diff --git a/src/timmy/memory_system.py b/src/timmy/memory_system.py
index d9be52a..fe01d5e 100644
--- a/src/timmy/memory_system.py
+++ b/src/timmy/memory_system.py
@@ -303,6 +303,85 @@ def store_memory(
     return entry
 
 
+def _build_search_filters(
+    context_type: str | None,
+    agent_id: str | None,
+    session_id: str | None,
+) -> tuple[str, list]:
+    """Build SQL WHERE clause and params from search filters."""
+    conditions: list[str] = []
+    params: list = []
+
+    if context_type:
+        conditions.append("memory_type = ?")
+        params.append(context_type)
+    if agent_id:
+        conditions.append("agent_id = ?")
+        params.append(agent_id)
+    if session_id:
+        conditions.append("session_id = ?")
+        params.append(session_id)
+
+    where_clause = "WHERE " + " AND ".join(conditions) if conditions else ""
+    return where_clause, params
+
+
+def _fetch_memory_candidates(
+    where_clause: str, params: list, candidate_limit: int
+) -> list[sqlite3.Row]:
+    """Fetch candidate memory rows from the database."""
+    query_sql = f"""
+        SELECT * FROM memories
+        {where_clause}
+        ORDER BY created_at DESC
+        LIMIT ?
+    """
+    params.append(candidate_limit)
+
+    with get_connection() as conn:
+        return conn.execute(query_sql, params).fetchall()
+
+
+def _row_to_entry(row: sqlite3.Row) -> MemoryEntry:
+    """Convert a database row to a MemoryEntry."""
+    return MemoryEntry(
+        id=row["id"],
+        content=row["content"],
+        source=row["source"],
+        context_type=row["memory_type"],  # DB column -> API field
+        agent_id=row["agent_id"],
+        task_id=row["task_id"],
+        session_id=row["session_id"],
+        metadata=json.loads(row["metadata"]) if row["metadata"] else None,
+        embedding=json.loads(row["embedding"]) if row["embedding"] else None,
+        timestamp=row["created_at"],
+    )
+
+
+def _score_and_filter(
+    rows: list[sqlite3.Row],
+    query: str,
+    query_embedding: list[float],
+    min_relevance: float,
+) -> list[MemoryEntry]:
+    """Score candidate rows by similarity and filter by min_relevance."""
+    results = []
+    for row in rows:
+        entry = _row_to_entry(row)
+
+        if entry.embedding:
+            score = cosine_similarity(query_embedding, entry.embedding)
+        else:
+            score = _keyword_overlap(query, entry.content)
+
+        entry.relevance_score = score
+        if score >= min_relevance:
+            results.append(entry)
+
+    results.sort(key=lambda x: x.relevance_score or 0, reverse=True)
+    return results
+
+
 def search_memories(
     query: str,
     limit: int = 10,
@@ -325,65 +404,9 @@ def search_memories(
         List of MemoryEntry objects sorted by relevance
     """
     query_embedding = embed_text(query)
-
-    # Build query with filters
-    conditions = []
-    params = []
-
-    if context_type:
-        conditions.append("memory_type = ?")
-        params.append(context_type)
-    if agent_id:
-        conditions.append("agent_id = ?")
-        params.append(agent_id)
-    if session_id:
-        conditions.append("session_id = ?")
-        params.append(session_id)
-
-    where_clause = "WHERE " + " AND ".join(conditions) if conditions else ""
-
-    # Fetch candidates (we'll do in-memory similarity for now)
-    query_sql = f"""
-        SELECT * FROM memories
-        {where_clause}
-        ORDER BY created_at DESC
-        LIMIT ?
-    """
-    params.append(limit * 3)  # Get more candidates for ranking
-
-    with get_connection() as conn:
-        rows = conn.execute(query_sql, params).fetchall()
-
-    # Compute similarity scores
-    results = []
-    for row in rows:
-        entry = MemoryEntry(
-            id=row["id"],
-            content=row["content"],
-            source=row["source"],
-            context_type=row["memory_type"],  # DB column -> API field
-            agent_id=row["agent_id"],
-            task_id=row["task_id"],
-            session_id=row["session_id"],
-            metadata=json.loads(row["metadata"]) if row["metadata"] else None,
-            embedding=json.loads(row["embedding"]) if row["embedding"] else None,
-            timestamp=row["created_at"],
-        )
-
-        if entry.embedding:
-            score = cosine_similarity(query_embedding, entry.embedding)
-            entry.relevance_score = score
-            if score >= min_relevance:
-                results.append(entry)
-        else:
-            # Fallback: check for keyword overlap
-            score = _keyword_overlap(query, entry.content)
-            entry.relevance_score = score
-            if score >= min_relevance:
-                results.append(entry)
-
-    # Sort by relevance and return top results
-    results.sort(key=lambda x: x.relevance_score or 0, reverse=True)
+    where_clause, params = _build_search_filters(context_type, agent_id, session_id)
+    rows = _fetch_memory_candidates(where_clause, params, limit * 3)
+    results = _score_and_filter(rows, query, query_embedding, min_relevance)
     return results[:limit]