cmdOpts.intent as string | undefined,
+        exclude,
         tagsAll,
         tagsAny,
         full: Boolean(cmdOpts.full),
@@ -586,6 +604,10 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
     .option("--category <values>", "require category match (comma-separated)")
     .option("--author <text>", "filter by author (case-insensitive contains)")
     .option("--intent <text>", "disambiguating context for ambiguous queries")
+    .option(
+      "--exclude <values>",
+      "exclude docs containing any term (comma-separated)"
+    )
     .option("--fast", "skip expansion and reranking (fastest)")
     .option("--thorough", "enable query expansion (slower)")
     .option("-C, --candidate-limit <num>", "max candidates passed to reranking")
@@ -616,6 +638,7 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
         ? parsePositiveInt("max-answer-tokens", cmdOpts.maxAnswerTokens)
         : undefined;
       const categories = parseCsvValues(cmdOpts.category);
+      const exclude = parseCsvValues(cmdOpts.exclude);
 
       // Determine expansion/rerank settings based on flags
       // Default: skip expansion (balanced mode)
@@ -641,6 +664,7 @@ function wireSearchCommands(program: Command): void {
         categories,
         author: cmdOpts.author as string | undefined,
         intent: cmdOpts.intent as string | undefined,
+        exclude,
         noExpand,
         noRerank,
         candidateLimit,

package/src/mcp/tools/index.ts

@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ const searchInputSchema = z.object({
   minScore: z.number().min(0).max(1).optional(),
   lang: z.string().optional(),
   intent: z.string().optional(),
+  exclude: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
   since: z.string().optional(),
   until: z.string().optional(),
   categories: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
@@ -107,6 +108,7 @@ const vsearchInputSchema = z.object({
   minScore: z.number().min(0).max(1).optional(),
   lang: z.string().optional(),
   intent: z.string().optional(),
+  exclude: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
   since: z.string().optional(),
   until: z.string().optional(),
   categories: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
@@ -128,6 +130,7 @@ export const queryInputSchema = z.object({
   lang: z.string().optional(),
   intent: z.string().optional(),
   candidateLimit: z.number().int().min(1).max(100).optional(),
+  exclude: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
   since: z.string().optional(),
   until: z.string().optional(),
   categories: z.array(z.string()).optional(),

package/src/mcp/tools/query.ts

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ interface QueryInput {
   lang?: string;
   intent?: string;
   candidateLimit?: number;
+  exclude?: string[];
   since?: string;
   until?: string;
   categories?: string[];
@@ -251,6 +252,7 @@ export function handleQuery(
           queryLanguageHint: args.lang, // Affects expansion prompt, not retrieval
           intent: args.intent,
           candidateLimit: args.candidateLimit,
+          exclude: args.exclude,
           since: args.since,
           until: args.until,
           categories: args.categories,

package/src/mcp/tools/search.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ interface SearchInput {
   minScore?: number;
   lang?: string;
   intent?: string;
+  exclude?: string[];
   since?: string;
   until?: string;
   categories?: string[];
@@ -110,6 +111,7 @@ export function handleSearch(
         collection: args.collection,
         lang: args.lang,
         intent: args.intent,
+        exclude: args.exclude,
         since: args.since,
         until: args.until,
         categories: args.categories,

package/src/mcp/tools/vsearch.ts

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ interface VsearchInput {
   minScore?: number;
   lang?: string;
   intent?: string;
+  exclude?: string[];
   since?: string;
   until?: string;
   categories?: string[];
@@ -194,6 +195,7 @@ export function handleVsearch(
             minScore: args.minScore,
             collection: args.collection,
             intent: args.intent,
+            exclude: args.exclude,
             since: args.since,
             until: args.until,
             categories: args.categories,

package/src/pipeline/exclude.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+/**
+ * Explicit exclusion helpers for retrieval filters.
+ *
+ * @module src/pipeline/exclude
+ */
+
+import type { ChunkRow } from "../store/types";
+
+export function normalizeExcludeTerms(values: string[]): string[] {
+  const out: string[] = [];
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+
+  for (const value of values) {
+    for (const part of value.split(",")) {
+      const trimmed = part.trim();
+      if (!trimmed) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      const key = trimmed.toLowerCase();
+      if (seen.has(key)) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      seen.add(key);
+      out.push(trimmed);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return out;
+}
+
+function includesTerm(haystack: string, term: string): boolean {
+  return haystack.toLowerCase().includes(term.toLowerCase());
+}
+
+export function matchesExcludedText(
+  haystacks: string[],
+  excludeTerms: string[] | undefined
+): boolean {
+  if (!excludeTerms?.length) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  for (const haystack of haystacks) {
+    if (!haystack) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    for (const term of excludeTerms) {
+      if (includesTerm(haystack, term)) {
+        return true;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return false;
+}
+
+export function matchesExcludedChunks(
+  chunks: ChunkRow[],
+  excludeTerms: string[] | undefined
+): boolean {
+  if (!excludeTerms?.length || chunks.length === 0) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return matchesExcludedText(
+    chunks.map((chunk) => chunk.text),
+    excludeTerms
+  );
+}

package/src/pipeline/hybrid.ts

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import type {
 import { err, ok } from "../store/types";
 import { createChunkLookup } from "./chunk-lookup";
 import { formatQueryForEmbedding } from "./contextual";
+import { matchesExcludedChunks, matchesExcludedText } from "./exclude";
 import { expandQuery } from "./expansion";
 import {
   buildExplainResults,
@@ -670,6 +671,25 @@ export async function searchHybrid(
       continue;
     }
 
+    const excluded =
+      matchesExcludedText(
+        [
+          doc.title ?? "",
+          doc.relPath,
+          doc.author ?? "",
+          doc.contentType ?? "",
+          ...(doc.categories ?? []),
+        ],
+        options.exclude
+      ) ||
+      matchesExcludedChunks(
+        chunksMap.get(candidate.mirrorHash) ?? [],
+        options.exclude
+      );
+    if (excluded) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
     // For --full mode, de-dupe by docid (keep best scoring candidate per doc)
     if (options.full && seenDocids.has(doc.docid)) {
       continue;
@@ -810,6 +830,7 @@ export async function searchHybrid(
       vectorsUsed: vectorAvailable,
       totalResults: finalResults.length,
       intent: options.intent,
+      exclude: options.exclude,
       collection: options.collection,
       lang: options.lang,
       since: temporalRange.since,

package/src/pipeline/search.ts

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import type {
 
 import { err, ok } from "../store/types";
 import { createChunkLookup } from "./chunk-lookup";
+import { matchesExcludedChunks, matchesExcludedText } from "./exclude";
 import { selectBestChunkForSteering } from "./intent";
 import { detectQueryLanguage } from "./query-language";
 import {
@@ -237,6 +238,21 @@ export async function searchBm25(
           ) ?? rawChunk)
         : rawChunk;
 
+    const excluded =
+      matchesExcludedText(
+        [fts.title ?? "", fts.relPath ?? "", fts.snippet ?? ""],
+        options.exclude
+      ) ||
+      matchesExcludedChunks(
+        chunksMapResult.ok && fts.mirrorHash
+          ? (chunksMapResult.value.get(fts.mirrorHash) ?? [])
+          : [],
+        options.exclude
+      );
+    if (excluded) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
     // For --full, de-dupe by docid (keep best scoring chunk per doc)
     // Raw BM25: smaller (more negative) is better
     if (options.full) {
@@ -309,6 +325,7 @@ export async function searchBm25(
       mode: "bm25",
       totalResults: Math.min(filteredResults.length, limit),
       intent: options.intent,
+      exclude: options.exclude,
       collection: options.collection,
       lang: options.lang,
       since: temporalRange.since,

package/src/pipeline/types.ts

@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ export interface SearchMeta {
   author?: string;
   /** Rerank candidate limit used */
   candidateLimit?: number;
+  /** Explicit exclusion terms applied */
+  exclude?: string[];
   /** Explain data (when --explain is used) */
   explain?: {
     lines: ExplainLine[];
@@ -124,6 +126,8 @@ export interface SearchOptions {
   author?: string;
   /** Optional disambiguating context that steers scoring/snippets, but is not searched directly */
   intent?: string;
+  /** Explicit exclusion terms for hard candidate pruning */
+  exclude?: string[];
 }
 
 /** Structured query mode identifier */
@@ -317,6 +321,8 @@ export interface AskMeta {
   vectorsUsed: boolean;
   intent?: string;
   candidateLimit?: number;
+  exclude?: string[];
+  queryModes?: QueryModeSummary;
   answerGenerated?: boolean;
   totalResults?: number;
   answerContext?: AnswerContextExplain;

package/src/pipeline/vsearch.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import type { SearchOptions, SearchResult, SearchResults } from "./types";
 import { err, ok } from "../store/types";
 import { createChunkLookup } from "./chunk-lookup";
 import { formatQueryForEmbedding } from "./contextual";
+import { matchesExcludedChunks, matchesExcludedText } from "./exclude";
 import { selectBestChunkForSteering } from "./intent";
 import { detectQueryLanguage } from "./query-language";
 import {
@@ -174,6 +175,25 @@ export async function searchVectorWithEmbedding(
       continue;
     }
 
+    const excluded =
+      matchesExcludedText(
+        [
+          doc.title ?? "",
+          doc.relPath,
+          doc.author ?? "",
+          doc.contentType ?? "",
+          ...(doc.categories ?? []),
+        ],
+        options.exclude
+      ) ||
+      matchesExcludedChunks(
+        chunksMap.get(vec.mirrorHash) ?? [],
+        options.exclude
+      );
+    if (excluded) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
     // For --full, de-dupe by docid (keep best scoring chunk per doc)
     if (options.full) {
       const existing = bestByDocid.get(doc.docid);
@@ -301,6 +321,7 @@ export async function searchVectorWithEmbedding(
       vectorsUsed: true,
       totalResults: finalResults.length,
       intent: options.intent,
+      exclude: options.exclude,
       collection: options.collection,
       lang: options.lang,
       since: temporalRange.since,
@@ -362,6 +383,9 @@ interface DocumentInfo {
   title: string | null;
   collection: string;
   relPath: string;
+  author: string | null;
+  contentType: string | null;
+  categories: string[] | null;
   sourceHash: string;
   sourceMime: string;
   sourceExt: string;
@@ -491,6 +515,9 @@ async function buildDocumentMap(
       title: doc.title,
       collection: doc.collection,
       relPath: doc.relPath,
+      author: doc.author ?? null,
+      contentType: doc.contentType ?? null,
+      categories: doc.categories ?? null,
       sourceHash: doc.sourceHash,
       sourceMime: doc.sourceMime,
       sourceExt: doc.sourceExt,

package/src/serve/public/lib/retrieval-filters.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ export interface RetrievalFiltersState {
   collection: string;
   intent: string;
   candidateLimit: string;
+  exclude: string;
   since: string;
   until: string;
   category: string;
@@ -126,6 +127,7 @@ export function parseFiltersFromSearch(
     intent: params.get("intent") ?? defaults.intent ?? "",
     candidateLimit:
       params.get("candidateLimit") ?? defaults.candidateLimit ?? "",
+    exclude: params.get("exclude") ?? defaults.exclude ?? "",
     since: params.get("since") ?? defaults.since ?? "",
     until: params.get("until") ?? defaults.until ?? "",
     category: params.get("category") ?? defaults.category ?? "",
@@ -152,6 +154,7 @@ export function applyFiltersToUrl(
   setOrDelete("collection", filters.collection);
   setOrDelete("intent", filters.intent);
   setOrDelete("candidateLimit", filters.candidateLimit);
+  setOrDelete("exclude", filters.exclude);
   setOrDelete("since", filters.since);
   setOrDelete("until", filters.until);
   setOrDelete("category", filters.category);

package/src/serve/public/pages/Ask.tsx

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   FileText,
   SlidersHorizontal,
   Sparkles,
+  XIcon,
 } from "lucide-react";
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
 
@@ -40,7 +41,12 @@ import {
 import { Textarea } from "../components/ui/textarea";
 import { apiFetch } from "../hooks/use-api";
 import { useKeyboardShortcuts } from "../hooks/useKeyboardShortcuts";
-import { parseTagsCsv, type TagMode } from "../lib/retrieval-filters";
+import {
+  parseTagsCsv,
+  type QueryModeEntry,
+  type QueryModeType,
+  type TagMode,
+} from "../lib/retrieval-filters";
 import { cn } from "../lib/utils";
 
 interface PageProps {
@@ -79,6 +85,11 @@ interface AskResponse {
     vectorsUsed: boolean;
     answerGenerated: boolean;
     totalResults: number;
+    queryModes?: {
+      term: number;
+      intent: number;
+      hyde: boolean;
+    };
   };
 }
 
@@ -103,6 +114,12 @@ interface Collection {
 
 const THOROUGHNESS_ORDER: Thoroughness[] = ["fast", "balanced", "thorough"];
 
+const QUERY_MODE_LABEL: Record<QueryModeType, string> = {
+  term: "Term",
+  intent: "Intent",
+  hyde: "HyDE",
+};
+
 /**
  * Render answer text with clickable citation badges.
  * Citations like [1] become clickable to navigate to source.
@@ -166,12 +183,17 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
   const [selectedCollection, setSelectedCollection] = useState("");
   const [intent, setIntent] = useState("");
   const [candidateLimit, setCandidateLimit] = useState("");
+  const [exclude, setExclude] = useState("");
   const [since, setSince] = useState("");
   const [until, setUntil] = useState("");
   const [category, setCategory] = useState("");
   const [author, setAuthor] = useState("");
   const [tagMode, setTagMode] = useState<TagMode>("any");
   const [tagsInput, setTagsInput] = useState("");
+  const [queryModes, setQueryModes] = useState<QueryModeEntry[]>([]);
+  const [queryModeDraft, setQueryModeDraft] = useState<QueryModeType>("term");
+  const [queryModeText, setQueryModeText] = useState("");
+  const [queryModeError, setQueryModeError] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
   const messagesEndRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
   const textareaRef = useRef<HTMLTextAreaElement>(null);
@@ -220,6 +242,28 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
     messagesEndRef.current?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth" });
   }, [conversation]);
 
+  const handleAddQueryMode = useCallback(() => {
+    const text = queryModeText.trim();
+    if (!text) {
+      return;
+    }
+    if (
+      queryModeDraft === "hyde" &&
+      queryModes.some((queryMode) => queryMode.mode === "hyde")
+    ) {
+      setQueryModeError("Only one HyDE mode is allowed.");
+      return;
+    }
+    setQueryModes((prev) => [...prev, { mode: queryModeDraft, text }]);
+    setQueryModeText("");
+    setQueryModeError(null);
+  }, [queryModeDraft, queryModeText, queryModes]);
+
+  const handleRemoveQueryMode = useCallback((index: number) => {
+    setQueryModes((prev) => prev.filter((_, i) => i !== index));
+    setQueryModeError(null);
+  }, []);
+
   const handleSubmit = useCallback(
     async (e: React.FormEvent) => {
       e.preventDefault();
@@ -250,6 +294,9 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
       if (candidateLimit.trim()) {
         requestBody.candidateLimit = Number(candidateLimit);
       }
+      if (exclude.trim()) {
+        requestBody.exclude = exclude.trim();
+      }
       if (since) {
         requestBody.since = since;
       }
@@ -282,6 +329,9 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
         requestBody.noExpand = false;
         requestBody.noRerank = false;
       }
+      if (queryModes.length > 0) {
+        requestBody.queryModes = queryModes;
+      }
 
       const { data, error } = await apiFetch<AskResponse>("/api/ask", {
         method: "POST",
@@ -305,8 +355,10 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
       author,
       candidateLimit,
       category,
+      exclude,
       intent,
       query,
+      queryModes,
       selectedCollection,
       since,
       tagMode,
@@ -327,12 +379,16 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
     setSelectedCollection("");
     setIntent("");
     setCandidateLimit("");
+    setExclude("");
     setSince("");
     setUntil("");
     setCategory("");
     setAuthor("");
     setTagsInput("");
     setTagMode("any");
+    setQueryModes([]);
+    setQueryModeText("");
+    setQueryModeError(null);
   };
 
   const answerAvailable = capabilities?.answer ?? false;
@@ -341,6 +397,8 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
     selectedCollection ? `collection:${selectedCollection}` : null,
     intent.trim() ? `intent:${intent.trim()}` : null,
     candidateLimit.trim() ? `candidates:${candidateLimit.trim()}` : null,
+    exclude.trim() ? `exclude:${exclude.trim()}` : null,
+    queryModes.length > 0 ? `${queryModes.length} query mode(s)` : null,
     since ? `since:${since}` : null,
     until ? `until:${until}` : null,
     category.trim() ? `category:${category.trim()}` : null,
@@ -466,6 +524,17 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
                       />
                     </div>
 
+                    <div className="md:col-span-2">
+                      <p className="mb-1 text-muted-foreground text-xs">
+                        Exclude
+                      </p>
+                      <Input
+                        onChange={(e) => setExclude(e.target.value)}
+                        placeholder="team reviews, hiring, onboarding"
+                        value={exclude}
+                      />
+                    </div>
+
                     <div>
                       <p className="mb-1 text-muted-foreground text-xs">
                         Category
@@ -556,6 +625,75 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
                       Clear filters
                     </Button>
                   </div>
+
+                  <div className="space-y-2">
+                    <p className="text-muted-foreground text-xs">
+                      Query modes (term, intent, hyde)
+                    </p>
+                    <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2">
+                      <Select
+                        onValueChange={(value) =>
+                          setQueryModeDraft(value as QueryModeType)
+                        }
+                        value={queryModeDraft}
+                      >
+                        <SelectTrigger className="w-[120px]">
+                          <SelectValue />
+                        </SelectTrigger>
+                        <SelectContent>
+                          <SelectItem value="term">Term</SelectItem>
+                          <SelectItem value="intent">Intent</SelectItem>
+                          <SelectItem value="hyde">HyDE</SelectItem>
+                        </SelectContent>
+                      </Select>
+                      <Input
+                        className="min-w-[220px] flex-1"
+                        onChange={(e) => setQueryModeText(e.target.value)}
+                        onKeyDown={(e) => {
+                          if (e.key === "Enter") {
+                            e.preventDefault();
+                            handleAddQueryMode();
+                          }
+                        }}
+                        placeholder="Add query mode text"
+                        value={queryModeText}
+                      />
+                      <Button
+                        onClick={handleAddQueryMode}
+                        size="sm"
+                        type="button"
+                        variant="outline"
+                      >
+                        Add mode
+                      </Button>
+                    </div>
+
+                    {queryModeError && (
+                      <p className="text-destructive text-xs">
+                        {queryModeError}
+                      </p>
+                    )}
+
+                    {queryModes.length > 0 && (
+                      <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
+                        {queryModes.map((queryMode, index) => (
+                          <button
+                            className={cn(
+                              "group inline-flex items-center gap-1 rounded-full border border-primary/30 bg-primary/10",
+                              "px-2.5 py-1 font-mono text-[11px] text-primary transition-all duration-150",
+                              "hover:border-primary/50 hover:bg-primary/20"
+                            )}
+                            key={`${queryMode.mode}:${queryMode.text}:${index}`}
+                            onClick={() => handleRemoveQueryMode(index)}
+                            type="button"
+                          >
+                            <span>{`${QUERY_MODE_LABEL[queryMode.mode]}: ${queryMode.text}`}</span>
+                            <XIcon className="size-3 opacity-60 transition-opacity group-hover:opacity-100" />
+                          </button>
+                        ))}
+                      </div>
+                    )}
+                  </div>
                 </CardContent>
               </Card>
             </CollapsibleContent>
@@ -683,6 +821,17 @@ export default function Ask({ navigate }: PageProps) {
                           expanded
                         </Badge>
                       )}
+                      {entry.response.meta.queryModes &&
+                        (entry.response.meta.queryModes.term > 0 ||
+                          entry.response.meta.queryModes.intent > 0 ||
+                          entry.response.meta.queryModes.hyde) && (
+                          <Badge
+                            className="font-mono text-[9px]"
+                            variant="outline"
+                          >
+                            query modes
+                          </Badge>
+                        )}
                     </div>
 
                     {!entry.response.answer &&

package/src/serve/public/pages/Search.tsx

@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
       initialFilters.collection ||
       initialFilters.intent ||
       initialFilters.candidateLimit ||
+      initialFilters.exclude ||
       initialFilters.since ||
       initialFilters.until ||
       initialFilters.category ||
@@ -172,6 +173,7 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
   const [candidateLimit, setCandidateLimit] = useState(
     initialFilters.candidateLimit
   );
+  const [exclude, setExclude] = useState(initialFilters.exclude);
   const [since, setSince] = useState(initialFilters.since);
   const [until, setUntil] = useState(initialFilters.until);
   const [category, setCategory] = useState(initialFilters.category);
@@ -196,6 +198,7 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
       collection: selectedCollection,
       intent,
       candidateLimit,
+      exclude,
       since,
       until,
       category,
@@ -210,6 +213,7 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
     author,
     candidateLimit,
     category,
+    exclude,
     intent,
     queryModes,
     selectedCollection,
@@ -314,6 +318,9 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
       if (candidateLimit.trim()) {
         body.candidateLimit = Number(candidateLimit);
       }
+      if (exclude.trim()) {
+        body.exclude = exclude.trim();
+      }
       if (since) {
         body.since = since;
       }
@@ -373,6 +380,7 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
       author,
       candidateLimit,
       category,
+      exclude,
       intent,
       query,
       queryModes,
@@ -395,6 +403,7 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
     author,
     candidateLimit,
     category,
+    exclude,
     intent,
     queryModes,
     selectedCollection,
@@ -414,6 +423,7 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
     selectedCollection ? `collection:${selectedCollection}` : null,
     intent.trim() ? `intent:${intent.trim()}` : null,
     candidateLimit.trim() ? `candidates:${candidateLimit.trim()}` : null,
+    exclude.trim() ? `exclude:${exclude.trim()}` : null,
     since ? `since:${since}` : null,
     until ? `until:${until}` : null,
     category.trim() ? `category:${category.trim()}` : null,
@@ -428,6 +438,7 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
     setSelectedCollection("");
     setIntent("");
     setCandidateLimit("");
+    setExclude("");
     setSince("");
     setUntil("");
     setCategory("");
@@ -591,6 +602,17 @@ export default function Search({ navigate }: PageProps) {
                           />
                         </div>
 
+                        <div className="md:col-span-2">
+                          <p className="mb-1 text-muted-foreground text-xs">
+                            Exclude
+                          </p>
+                          <Input
+                            onChange={(e) => setExclude(e.target.value)}
+                            placeholder="team reviews, hiring, onboarding"
+                            value={exclude}
+                          />
+                        </div>
+
                         <div>
                           <p className="mb-1 text-muted-foreground text-xs">
                             Category

package/src/serve/routes/api.ts

@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ export interface SearchRequestBody {
   minScore?: number;
   collection?: string;
   intent?: string;
+  exclude?: string;
   since?: string;
   until?: string;
   /** Comma-separated category filters */
@@ -86,6 +87,7 @@ export interface QueryRequestBody {
   lang?: string;
   intent?: string;
   candidateLimit?: number;
+  exclude?: string;
   since?: string;
   until?: string;
   /** Comma-separated category filters */
@@ -107,6 +109,8 @@ export interface AskRequestBody {
   lang?: string;
   intent?: string;
   candidateLimit?: number;
+  exclude?: string;
+  queryModes?: QueryModeInput[];
   since?: string;
   until?: string;
   /** Comma-separated category filters */
@@ -174,6 +178,73 @@ function parseCommaSeparatedValues(input: string): string[] {
   );
 }
 
+function parseQueryModesInput(value: unknown): {
+  queryModes?: QueryModeInput[];
+  error?: Response;
+} {
+  if (value === undefined) {
+    return {};
+  }
+
+  if (!Array.isArray(value)) {
+    return {
+      error: errorResponse(
+        "VALIDATION",
+        "queryModes must be an array of { mode, text } objects"
+      ),
+    };
+  }
+
+  const queryModes: QueryModeInput[] = [];
+  let hydeCount = 0;
+
+  for (const [index, entry] of value.entries()) {
+    if (!entry || typeof entry !== "object") {
+      return {
+        error: errorResponse(
+          "VALIDATION",
+          `queryModes[${index}] must be an object`
+        ),
+      };
+    }
+
+    const mode = (entry as { mode?: unknown }).mode;
+    const text = (entry as { text?: unknown }).text;
+    if (mode !== "term" && mode !== "intent" && mode !== "hyde") {
+      return {
+        error: errorResponse(
+          "VALIDATION",
+          `queryModes[${index}].mode must be one of: term, intent, hyde`
+        ),
+      };
+    }
+    if (typeof text !== "string" || !text.trim()) {
+      return {
+        error: errorResponse(
+          "VALIDATION",
+          `queryModes[${index}].text must be a non-empty string`
+        ),
+      };
+    }
+
+    if (mode === "hyde") {
+      hydeCount += 1;
+      if (hydeCount > 1) {
+        return {
+          error: errorResponse(
+            "VALIDATION",
+            "Only one hyde mode is allowed in queryModes"
+          ),
+        };
+      }
+    }
+
+    queryModes.push({ mode, text: text.trim() });
+  }
+
+  return { queryModes };
+}
+
 // ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 // Route Handlers
 // ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -1101,6 +1172,12 @@ export async function handleSearch(
   if (body.intent !== undefined && typeof body.intent !== "string") {
     return errorResponse("VALIDATION", "intent must be a string");
   }
+  if (body.exclude !== undefined && typeof body.exclude !== "string") {
+    return errorResponse(
+      "VALIDATION",
+      "exclude must be a comma-separated string"
+    );
+  }
   if (body.category !== undefined && typeof body.category !== "string") {
     return errorResponse(
       "VALIDATION",
@@ -1140,6 +1217,9 @@ export async function handleSearch(
   const categories = body.category
     ? parseCommaSeparatedValues(body.category)
     : undefined;
+  const exclude = body.exclude
+    ? parseCommaSeparatedValues(body.exclude)
+    : undefined;
   const author = body.author?.trim() || undefined;
 
   // Only BM25 supported in web UI (vector/hybrid require LLM ports)
@@ -1148,6 +1228,7 @@ export async function handleSearch(
     minScore: body.minScore,
     collection: body.collection,
     intent: body.intent?.trim() || undefined,
+    exclude,
     tagsAll,
     tagsAny,
     since: body.since,
@@ -1220,6 +1301,12 @@ export async function handleQuery(
   if (body.intent !== undefined && typeof body.intent !== "string") {
     return errorResponse("VALIDATION", "intent must be a string");
   }
+  if (body.exclude !== undefined && typeof body.exclude !== "string") {
+    return errorResponse(
+      "VALIDATION",
+      "exclude must be a comma-separated string"
+    );
+  }
   if (
     body.candidateLimit !== undefined &&
     (typeof body.candidateLimit !== "number" || body.candidateLimit < 1)
@@ -1239,54 +1326,11 @@ export async function handleQuery(
     return errorResponse("VALIDATION", "author must be a string");
   }
 
-  // Validate queryModes
-  let queryModes: QueryModeInput[] | undefined;
-  if (body.queryModes !== undefined) {
-    if (!Array.isArray(body.queryModes)) {
-      return errorResponse(
-        "VALIDATION",
-        "queryModes must be an array of { mode, text } objects"
-      );
-    }
-
-    queryModes = [];
-    let hydeCount = 0;
-
-    for (const [index, entry] of body.queryModes.entries()) {
-      if (!entry || typeof entry !== "object") {
-        return errorResponse(
-          "VALIDATION",
-          `queryModes[${index}] must be an object`
-        );
-      }
-
-      const mode = (entry as { mode?: unknown }).mode;
-      const text = (entry as { text?: unknown }).text;
-      if (mode !== "term" && mode !== "intent" && mode !== "hyde") {
-        return errorResponse(
-          "VALIDATION",
-          `queryModes[${index}].mode must be one of: term, intent, hyde`
-        );
-      }
-      if (typeof text !== "string" || !text.trim()) {
-        return errorResponse(
-          "VALIDATION",
-          `queryModes[${index}].text must be a non-empty string`
-        );
-      }
-
-      if (mode === "hyde") {
-        hydeCount += 1;
-        if (hydeCount > 1) {
-          return errorResponse(
-            "VALIDATION",
-            "Only one hyde mode is allowed in queryModes"
-          );
-        }
-      }
-
-      queryModes.push({ mode, text: text.trim() });
-    }
+  const { queryModes, error: queryModesError } = parseQueryModesInput(
+    body.queryModes
+  );
+  if (queryModesError) {
+    return queryModesError;
   }
 
   // Parse tag filters
@@ -1318,6 +1362,9 @@ export async function handleQuery(
   const categories = body.category
     ? parseCommaSeparatedValues(body.category)
     : undefined;
+  const exclude = body.exclude
+    ? parseCommaSeparatedValues(body.exclude)
+    : undefined;
   const author = body.author?.trim() || undefined;
 
   const result = await searchHybrid(
@@ -1340,6 +1387,7 @@ export async function handleQuery(
         body.candidateLimit !== undefined
           ? Math.min(body.candidateLimit, 100)
           : undefined,
+      exclude,
       queryModes,
       noExpand: body.noExpand,
       noRerank: body.noRerank,
@@ -1406,6 +1454,12 @@ export async function handleAsk(
   if (body.intent !== undefined && typeof body.intent !== "string") {
     return errorResponse("VALIDATION", "intent must be a string");
   }
+  if (body.exclude !== undefined && typeof body.exclude !== "string") {
+    return errorResponse(
+      "VALIDATION",
+      "exclude must be a comma-separated string"
+    );
+  }
   if (
     body.candidateLimit !== undefined &&
     (typeof body.candidateLimit !== "number" || body.candidateLimit < 1)
@@ -1425,6 +1479,13 @@ export async function handleAsk(
     return errorResponse("VALIDATION", "author must be a string");
   }
 
+  const { queryModes, error: queryModesError } = parseQueryModesInput(
+    body.queryModes
+  );
+  if (queryModesError) {
+    return queryModesError;
+  }
+
   if (body.tagsAll) {
     try {
       tagsAll = parseAndValidateTagFilter(body.tagsAll);
@@ -1450,6 +1511,9 @@ export async function handleAsk(
   const categories = body.category
     ? parseCommaSeparatedValues(body.category)
     : undefined;
+  const exclude = body.exclude
+    ? parseCommaSeparatedValues(body.exclude)
+    : undefined;
   const author = body.author?.trim() || undefined;
 
   const limit = Math.min(body.limit ?? 5, 20);
@@ -1476,6 +1540,8 @@ export async function handleAsk(
         body.candidateLimit !== undefined
           ? Math.min(body.candidateLimit, 100)
           : undefined,
+      exclude,
+      queryModes,
       tagsAll,
       tagsAny,
       since: body.since,
@@ -1528,6 +1594,8 @@ export async function handleAsk(
       vectorsUsed: searchResult.value.meta.vectorsUsed ?? false,
       intent: searchResult.value.meta.intent,
       candidateLimit: searchResult.value.meta.candidateLimit,
+      exclude: searchResult.value.meta.exclude,
+      queryModes: searchResult.value.meta.queryModes,
       answerGenerated,
       totalResults: results.length,
       answerContext,