diff --git a/src/components/CommandPalette.test.tsx b/src/components/CommandPalette.test.tsx
index 6469cc0a..58a61283 100644
--- a/src/components/CommandPalette.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/CommandPalette.test.tsx
@@ -165,4 +165,64 @@ describe('CommandPalette', () => {
     expect(screen.getByText('↵ select')).toBeInTheDocument()
     expect(screen.getByText('esc close')).toBeInTheDocument()
   })
+
+  describe('relevance ranking', () => {
+    const relevanceCommands: CommandAction[] = [
+      makeCommand({ id: 'create-note', label: 'Create New Note', group: 'Note' }),
+      makeCommand({ id: 'toggle-raw', label: 'Toggle Raw Editor', group: 'View' }),
+      makeCommand({ id: 'switch-theme', label: 'Switch Theme', group: 'Appearance', keywords: ['dark', 'light'] }),
+      makeCommand({ id: 'search-notes', label: 'Search Notes', group: 'Navigation' }),
+    ]
+
+    function getVisibleLabels() {
+      return screen.getAllByText(
+        (_content, el) =>
+          el?.tagName === 'SPAN' &&
+          el.classList.contains('text-foreground') &&
+          !!el.textContent,
+      ).map(el => el.textContent)
+    }
+
+    it('ranks "Toggle Raw Editor" before "Create New Note" for query "raw"', () => {
+      render(<CommandPalette open={true} commands={relevanceCommands} onClose={onClose} />)
+      fireEvent.change(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Type a command...'), { target: { value: 'raw' } })
+
+      const labels = getVisibleLabels()
+      const rawIdx = labels.indexOf('Toggle Raw Editor')
+      const createIdx = labels.indexOf('Create New Note')
+      expect(rawIdx).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0)
+      expect(createIdx).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0)
+      expect(rawIdx).toBeLessThan(createIdx)
+    })
+
+    it('ranks "Create New Note" first for query "new note"', () => {
+      render(<CommandPalette open={true} commands={relevanceCommands} onClose={onClose} />)
+      fireEvent.change(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Type a command...'), { target: { value: 'new note' } })
+
+      const labels = getVisibleLabels()
+      expect(labels[0]).toBe('Create New Note')
+    })
+
+    it('ranks theme commands first for query "theme"', () => {
+      render(<CommandPalette open={true} commands={relevanceCommands} onClose={onClose} />)
+      fireEvent.change(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Type a command...'), { target: { value: 'theme' } })
+
+      const labels = getVisibleLabels()
+      expect(labels[0]).toBe('Switch Theme')
+    })
+
+    it('preserves default section order with empty query', () => {
+      render(<CommandPalette open={true} commands={relevanceCommands} onClose={onClose} />)
+
+      const groupHeaders = screen.getAllByText(
+        (_content, el) =>
+          el?.tagName === 'DIV' &&
+          el.classList.contains('uppercase') &&
+          !!el.textContent,
+      ).map(el => el.textContent)
+
+      // Default order: Navigation < Note < View < Appearance
+      expect(groupHeaders).toEqual(['Navigation', 'Note', 'View', 'Appearance'])
+    })
+  })
 })
diff --git a/src/components/CommandPalette.tsx b/src/components/CommandPalette.tsx
index ba360460..0197d2e5 100644
--- a/src/components/CommandPalette.tsx
+++ b/src/components/CommandPalette.tsx
@@ -30,16 +30,21 @@ function matchCommand(query: string, cmd: CommandAction): ScoredCommand | null {
   return null
 }
 
-function groupResults(commands: CommandAction[]): { group: CommandGroup; items: CommandAction[] }[] {
+function groupResults(
+  commands: CommandAction[],
+  byRelevance: boolean,
+): { group: CommandGroup; items: CommandAction[] }[] {
   const map = new Map<CommandGroup, CommandAction[]>()
   for (const cmd of commands) {
     const list = map.get(cmd.group)
     if (list) list.push(cmd)
     else map.set(cmd.group, [cmd])
   }
-  return Array.from(map.entries())
-    .sort((a, b) => groupSortKey(a[0]) - groupSortKey(b[0]))
-    .map(([group, items]) => ({ group, items }))
+  const entries = Array.from(map.entries())
+  if (!byRelevance) {
+    entries.sort((a, b) => groupSortKey(a[0]) - groupSortKey(b[0]))
+  }
+  return entries.map(([group, items]) => ({ group, items }))
 }
 
 export function CommandPalette({ open, commands, onClose }: CommandPaletteProps) {
@@ -70,7 +75,8 @@ export function CommandPalette({ open, commands, onClose }: CommandPaletteProps)
       .map(r => r.command)
   }, [enabledCommands, query])
 
-  const groups = useMemo(() => groupResults(filtered), [filtered])
+  const hasQuery = !!query.trim()
+  const groups = useMemo(() => groupResults(filtered, hasQuery), [filtered, hasQuery])
   const flatList = useMemo(() => groups.flatMap(g => g.items), [groups])
 
   useEffect(() => {