diff --git a/node/src/Unison/Node.hs b/node/src/Unison/Node.hs
index 220753362..8bb119cf1 100644
--- a/node/src/Unison/Node.hs
+++ b/node/src/Unison/Node.hs
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE TemplateHaskell #-}
+
 module Unison.Node where
 
+import Data.Aeson.TH
 import Data.Set as S
 import Data.Map as M
 import Unison.Node.Metadata as MD
@@ -8,6 +11,15 @@ import Unison.Edit.Term.Path as P
 import Unison.Edit.Type.Path as TP
 import Unison.Note (Noted)
 
+data SearchResults k t e =
+  SearchResults
+    { references :: [(k, Metadata k)]
+    , matches :: ([e], Int)
+    , queryMatches :: ([e], Int)
+    , positionsExamined :: [Int] }
+
+deriveJSON defaultOptions ''SearchResults
+
 data Node m k t e = Node {
   -- | Obtain the type of the given subterm, assuming the path is valid
   admissibleTypeOf :: e -> P.Path -> Noted m t,
@@ -32,7 +44,7 @@ data Node m k t e = Node {
   -- | Access the metadata for the term and/or types identified by @k@
   metadatas :: [k] -> Noted m (Map k (MD.Metadata k)),
   -- | Search for a term, optionally constrained to be of the given type
-  search :: Maybe t -> Query -> Noted m [e],
+  search :: Int -> Query -> Maybe t -> Noted m (SearchResults k t e),
   -- | Lookup the source of the term identified by @k@
   terms :: [k] -> Noted m (Map k e),
   -- | Lookup the dependencies of @k@, optionally limited to those that intersect the given set
diff --git a/node/src/Unison/Node/Common.hs b/node/src/Unison/Node/Common.hs
index 4e6670742..3138d95ad 100644
--- a/node/src/Unison/Node/Common.hs
+++ b/node/src/Unison/Node/Common.hs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 module Unison.Node.Common (node) where
 
 import Control.Applicative
+import Data.Traversable (traverse)
 import Control.Monad
 import Unison.Edit.Term.Eval as Eval
 import Unison.Edit.Term.Path as Path
@@ -86,13 +87,24 @@ node eval store =
       matchingLocals <- filterM f (locals >>= (\(v,t) -> TE.applications (E.Var v) t))
       pure (current, admissible, annotatedLocals, matchingCurrentApplies, matchingLocals)
 
-    search t query = do
+    search limit query admissible = do
+      let typeOk e = maybe (pure True) (\t -> Type.admissible readTypeOf e t) admissible
+      let elaborate h = (\t -> TE.applications (E.Ref h) t) <$> readTypeOf h
+      let queryOk e = do mds <- traverse (readMetadata store) (S.toList (E.dependencies' e))
+                         pure $ any (MD.matches query) mds
+      let trim rs = (take limit rs, length (drop limit rs))
       hs <- hashes store Nothing
-      hs' <- case t of
-        Nothing -> pure $ S.toList hs
-        Just t -> filterM (\h -> flip Type.isSubtype t <$> readTypeOf h) (S.toList hs)
-      mds <- mapM (\h -> (,) h <$> readMetadata store h) hs'
-      pure . map (\(h,_) -> E.Ref h) . filter (\(_,md) -> MD.matches query md) $ mds
+      tmatches <- do es <- traverse elaborate (S.toList hs)
+                     filterM typeOk (join es)
+      qmatches <- filterM queryOk tmatches
+      qmatches' <- filterM queryOk (map E.Ref (S.toList hs))
+      mds <- mapM (\h -> (,) h <$> readMetadata store h)
+                  (S.toList (S.unions (map E.dependencies' qmatches)))
+      pure $ SearchResults
+        mds
+        (trim qmatches)
+        (trim qmatches')
+        (MD.queryPositions query)
 
     readTermRef (R.Derived h) = readTerm store h
     readTermRef r = pure (E.Ref r)
diff --git a/node/src/Unison/Node/Metadata.hs b/node/src/Unison/Node/Metadata.hs
index d3ca5e586..8488de548 100644
--- a/node/src/Unison/Node/Metadata.hs
+++ b/node/src/Unison/Node/Metadata.hs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 module Unison.Node.Metadata where
 
 import Data.Text (Text)
+import qualified Data.Text as Text
 -- import Data.Map as M
 import Data.Aeson.TH
 import qualified Unison.Edit.Term.Path as P
@@ -44,6 +45,9 @@ data Names = Names [Symbol] deriving (Eq,Ord,Show)
 
 data Query = Query Text
 
+queryPositions :: Query -> [Int]
+queryPositions (Query q) = [0 .. (Text.length q - 1)]
+
 -- data Examples k = Examples [(k, k)]
 
 deriveJSON defaultOptions ''Fixity
diff --git a/node/src/Unison/Node/Server.hs b/node/src/Unison/Node/Server.hs
index 3c32247c7..0e4c98284 100644
--- a/node/src/Unison/Node/Server.hs
+++ b/node/src/Unison/Node/Server.hs
@@ -99,8 +99,8 @@ server port node = S.scotty port $ do
     md <- runN $ N.metadatas node hs
     S.json md
   postRoute "/search" $ do
-    (t,q) <- S.jsonData
-    es <- runN $ N.search node t q
+    (limit,q,t) <- S.jsonData
+    es <- runN $ N.search node limit q t
     S.json es
   postRoute "/terms" $ do
     hs <- S.jsonData
diff --git a/node/src/Unison/Syntax/Term.hs b/node/src/Unison/Syntax/Term.hs
index 5a62b16d5..1eaafbffe 100644
--- a/node/src/Unison/Syntax/Term.hs
+++ b/node/src/Unison/Syntax/Term.hs
@@ -74,17 +74,19 @@ link env e = case e of
   Lam body -> Lam <$> link env body
   _ -> pure e
 
-dependencies :: Term -> S.Set H.Hash
-dependencies e = case e of
-  Ref (R.Derived h) -> S.singleton h
-  Ref _ -> S.empty
+dependencies' :: Term -> S.Set R.Reference
+dependencies' e = case e of
+  Ref r -> S.singleton r
   Var _ -> S.empty
   Lit _ -> S.empty
   Blank -> S.empty
-  App fn arg -> dependencies fn `S.union` dependencies arg
-  Ann e _ -> dependencies e
-  Vector vs -> Foldable.foldMap dependencies vs
-  Lam body -> dependencies body
+  App fn arg -> dependencies' fn `S.union` dependencies' arg
+  Ann e _ -> dependencies' e
+  Vector vs -> Foldable.foldMap dependencies' vs
+  Lam body -> dependencies' body
+
+dependencies :: Term -> S.Set H.Hash
+dependencies e = S.fromList [ h | R.Derived h <- S.toList (dependencies' e) ]
 
 isClosed :: Term -> Bool
 isClosed e = go V.bound1 e