diff --git a/crates/bridge/src/bridge.rs b/crates/bridge/src/bridge.rs
index a9b2b57..ecdce32 100644
--- a/crates/bridge/src/bridge.rs
+++ b/crates/bridge/src/bridge.rs
@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ impl BridgeHandle {
             };
             let handler_handle = tokio::spawn(event_handler::run_event_handler(
                 store.clone(),
-                local_store,
+                local_store.clone(),
                 backend.clone(),
                 bus_ids_for_handler,
                 event_rx,
@@ -375,6 +375,7 @@ impl BridgeHandle {
                 imap_port,
                 store.clone(),
                 backend.clone(),
+                local_store,
                 imap_tls,
                 pw.clone(),
             ));
diff --git a/crates/bridge/src/imap/mod.rs b/crates/bridge/src/imap/mod.rs
index c320ee4..b52487a 100644
--- a/crates/bridge/src/imap/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/bridge/src/imap/mod.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use tokio::net::TcpListener;
 use tokio::sync::watch;
 use tokio_rustls::TlsAcceptor;
 
+use crate::store::LocalStore;
 use crate::sync::MailStore;
 use crate::tuta::MailBackend;
 use session::ImapSession;
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@ pub async fn serve(
     port: u16,
     store: Arc<MailStore>,
     backend: Arc<dyn MailBackend>,
+    local_store: Arc<LocalStore>,
     tls: TlsAcceptor,
     password_hash: Option<String>,
 ) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>> {
@@ -28,13 +30,16 @@ pub async fn serve(
         debug!("IMAP connection from {}", addr);
         let store = store.clone();
         let backend = backend.clone();
+        let local_store = local_store.clone();
         let tls = tls.clone();
         let pw_hash = password_hash.clone();
 
         tokio::spawn(async move {
             match tls.accept(stream).await {
                 Ok(tls_stream) => {
-                    if let Err(e) = handle_connection(tls_stream, store, backend, pw_hash).await {
+                    if let Err(e) =
+                        handle_connection(tls_stream, store, backend, local_store, pw_hash).await
+                    {
                         error!("IMAP connection error: {}", e);
                     }
                 }
@@ -50,12 +55,13 @@ async fn handle_connection(
     stream: tokio_rustls::server::TlsStream<tokio::net::TcpStream>,
     store: Arc<MailStore>,
     backend: Arc<dyn MailBackend>,
+    local_store: Arc<LocalStore>,
     password_hash: Option<String>,
 ) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>> {
     let (reader, mut writer) = tokio::io::split(stream);
     let mut reader = BufReader::new(reader);
     let mut store_watch: watch::Receiver<u64> = store.subscribe();
-    let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend, password_hash);
+    let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend, password_hash, Some(local_store));
 
     writer
         .write_all(b"* OK TutaBridge IMAP4rev1 ready\r\n")
diff --git a/crates/bridge/src/imap/search.rs b/crates/bridge/src/imap/search.rs
index 224d76f..5b2433a 100644
--- a/crates/bridge/src/imap/search.rs
+++ b/crates/bridge/src/imap/search.rs
@@ -7,14 +7,17 @@
 //!
 //! Coverage is metadata-first: subject / from / to / cc, flags, dates, sizes,
 //! sequence + UID sets, and boolean composition (`AND` / `OR` / `NOT`). `BODY`
-//! and `TEXT` match against whatever body text the session already has decoded
-//! — full-text body search over the whole mailbox is a later increment backed
-//! by an on-disk index.
+//! and `TEXT` are resolved against the on-disk full-text index: the session
+//! queries it once per distinct term ([`collect_body_terms`]) and hands the
+//! per-term hit sets to [`matches`] via a [`SearchContext`]. A body term only
+//! matches messages whose body has actually been downloaded and indexed.
 //!
 //! Robustness rule: an unrecognised criterion degrades to a non-restrictive
 //! match (it never *hides* messages). Over-inclusion is the safe failure for
 //! search; silently dropping a matching mail is not.
 
+use std::collections::{HashMap, HashSet};
+
 /// One element of an IMAP sequence/UID set, e.g. `1`, `3:9`, or `5:*`.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
 struct SeqRange {
@@ -107,6 +110,8 @@ pub enum SearchKey {
 pub struct MsgView<'a> {
     pub seq: u32,
     pub uid: u32,
+    /// Tuta element id — the key used to look up full-text body hits.
+    pub element_id: &'a str,
     pub subject: &'a str,
     /// Formatted `From` (name + address), for `FROM` substring matching.
     pub from: String,
@@ -122,9 +127,49 @@ pub struct MsgView<'a> {
     pub unread: bool,
     pub deleted: bool,
     pub size: u64,
-    /// Decoded body text, when the session already has it. `None` means the
-    /// body isn't loaded; `BODY`/`TEXT` simply won't match such a message yet.
-    pub body: Option<&'a str>,
+}
+
+/// Pre-resolved full-text results for one SEARCH: maps each `BODY`/`TEXT` term
+/// to the set of element ids whose indexed body matched it. Built by the
+/// session from the on-disk index before evaluating the query.
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct SearchContext {
+    pub body_hits: HashMap<String, HashSet<String>>,
+}
+
+impl SearchContext {
+    pub fn empty() -> Self {
+        Self::default()
+    }
+
+    fn body_matches(&self, term: &str, element_id: &str) -> bool {
+        self.body_hits
+            .get(term)
+            .is_some_and(|ids| ids.contains(element_id))
+    }
+}
+
+/// Collect the distinct `BODY`/`TEXT` term arguments in a parsed query, so the
+/// session can resolve each against the full-text index exactly once.
+pub fn collect_body_terms(key: &SearchKey) -> Vec<String> {
+    let mut terms = Vec::new();
+    collect_body_terms_into(key, &mut terms);
+    terms.sort();
+    terms.dedup();
+    terms
+}
+
+fn collect_body_terms_into(key: &SearchKey, out: &mut Vec<String>) {
+    match key {
+        SearchKey::And(keys) => keys.iter().for_each(|k| collect_body_terms_into(k, out)),
+        SearchKey::Or(a, b) => {
+            collect_body_terms_into(a, out);
+            collect_body_terms_into(b, out);
+        }
+        SearchKey::Not(k) => collect_body_terms_into(k, out),
+        SearchKey::Body(s) | SearchKey::Text(s) => out.push(s.clone()),
+        _ => {}
+    }
 }
 
 fn contains_ci(haystack: &str, needle: &str) -> bool {
@@ -154,13 +199,14 @@ fn day_number(ms: u64) -> i64 {
     (ms / 86_400_000) as i64
 }
 
-/// Evaluate a parsed query against one message.
-pub fn matches(key: &SearchKey, m: &MsgView) -> bool {
+/// Evaluate a parsed query against one message, consulting `ctx` for the
+/// full-text results of any `BODY`/`TEXT` terms.
+pub fn matches(key: &SearchKey, m: &MsgView, ctx: &SearchContext) -> bool {
     match key {
         SearchKey::All => true,
-        SearchKey::And(keys) => keys.iter().all(|k| matches(k, m)),
-        SearchKey::Or(a, b) => matches(a, m) || matches(b, m),
-        SearchKey::Not(k) => !matches(k, m),
+        SearchKey::And(keys) => keys.iter().all(|k| matches(k, m, ctx)),
+        SearchKey::Or(a, b) => matches(a, m, ctx) || matches(b, m, ctx),
+        SearchKey::Not(k) => !matches(k, m, ctx),
 
         SearchKey::Seen => !m.unread,
         SearchKey::Unseen => m.unread,
@@ -183,10 +229,8 @@ pub fn matches(key: &SearchKey, m: &MsgView) -> bool {
         SearchKey::To(s) => contains_ci(&m.to, s),
         SearchKey::Cc(s) => contains_ci(&m.cc, s),
         SearchKey::Bcc(s) => contains_ci(&m.bcc, s),
-        SearchKey::Body(s) => m.body.is_some_and(|b| contains_ci(b, s)),
-        SearchKey::Text(s) => {
-            contains_ci(&m.headers, s) || m.body.is_some_and(|b| contains_ci(b, s))
-        }
+        SearchKey::Body(s) => ctx.body_matches(s, m.element_id),
+        SearchKey::Text(s) => contains_ci(&m.headers, s) || ctx.body_matches(s, m.element_id),
         SearchKey::Header(name, val) => header_contains(&m.headers, name, val),
 
         SearchKey::Before(d) => day_number(m.date_ms) < *d,
@@ -511,6 +555,7 @@ mod tests {
         MsgView {
             seq: 1,
             uid: 10,
+            element_id: "mail1",
             subject: "Hello World",
             from: "Alice <alice@example.com>".into(),
             to: "Bob <bob@example.com>".into(),
@@ -524,10 +569,22 @@ mod tests {
             unread: true,
             deleted: false,
             size: 5000,
-            body: Some("the quick brown fox"),
         }
     }
 
+    /// A context where the given terms all hit our test message ("mail1").
+    fn ctx_hitting(terms: &[&str]) -> SearchContext {
+        let mut body_hits = HashMap::new();
+        for t in terms {
+            body_hits.insert((*t).to_string(), HashSet::from(["mail1".to_string()]));
+        }
+        SearchContext { body_hits }
+    }
+
+    fn no_ctx() -> SearchContext {
+        SearchContext::empty()
+    }
+
     // --- tokenizer ---
 
     #[test]
@@ -655,101 +712,141 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn match_subject_ci() {
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Subject("hello".into()), &view()));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Subject("WORLD".into()), &view()));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Subject("nope".into()), &view()));
+        let c = no_ctx();
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Subject("hello".into()), &view(), &c));
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Subject("WORLD".into()), &view(), &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Subject("nope".into()), &view(), &c));
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn match_from_to() {
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::From("alice".into()), &view()));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::To("bob@example".into()), &view()));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Cc("anyone".into()), &view()));
+        let c = no_ctx();
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::From("alice".into()), &view(), &c));
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::To("bob@example".into()), &view(), &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Cc("anyone".into()), &view(), &c));
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn match_flags_consistent_with_fetch() {
         let v = view(); // unread, not deleted
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Unseen, &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Seen, &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Answered, &v));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Unanswered, &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Flagged, &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Deleted, &v));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Undeleted, &v));
+        let c = no_ctx();
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Unseen, &v, &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Seen, &v, &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Answered, &v, &c));
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Unanswered, &v, &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Flagged, &v, &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Deleted, &v, &c));
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Undeleted, &v, &c));
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn match_dates() {
         let v = view(); // 2022-09-22
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Since(day(2022, 1, 1)), &v));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Before(day(2023, 1, 1)), &v));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::On(day(2022, 9, 22)), &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::On(day(2022, 9, 23)), &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Since(day(2023, 1, 1)), &v));
+        let c = no_ctx();
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Since(day(2022, 1, 1)), &v, &c));
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Before(day(2023, 1, 1)), &v, &c));
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::On(day(2022, 9, 22)), &v, &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::On(day(2022, 9, 23)), &v, &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Since(day(2023, 1, 1)), &v, &c));
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn match_size() {
         let v = view(); // size 5000
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Larger(4000), &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Larger(6000), &v));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Smaller(6000), &v));
+        let c = no_ctx();
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Larger(4000), &v, &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Larger(6000), &v, &c));
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Smaller(6000), &v, &c));
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn match_body_and_text() {
+    fn match_body_uses_fts_context() {
         let v = view();
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Body("brown".into()), &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Body("missing".into()), &v));
-        // TEXT spans headers + body.
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Text("Message-ID".into()), &v));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Text("quick".into()), &v));
+        let c = ctx_hitting(&["brown"]);
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Body("brown".into()), &v, &c));
+        // A term with no FTS hit doesn't match, even though it's a real word.
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Body("missing".into()), &v, &c));
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn match_body_without_loaded_body_never_matches() {
-        let mut v = view();
-        v.body = None;
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Body("brown".into()), &v));
-        // TEXT still matches on headers.
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Text("Subject".into()), &v));
+    fn match_text_spans_headers_and_body() {
+        let v = view();
+        let c = ctx_hitting(&["quick"]);
+        // Header hit, no body hit needed.
+        assert!(matches(
+            &SearchKey::Text("Message-ID".into()),
+            &v,
+            &no_ctx()
+        ));
+        // Body hit via the FTS context.
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Text("quick".into()), &v, &c));
+        // Neither headers nor index: no match.
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Text("quick".into()), &v, &no_ctx()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn match_body_without_index_never_matches() {
+        let v = view();
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Body("brown".into()), &v, &no_ctx()));
+        // TEXT still matches on headers without any index.
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Text("Subject".into()), &v, &no_ctx()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn collect_body_terms_finds_nested_terms() {
+        let k = parse(r#"OR BODY "alpha" (TEXT "beta" SUBJECT "x") NOT BODY "alpha""#);
+        // Note: top level is `OR <a> <b>` then trailing keys folded into AND.
+        let terms = collect_body_terms(&k);
+        assert_eq!(terms, vec!["alpha".to_string(), "beta".to_string()]);
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn match_header() {
         let v = view();
+        let c = no_ctx();
         assert!(matches(
             &SearchKey::Header("message-id".into(), "abc".into()),
-            &v
+            &v,
+            &c
         ));
         assert!(!matches(
             &SearchKey::Header("message-id".into(), "zzz".into()),
-            &v
+            &v,
+            &c
         ));
         // Presence-only (empty value).
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Header("subject".into(), "".into()), &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Header("x-nope".into(), "".into()), &v));
+        assert!(matches(
+            &SearchKey::Header("subject".into(), "".into()),
+            &v,
+            &c
+        ));
+        assert!(!matches(
+            &SearchKey::Header("x-nope".into(), "".into()),
+            &v,
+            &c
+        ));
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn match_uid_and_seq() {
         let v = view(); // seq 1, uid 10
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Uid(parse_seqset("5:15")), &v));
-        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Uid(parse_seqset("1:5")), &v));
-        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Sequence(parse_seqset("1")), &v));
+        let c = no_ctx();
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Uid(parse_seqset("5:15")), &v, &c));
+        assert!(!matches(&SearchKey::Uid(parse_seqset("1:5")), &v, &c));
+        assert!(matches(&SearchKey::Sequence(parse_seqset("1")), &v, &c));
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn match_boolean_composition() {
         let v = view();
+        let c = no_ctx();
         let k = parse(r#"UNSEEN SUBJECT "hello""#);
-        assert!(matches(&k, &v));
+        assert!(matches(&k, &v, &c));
         let k = parse(r#"SEEN SUBJECT "hello""#);
-        assert!(!matches(&k, &v));
+        assert!(!matches(&k, &v, &c));
         let k = parse(r#"OR SEEN SUBJECT "hello""#);
-        assert!(matches(&k, &v));
+        assert!(matches(&k, &v, &c));
         let k = parse("NOT SEEN");
-        assert!(matches(&k, &v));
+        assert!(matches(&k, &v, &c));
     }
 }
diff --git a/crates/bridge/src/imap/session.rs b/crates/bridge/src/imap/session.rs
index 2b3da12..d1e4770 100644
--- a/crates/bridge/src/imap/session.rs
+++ b/crates/bridge/src/imap/session.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ use tutasdk::entities::generated::tutanota::{Mail, MailAddress, MailDetails, Tut
 use crate::imap::search::{self, MsgView};
 use crate::mail::mail_to_rfc2822;
 use crate::mail::rfc2822::{extract_headers, format_address, format_internal_date};
+use crate::store::LocalStore;
 use crate::sync::MailStore;
 use crate::tuta::{FolderInfo, MailBackend};
 
@@ -33,6 +34,9 @@ struct CachedMail {
 pub struct ImapSession {
     store: Arc<MailStore>,
     backend: Arc<dyn MailBackend>,
+    /// The on-disk store, used for full-text body search. `None` in unit tests
+    /// (body terms then simply don't match).
+    local_store: Option<Arc<LocalStore>>,
     state: State,
     selected_folder: Option<FolderInfo>,
     mails: Vec<CachedMail>,
@@ -47,10 +51,12 @@ impl ImapSession {
         store: Arc<MailStore>,
         backend: Arc<dyn MailBackend>,
         password_hash: Option<String>,
+        local_store: Option<Arc<LocalStore>>,
     ) -> Self {
         Self {
             store,
             backend,
+            local_store,
             state: State::NotAuthenticated,
             selected_folder: None,
             mails: Vec::new(),
@@ -465,6 +471,7 @@ impl ImapSession {
         }
 
         let query = search::parse(args);
+        let ctx = self.resolve_body_search(&query);
 
         let ids: Vec<u32> = self
             .mails
@@ -472,7 +479,7 @@ impl ImapSession {
             .enumerate()
             .filter(|(i, cached)| {
                 let view = Self::build_search_view(*i, cached);
-                search::matches(&query, &view)
+                search::matches(&query, &view, &ctx)
             })
             .map(|(i, cached)| if uid_mode { cached.uid } else { (i + 1) as u32 })
             .collect();
@@ -500,11 +507,6 @@ impl ImapSession {
             .map(extract_headers)
             .unwrap_or_default();
 
-        let body = cached
-            .details
-            .as_ref()
-            .and_then(|d| d.body.compressedText.as_deref().or(d.body.text.as_deref()));
-
         // To/Cc/Bcc come from details when the body is loaded; otherwise only
         // the envelope `firstRecipient` (rendered as To) is available.
         let (to, cc, bcc) = match cached.details.as_ref() {
@@ -531,9 +533,17 @@ impl ImapSession {
             .map(|d| d.sentDate.as_millis())
             .unwrap_or_else(|| cached.mail.receivedDate.as_millis());
 
+        let element_id = cached
+            .mail
+            ._id
+            .as_ref()
+            .map(|id| id.element_id.0.as_str())
+            .unwrap_or("");
+
         MsgView {
             seq: (idx + 1) as u32,
             uid: cached.uid,
+            element_id,
             subject: &cached.mail.subject,
             from: format_address(&cached.mail.sender),
             to,
@@ -545,10 +555,28 @@ impl ImapSession {
             unread: cached.mail.unread,
             deleted: cached.deleted,
             size: cached.rfc2822.as_ref().map(|r| r.len() as u64).unwrap_or(0),
-            body,
         }
     }
 
+    /// Resolve the `BODY`/`TEXT` terms of a query against the full-text index,
+    /// once per distinct term. With no local store (unit tests) the context is
+    /// empty, so body terms match nothing.
+    fn resolve_body_search(&self, query: &search::SearchKey) -> search::SearchContext {
+        let mut ctx = search::SearchContext::empty();
+        let Some(local_store) = &self.local_store else {
+            return ctx;
+        };
+        for term in search::collect_body_terms(query) {
+            match local_store.search_body(&term) {
+                Ok(ids) => {
+                    ctx.body_hits.insert(term, ids.into_iter().collect());
+                }
+                Err(e) => log::warn!("FTS body search failed for {term:?}: {e}"),
+            }
+        }
+        ctx
+    }
+
     async fn cmd_store(&mut self, tag: &str, args: &str, uid_mode: bool) -> Vec<String> {
         if self.state != State::Selected {
             return vec![format!("{} NO No mailbox selected\r\n", tag)];
@@ -1528,7 +1556,7 @@ mod tests {
                 ],
             )
             .await;
-        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend.clone(), None);
+        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend.clone(), None, None);
         session.handle_command("a LOGIN u p").await;
         session.handle_command("b SELECT INBOX").await;
 
@@ -1578,7 +1606,7 @@ mod tests {
         let store = MailStore::new();
         let mails = backend.mails.lock().unwrap().clone();
         populate_store(&store, &mails).await;
-        let session = ImapSession::new(store.clone(), backend, None);
+        let session = ImapSession::new(store.clone(), backend, None, None);
         (store, session)
     }
 
@@ -1796,7 +1824,7 @@ mod tests {
                 ],
             )
             .await;
-        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend, None);
+        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend, None, None);
 
         // LOGIN
         let resp = session.handle_command("A001 LOGIN user pass").await;
@@ -1840,7 +1868,7 @@ mod tests {
         )]));
         let store = MailStore::new();
         populate_store(&store, &backend.mails.lock().unwrap()).await;
-        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend.clone(), None);
+        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend.clone(), None, None);
 
         session.handle_command("A001 LOGIN user pass").await;
         session.handle_command("A002 SELECT INBOX").await;
@@ -1868,7 +1896,7 @@ mod tests {
         ]));
         let store = MailStore::new();
         populate_store(&store, &backend.mails.lock().unwrap()).await;
-        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend.clone(), None);
+        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store, backend.clone(), None, None);
 
         session.handle_command("A001 LOGIN user pass").await;
         session.handle_command("A002 SELECT INBOX").await;
@@ -1908,7 +1936,7 @@ mod tests {
         ]));
         let store = MailStore::new();
         populate_store(&store, &backend.mails.lock().unwrap()).await;
-        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store.clone(), backend.clone(), None);
+        let mut session = ImapSession::new(store.clone(), backend.clone(), None, None);
 
         session.handle_command("A001 LOGIN user pass").await;
         session.handle_command("A002 SELECT INBOX").await;
diff --git a/crates/bridge/src/mail/mod.rs b/crates/bridge/src/mail/mod.rs
index 1e8b8ee..e88cb01 100644
--- a/crates/bridge/src/mail/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/bridge/src/mail/mod.rs
@@ -5,3 +5,4 @@ pub(crate) mod rfc2822;
 pub use bodystructure::compute_bodystructure;
 pub use parser::{Attachment, ParsedMessage};
 pub use rfc2822::mail_to_rfc2822;
+pub(crate) use rfc2822::{extract_body_text, strip_html};
diff --git a/crates/bridge/src/mail/rfc2822.rs b/crates/bridge/src/mail/rfc2822.rs
index f648520..ea1d7b9 100644
--- a/crates/bridge/src/mail/rfc2822.rs
+++ b/crates/bridge/src/mail/rfc2822.rs
@@ -225,6 +225,99 @@ pub(crate) fn extract_headers(rfc: &str) -> String {
     }
 }
 
+/// Strip HTML markup down to readable text for full-text indexing. Drops tags,
+/// the contents of `<script>`/`<style>` blocks, and decodes the handful of
+/// entities that actually show up in mail bodies, then collapses whitespace.
+/// This is lossy by design — it only needs to be good enough that a body
+/// search matches the words a human would see, not the markup around them.
+pub(crate) fn strip_html(html: &str) -> String {
+    let mut out = String::with_capacity(html.len());
+    let mut chars = html.chars().peekable();
+    while let Some(c) = chars.next() {
+        if c == '<' {
+            // Capture the tag name to detect script/style blocks we must skip
+            // wholesale (their text content is not human-visible).
+            let mut tag = String::new();
+            for t in chars.clone().take(6) {
+                if t == '>' || t.is_whitespace() {
+                    break;
+                }
+                tag.push(t.to_ascii_lowercase());
+            }
+            let skip_block = matches!(tag.trim_start_matches('/'), "script" | "style");
+            // Consume up to and including the closing '>'.
+            for t in chars.by_ref() {
+                if t == '>' {
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            if skip_block && !tag.starts_with('/') {
+                // Swallow everything until the matching closing tag.
+                let close = format!("</{tag}");
+                let mut window = String::new();
+                for t in chars.by_ref() {
+                    window.push(t.to_ascii_lowercase());
+                    if window.ends_with(&close) {
+                        // Drop the rest of the closing tag.
+                        for t2 in chars.by_ref() {
+                            if t2 == '>' {
+                                break;
+                            }
+                        }
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            out.push(' ');
+        } else {
+            out.push(c);
+        }
+    }
+    let decoded = decode_entities(&out);
+    decoded.split_whitespace().collect::<Vec<_>>().join(" ")
+}
+
+fn decode_entities(s: &str) -> String {
+    s.replace("&nbsp;", " ")
+        .replace("&amp;", "&")
+        .replace("&lt;", "<")
+        .replace("&gt;", ">")
+        .replace("&quot;", "\"")
+        .replace("&#39;", "'")
+        .replace("&apos;", "'")
+}
+
+/// Extract the readable body text from one of our own RFC 2822 messages, for
+/// full-text indexing: locate the first `text/*` part, base64-decode it, and
+/// strip HTML. Works for both the single-part and multipart layouts produced
+/// by [`mail_to_rfc2822`]. Returns an empty string when no text part is found.
+pub(crate) fn extract_body_text(rfc: &str) -> String {
+    // Find the first textual MIME part.
+    let lower = rfc.to_lowercase();
+    let part_start = lower.find("text/html").or_else(|| lower.find("text/plain"));
+    let Some(part_start) = part_start else {
+        return String::new();
+    };
+    // Body begins after that part's header/body separator.
+    let Some(sep) = rfc[part_start..].find("\r\n\r\n") else {
+        return String::new();
+    };
+    let body_start = part_start + sep + 4;
+    // Body ends at the next MIME boundary delimiter (multipart) or end of input.
+    let body_end = rfc[body_start..]
+        .find("\r\n--")
+        .map(|i| body_start + i)
+        .unwrap_or(rfc.len());
+    let raw = &rfc[body_start..body_end];
+
+    let stripped_b64: String = raw.split_whitespace().collect();
+    match base64::engine::general_purpose::STANDARD.decode(stripped_b64) {
+        Ok(bytes) => strip_html(&String::from_utf8_lossy(&bytes)),
+        // Not base64 (shouldn't happen for our own messages) — treat as text.
+        Err(_) => strip_html(raw),
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -238,6 +331,40 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(days_to_ymd(0), (1970, 1, 1));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn strip_html_drops_tags_and_decodes_entities() {
+        let html = "<p>Hello&nbsp;<b>World</b> &amp; goodbye</p>";
+        assert_eq!(strip_html(html), "Hello World & goodbye");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn strip_html_skips_script_and_style() {
+        let html = "<style>.a{color:red}</style><div>Visible</div><script>alert(1)</script>";
+        assert_eq!(strip_html(html), "Visible");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn extract_body_text_from_single_part() {
+        let body = base64::engine::general_purpose::STANDARD.encode("<p>Quarterly invoice</p>");
+        let rfc = format!(
+            "Subject: Test\r\nContent-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8\r\n\
+             Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64\r\n\r\n{body}\r\n"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(extract_body_text(&rfc), "Quarterly invoice");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn extract_body_text_from_multipart_stops_at_boundary() {
+        let body = base64::engine::general_purpose::STANDARD.encode("<p>Body words here</p>");
+        let rfc = format!(
+            "Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary=\"BND\"\r\n\r\n\
+             --BND\r\nContent-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8\r\n\
+             Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64\r\n\r\n{body}\r\n\
+             --BND\r\nContent-Type: application/pdf\r\n\r\nIGNOREDATTACHMENT\r\n--BND--\r\n"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(extract_body_text(&rfc), "Body words here");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_days_to_ymd_known_dates() {
         // 2024-01-01 = day 19723 since epoch
diff --git a/crates/bridge/src/store.rs b/crates/bridge/src/store.rs
index b2111b9..e3b333f 100644
--- a/crates/bridge/src/store.rs
+++ b/crates/bridge/src/store.rs
@@ -46,6 +46,19 @@ pub struct LocalStore {
     mails_dir: PathBuf,
 }
 
+/// Turn a free-text search term into a safe FTS5 MATCH expression. Each run of
+/// alphanumeric characters becomes a prefix token (`word*`), and tokens are
+/// ANDed together (FTS5's default). Because only alphanumerics survive, the
+/// result can never contain FTS5 syntax, so it is injection-safe to interpolate
+/// as a bound parameter. Returns an empty string when nothing is searchable.
+fn fts_match_expr(term: &str) -> String {
+    term.split(|c: char| !c.is_alphanumeric())
+        .filter(|w| !w.is_empty())
+        .map(|w| format!("{w}*"))
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+        .join(" ")
+}
+
 impl LocalStore {
     pub fn open(
         db_path: &Path,
@@ -85,7 +98,8 @@ impl LocalStore {
             conn.execute_batch(
                 "DROP TABLE IF EXISTS mails;
                  DROP TABLE IF EXISTS sync_state;
-                 DROP TABLE IF EXISTS event_bus_state;",
+                 DROP TABLE IF EXISTS event_bus_state;
+                 DROP TABLE IF EXISTS mail_fts;",
             )?;
         }
 
@@ -115,6 +129,11 @@ impl LocalStore {
                 last_batch_id  TEXT NOT NULL,
                 updated_at_ms  INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0
             );
+            CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE IF NOT EXISTS mail_fts USING fts5(
+                element_id UNINDEXED,
+                body,
+                tokenize = 'unicode61 remove_diacritics 2'
+            );
             INSERT OR REPLACE INTO store_meta(key, value) VALUES ('schema_version', '{SCHEMA_VERSION}');"
         ))?;
 
@@ -165,6 +184,7 @@ impl LocalStore {
             "DELETE FROM mails;
              DELETE FROM sync_state;
              DELETE FROM store_meta;
+             DELETE FROM mail_fts;
              INSERT INTO store_meta(key, value) VALUES ('schema_version', '{SCHEMA_VERSION}');"
         ))?;
         drop(conn);
@@ -405,6 +425,54 @@ impl LocalStore {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    /// Index (or re-index) a message's plain-text body for full-text search.
+    /// `body_text` should already be stripped of HTML markup. Stored inside the
+    /// SQLCipher database, so it is encrypted at rest like everything else.
+    pub fn index_body(&self, element_id: &str, body_text: &str) -> Result<(), StoreError> {
+        let conn = self.conn.lock().unwrap();
+        // FTS5 has no UPSERT; clear any prior row for this id first.
+        conn.execute("DELETE FROM mail_fts WHERE element_id = ?1", [element_id])?;
+        conn.execute(
+            "INSERT INTO mail_fts(element_id, body) VALUES (?1, ?2)",
+            [element_id, body_text],
+        )?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Drop a message from the full-text index (called when a mail is removed).
+    pub fn unindex_body(&self, element_id: &str) -> Result<(), StoreError> {
+        let conn = self.conn.lock().unwrap();
+        conn.execute("DELETE FROM mail_fts WHERE element_id = ?1", [element_id])?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Element ids whose indexed body matches a user search term. The term is a
+    /// free-text query (one IMAP `BODY`/`TEXT` argument); it is turned into a
+    /// safe FTS5 MATCH expression: each word becomes a prefix token so
+    /// `factur` finds `facture`/`factures`, and multi-word terms must all be
+    /// present. Returns an empty set when the term has no searchable tokens.
+    pub fn search_body(&self, term: &str) -> Result<Vec<String>, StoreError> {
+        let match_expr = fts_match_expr(term);
+        if match_expr.is_empty() {
+            return Ok(Vec::new());
+        }
+        let conn = self.conn.lock().unwrap();
+        let mut stmt = conn.prepare("SELECT element_id FROM mail_fts WHERE body MATCH ?1")?;
+        let rows = stmt.query_map([&match_expr], |row| row.get::<_, String>(0))?;
+        let mut ids = Vec::new();
+        for row in rows {
+            ids.push(row?);
+        }
+        Ok(ids)
+    }
+
+    /// Number of bodies currently in the full-text index (diagnostics / tests).
+    pub fn fts_count(&self) -> Result<usize, StoreError> {
+        let conn = self.conn.lock().unwrap();
+        let count: i64 = conn.query_row("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM mail_fts", [], |row| row.get(0))?;
+        Ok(count as usize)
+    }
+
     pub fn mail_count(&self, folder_id: &str) -> Result<usize, StoreError> {
         let conn = self.conn.lock().unwrap();
         let count: i64 = conn.query_row(
@@ -539,6 +607,7 @@ impl LocalStore {
             conn.execute("DELETE FROM mails WHERE element_id = ?1", [element_id])?;
         }
         self.delete_eml(element_id)?;
+        self.unindex_body(element_id)?;
         Ok(())
     }
 }
@@ -579,6 +648,55 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn fts_index_and_search() {
+        let store = open_memory_store();
+        store
+            .index_body("a", "the quarterly invoice is attached")
+            .unwrap();
+        store.index_body("b", "lunch plans for friday").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(store.fts_count().unwrap(), 2);
+
+        // Prefix match: "invoic" finds "invoice".
+        assert_eq!(store.search_body("invoic").unwrap(), vec!["a".to_string()]);
+        // Multi-word ANDs the tokens.
+        assert_eq!(
+            store.search_body("lunch friday").unwrap(),
+            vec!["b".to_string()]
+        );
+        // No hit.
+        assert!(store.search_body("zebra").unwrap().is_empty());
+        // Empty / punctuation-only term yields no FTS query.
+        assert!(store.search_body("   ").unwrap().is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn fts_reindex_replaces_prior_body() {
+        let store = open_memory_store();
+        store.index_body("a", "first version about cats").unwrap();
+        store.index_body("a", "second version about dogs").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(store.fts_count().unwrap(), 1);
+        assert!(store.search_body("cats").unwrap().is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(store.search_body("dogs").unwrap(), vec!["a".to_string()]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn fts_unindex_removes_body() {
+        let store = open_memory_store();
+        store.index_body("a", "removable content").unwrap();
+        store.unindex_body("a").unwrap();
+        assert!(store.search_body("removable").unwrap().is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(store.fts_count().unwrap(), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn fts_match_expr_is_injection_safe() {
+        // FTS syntax characters never survive into the expression.
+        assert_eq!(fts_match_expr(r#"foo" OR bar"#), "foo* OR* bar*");
+        assert_eq!(fts_match_expr("a-b.c"), "a* b* c*");
+        assert_eq!(fts_match_expr("   "), "");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn allocate_uids_are_monotonic_and_per_folder() {
         let store = open_memory_store();
diff --git a/crates/bridge/src/sync.rs b/crates/bridge/src/sync.rs
index 4b7698f..6dd0401 100644
--- a/crates/bridge/src/sync.rs
+++ b/crates/bridge/src/sync.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use log::{debug, info, warn};
 use tokio::sync::{watch, RwLock};
 use tutasdk::entities::generated::tutanota::{Mail, MailDetails, TutanotaFile};
 
-use crate::mail::mail_to_rfc2822;
+use crate::mail::{extract_body_text, mail_to_rfc2822, strip_html};
 use crate::store::{LocalStore, MailMetadata};
 use crate::tuta::{FolderInfo, MailBackend};
 
@@ -426,6 +426,58 @@ pub async fn run_syncer(
         debug!("Skipping full-metadata sync — already complete, event bus reconciles");
     }
 
+    // One-time backfill of the full-text body index from bodies that were
+    // already cached (downloaded before the index existed). Bodies fetched from
+    // here on are indexed inline by `prefetch_details`, so this only ever runs
+    // once per install.
+    const FTS_BACKFILL_MARKER: &str = "body_fts_indexed_v1";
+    if local_store.get_meta(FTS_BACKFILL_MARKER).is_none() && !folders.is_empty() {
+        info!("Backfilling full-text body index from cached messages…");
+        let mut indexed = 0usize;
+        let mut all_ok = true;
+        for folder in &folders {
+            if *shutdown.borrow() {
+                return;
+            }
+            match local_store.load_folder_metadata(&folder.id) {
+                Ok(metas) => {
+                    for meta in metas.iter().filter(|m| m.has_details) {
+                        if *shutdown.borrow() {
+                            return;
+                        }
+                        match local_store.read_eml(&meta.element_id) {
+                            Ok(Some(rfc)) => {
+                                let text = extract_body_text(&rfc);
+                                if let Err(e) = local_store.index_body(&meta.element_id, &text) {
+                                    warn!("FTS backfill failed for {}: {e}", meta.element_id);
+                                    all_ok = false;
+                                } else {
+                                    indexed += 1;
+                                }
+                            }
+                            Ok(None) => {}
+                            Err(e) => {
+                                warn!("FTS backfill read failed for {}: {e}", meta.element_id);
+                                all_ok = false;
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    warn!("FTS backfill: no metadata for {}: {e}", folder.imap_path);
+                    all_ok = false;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        // Only mark done if nothing errored, so a partial run retries next boot.
+        if all_ok {
+            if let Err(e) = local_store.set_meta(FTS_BACKFILL_MARKER, "1") {
+                warn!("Could not persist FTS backfill marker: {e}");
+            }
+        }
+        info!("Full-text body index backfill complete ({indexed} messages)");
+    }
+
     // From here on the syncer only owns the slow body prefetch (capped at
     // `sync_limit` — the body-prefetch depth). Folder / new-mail refresh is
     // driven by the event bus + `event_handler`.
@@ -661,6 +713,9 @@ pub(crate) async fn sync_folder(
                 if let Err(e) = local_store.delete_eml(eid) {
                     warn!("Failed to delete cached eml {}: {}", eid, e);
                 }
+                if let Err(e) = local_store.unindex_body(eid) {
+                    warn!("Failed to unindex body {}: {}", eid, e);
+                }
             }
             if !deleted.is_empty() {
                 debug!(
@@ -801,6 +856,16 @@ async fn prefetch_details(
                     if let Err(e) = local_store.mark_has_details(&eid) {
                         warn!("Failed to mark has_details {}: {}", eid, e);
                     }
+                    // Index the plain-text body for full-text search.
+                    let body_html = details
+                        .body
+                        .compressedText
+                        .as_deref()
+                        .or(details.body.text.as_deref())
+                        .unwrap_or("");
+                    if let Err(e) = local_store.index_body(&eid, &strip_html(body_html)) {
+                        warn!("Failed to index body {}: {}", eid, e);
+                    }
                     if attachments_pending {
                         attachment_retry_history.insert(eid.clone(), now);
                     }
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 9d58646..ccb1469 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -200,6 +200,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         cfg.imap_port,
         store.clone(),
         backend.clone(),
+        local_store.clone(),
         imap_tls,
         pw.clone(),
     ));