diff --git a/internal/store/search.go b/internal/store/search.go
index 4b64beed..fdbb8ca2 100644
--- a/internal/store/search.go
+++ b/internal/store/search.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package store
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/xarmian/pad/internal/models"
 )
@@ -18,6 +19,64 @@ type SearchParams struct {
 }
 
 func (s *Store) Search(params SearchParams) ([]SearchResult, error) {
+	var results []SearchResult
+
+	// Check if the query looks like an item ref (e.g. "TASK-5", "BUG-8")
+	// and do a direct lookup first so refs are always findable.
+	if prefix, number, ok := parseItemRef(strings.TrimSpace(params.Query)); ok {
+		refQuery := `
+			SELECT i.id, i.workspace_id, i.collection_id, i.title, i.slug, i.content, i.fields, i.tags,
+			       i.pinned, i.sort_order, i.parent_id, i.assigned_user_id, i.agent_role_id, i.role_sort_order,
+			       i.created_by, i.last_modified_by, i.source,
+			       i.item_number, i.created_at, i.updated_at,
+			       c.slug, c.name, c.icon, c.prefix,
+			       COALESCE(au.name, ''), COALESCE(au.email, ''),
+			       COALESCE(ar.name, ''), COALESCE(ar.slug, ''), COALESCE(ar.icon, '')
+			FROM items i
+			JOIN collections c ON c.id = i.collection_id
+			LEFT JOIN users au ON au.id = i.assigned_user_id
+			LEFT JOIN agent_roles ar ON ar.id = i.agent_role_id
+			WHERE c.prefix = ? AND i.item_number = ? AND i.deleted_at IS NULL
+		`
+		refArgs := []interface{}{prefix, number}
+
+		if params.Workspace != "" {
+			refQuery += ` AND i.workspace_id = (SELECT id FROM workspaces WHERE slug = ? AND deleted_at IS NULL)`
+			refArgs = append(refArgs, params.Workspace)
+		}
+
+		refRows, err := s.db.Query(refQuery, refArgs...)
+		if err == nil {
+			defer refRows.Close()
+			for refRows.Next() {
+				var r SearchResult
+				var createdAt, updatedAt string
+				var pinned int
+				if err := refRows.Scan(
+					&r.Item.ID, &r.Item.WorkspaceID, &r.Item.CollectionID, &r.Item.Title, &r.Item.Slug,
+					&r.Item.Content, &r.Item.Fields, &r.Item.Tags,
+					&pinned, &r.Item.SortOrder, &r.Item.ParentID, &r.Item.AssignedUserID, &r.Item.AgentRoleID, &r.Item.RoleSortOrder,
+					&r.Item.CreatedBy, &r.Item.LastModifiedBy,
+					&r.Item.Source, &r.Item.ItemNumber, &createdAt, &updatedAt,
+					&r.Item.CollectionSlug, &r.Item.CollectionName, &r.Item.CollectionIcon, &r.Item.CollectionPrefix,
+					&r.Item.AssignedUserName, &r.Item.AssignedUserEmail,
+					&r.Item.AgentRoleName, &r.Item.AgentRoleSlug, &r.Item.AgentRoleIcon,
+				); err != nil {
+					continue
+				}
+				r.Item.Pinned = pinned == 1
+				r.Item.CreatedAt = parseTime(createdAt)
+				r.Item.UpdatedAt = parseTime(updatedAt)
+				hydrateItemComputedMetadata(&r.Item)
+				r.Item.Content = ""
+				r.Snippet = r.Item.Title
+				r.Rank = -1000 // Best possible rank so it sorts first
+				results = append(results, r)
+			}
+		}
+		// If no ref matches, fall through to FTS below
+	}
+
 	query := `
 		SELECT i.id, i.workspace_id, i.collection_id, i.title, i.slug, i.content, i.fields, i.tags,
 		       i.pinned, i.sort_order, i.parent_id, i.assigned_user_id, i.agent_role_id, i.role_sort_order,
@@ -36,7 +95,7 @@ func (s *Store) Search(params SearchParams) ([]SearchResult, error) {
 		WHERE items_fts MATCH ?
 		AND i.deleted_at IS NULL
 	`
-	args := []interface{}{params.Query}
+	args := []interface{}{sanitizeFTSQuery(params.Query)}
 
 	if params.Workspace != "" {
 		query += `
@@ -51,11 +110,21 @@ func (s *Store) Search(params SearchParams) ([]SearchResult, error) {
 
 	rows, err := s.db.Query(query, args...)
 	if err != nil {
+		// If we already have a ref match, return that instead of failing
+		// (FTS5 may reject queries like "TASK-5" due to special syntax)
+		if len(results) > 0 {
+			return results, nil
+		}
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("search: %w", err)
 	}
 	defer rows.Close()
 
-	var results []SearchResult
+	// Track IDs we already have from the ref lookup to avoid duplicates
+	seen := make(map[string]bool)
+	for _, r := range results {
+		seen[r.Item.ID] = true
+	}
+
 	for rows.Next() {
 		var r SearchResult
 		var createdAt, updatedAt string
@@ -74,6 +143,10 @@ func (s *Store) Search(params SearchParams) ([]SearchResult, error) {
 		); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
+		// Skip if already included from ref lookup
+		if seen[r.Item.ID] {
+			continue
+		}
 		r.Item.Pinned = pinned == 1
 		r.Item.CreatedAt = parseTime(createdAt)
 		r.Item.UpdatedAt = parseTime(updatedAt)
@@ -84,3 +157,19 @@ func (s *Store) Search(params SearchParams) ([]SearchResult, error) {
 	}
 	return results, rows.Err()
 }
+
+// sanitizeFTSQuery wraps each token in double quotes so FTS5 treats
+// special characters (like hyphens) as literals rather than operators.
+func sanitizeFTSQuery(q string) string {
+	q = strings.TrimSpace(q)
+	if q == "" {
+		return q
+	}
+	tokens := strings.Fields(q)
+	for i, t := range tokens {
+		// Remove any existing double quotes, then wrap in quotes
+		t = strings.ReplaceAll(t, `"`, ``)
+		tokens[i] = `"` + t + `"`
+	}
+	return strings.Join(tokens, " ")
+}