Handle edge cases in search

**Description**
Currently core lacks proper serialization support.

**Proposed solution**
Add configurable serialization with sensible defaults.

**Priority**: Low/Medium

No file, test, or entry point is identified in the issue. Start by locating the core search and serialization code, then define the supported configurable behavior and sensible defaults; done means serialization works for the relevant edge cases and is covered by tests.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.