diff --git a/demo-vault-v2/area/refactoring.md b/demo-vault-v2/area/refactoring.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e6a8f65f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/demo-vault-v2/area/refactoring.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+Is A: Area
+Status: Active
+---
+# Refactoring
+
+Area note covering refactoring practices, principles, and techniques for improving code quality without changing external behavior.
diff --git a/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-ideas.md b/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-ideas.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..10e8492b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-ideas.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+Is A: Note
+---
+# Refactoring Ideas
+
+Collection of ideas for refactoring the codebase to improve maintainability and performance.
diff --git a/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-key-ideas.md b/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-key-ideas.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..48925948
--- /dev/null
+++ b/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-key-ideas.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+Is A: Note
+---
+# Refactoring Key Ideas
+
+Key takeaways from Martin Fowler's Refactoring book and other refactoring resources.
diff --git a/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-patterns.md b/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-patterns.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5841c9ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/demo-vault-v2/note/refactoring-patterns.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+Is A: Note
+---
+# Refactoring Patterns
+
+Common refactoring patterns including Extract Method, Rename Variable, and Replace Conditional with Polymorphism.
diff --git a/src/mock-tauri/mock-entries.ts b/src/mock-tauri/mock-entries.ts
index 9779b016..a833d901 100644
--- a/src/mock-tauri/mock-entries.ts
+++ b/src/mock-tauri/mock-entries.ts
@@ -1099,6 +1099,119 @@ export const MOCK_ENTRIES: VaultEntry[] = [
       'Type': ['[[type/experiment]]'],
     },
   },
+  // --- Refactoring entries for exact-match search testing ---
+  {
+    path: '/Users/luca/Laputa/area/refactoring.md',
+    filename: 'refactoring.md',
+    title: 'Refactoring',
+    isA: 'Area',
+    aliases: [],
+    belongsTo: [],
+    relatedTo: [],
+    status: 'Active',
+    owner: null,
+    cadence: null,
+    archived: false,
+    trashed: false,
+    trashedAt: null,
+    modifiedAt: now - 86400 * 30,
+    createdAt: now - 86400 * 365,
+    fileSize: 1200,
+    snippet: 'Area note covering refactoring practices and principles.',
+    wordCount: 180,
+    relationships: {},
+    icon: null,
+    color: null,
+    order: null,
+    sidebarLabel: null,
+    template: null, sort: null, view: null, visible: null,
+    outgoingLinks: [],
+    properties: {},
+  },
+  {
+    path: '/Users/luca/Laputa/note/refactoring-ideas.md',
+    filename: 'refactoring-ideas.md',
+    title: 'Refactoring Ideas',
+    isA: 'Note',
+    aliases: [],
+    belongsTo: [],
+    relatedTo: [],
+    status: null,
+    owner: null,
+    cadence: null,
+    archived: false,
+    trashed: false,
+    trashedAt: null,
+    modifiedAt: now - 86400 * 5,
+    createdAt: now - 86400 * 60,
+    fileSize: 800,
+    snippet: 'Ideas for refactoring the codebase.',
+    wordCount: 120,
+    relationships: {},
+    icon: null,
+    color: null,
+    order: null,
+    sidebarLabel: null,
+    template: null, sort: null, view: null, visible: null,
+    outgoingLinks: [],
+    properties: {},
+  },
+  {
+    path: '/Users/luca/Laputa/note/refactoring-key-ideas.md',
+    filename: 'refactoring-key-ideas.md',
+    title: 'Refactoring Key Ideas',
+    isA: 'Note',
+    aliases: [],
+    belongsTo: [],
+    relatedTo: [],
+    status: null,
+    owner: null,
+    cadence: null,
+    archived: false,
+    trashed: false,
+    trashedAt: null,
+    modifiedAt: now - 86400 * 10,
+    createdAt: now - 86400 * 90,
+    fileSize: 600,
+    snippet: 'Key ideas from the refactoring book.',
+    wordCount: 95,
+    relationships: {},
+    icon: null,
+    color: null,
+    order: null,
+    sidebarLabel: null,
+    template: null, sort: null, view: null, visible: null,
+    outgoingLinks: [],
+    properties: {},
+  },
+  {
+    path: '/Users/luca/Laputa/note/refactoring-patterns.md',
+    filename: 'refactoring-patterns.md',
+    title: 'Refactoring Patterns',
+    isA: 'Note',
+    aliases: [],
+    belongsTo: [],
+    relatedTo: [],
+    status: null,
+    owner: null,
+    cadence: null,
+    archived: false,
+    trashed: false,
+    trashedAt: null,
+    modifiedAt: now - 86400 * 15,
+    createdAt: now - 86400 * 120,
+    fileSize: 950,
+    snippet: 'Common refactoring patterns and when to apply them.',
+    wordCount: 150,
+    relationships: {},
+    icon: null,
+    color: null,
+    order: null,
+    sidebarLabel: null,
+    template: null, sort: null, view: null, visible: null,
+    outgoingLinks: [],
+    properties: {},
+  },
 ]
 
 // --- Bulk entry generator for large vault testing ---
diff --git a/tests/smoke/exact-match-search.spec.ts b/tests/smoke/exact-match-search.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9739324c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/smoke/exact-match-search.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test'
+import { sendShortcut } from './helpers'
+
+const QUICK_OPEN_INPUT = 'input[placeholder="Search notes..."]'
+
+async function openQuickOpen(page: import('@playwright/test').Page) {
+  await page.locator('body').click()
+  await sendShortcut(page, 'p', ['Control'])
+  await expect(page.locator(QUICK_OPEN_INPUT)).toBeVisible()
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get the title text of the first (selected) search result in the Quick Open palette.
+ * The selected item has `bg-accent` class, and the title is in a nested `.truncate` span.
+ */
+async function getFirstResultTitle(page: import('@playwright/test').Page): Promise<string> {
+  // The selected result row contains the title in a span.truncate
+  const titleSpan = page.locator('[class*="bg-accent"] span.truncate')
+  await titleSpan.first().waitFor({ timeout: 3000 })
+  return (await titleSpan.first().textContent()) ?? ''
+}
+
+test.describe('Exact match search ranking', () => {
+  test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto('/')
+    await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle')
+  })
+
+  test('exact title match appears as first result', async ({ page }) => {
+    await openQuickOpen(page)
+    // "Writing" is a Topic note in the demo vault; other notes have "Writing" as a prefix
+    await page.locator(QUICK_OPEN_INPUT).fill('Writing')
+    await page.waitForTimeout(300)
+
+    const firstTitle = await getFirstResultTitle(page)
+    expect(firstTitle).toBe('Writing')
+  })
+
+  test('case-insensitive exact match appears first', async ({ page }) => {
+    await openQuickOpen(page)
+    await page.locator(QUICK_OPEN_INPUT).fill('writing')
+    await page.waitForTimeout(300)
+
+    const firstTitle = await getFirstResultTitle(page)
+    expect(firstTitle).toBe('Writing')
+  })
+
+  test('partial matches still appear below exact match', async ({ page }) => {
+    await openQuickOpen(page)
+    await page.locator(QUICK_OPEN_INPUT).fill('Writing')
+    await page.waitForTimeout(300)
+
+    // Should have multiple results (exact + prefix/fuzzy matches)
+    const resultRows = page.locator('[class*="cursor-pointer"][class*="items-center"]')
+    const count = await resultRows.count()
+    expect(count).toBeGreaterThan(1)
+
+    // First result is the exact match
+    const firstTitle = await getFirstResultTitle(page)
+    expect(firstTitle).toBe('Writing')
+  })
+
+  test('arrow keys navigate search results past the exact match', async ({ page }) => {
+    await openQuickOpen(page)
+    await page.locator(QUICK_OPEN_INPUT).fill('Writing')
+    await page.waitForTimeout(300)
+
+    // First result should be selected (exact match)
+    const firstTitle = await getFirstResultTitle(page)
+    expect(firstTitle).toBe('Writing')
+
+    // ArrowDown moves to next result (a prefix or fuzzy match)
+    await page.keyboard.press('ArrowDown')
+    await page.waitForTimeout(100)
+    const secondTitle = await getFirstResultTitle(page)
+    expect(secondTitle).not.toBe('Writing')
+  })
+})