diff --git a/docs_assets/extra.css b/docs_assets/extra.css
index d302614c..dbc36106 100644
--- a/docs_assets/extra.css
+++ b/docs_assets/extra.css
@@ -109,6 +109,24 @@
   font-weight: 700;
 }
 
+/* A card's title is a heading so the search lands on it, set as body text */
+.md-typeset .rb-file-title {
+  margin: 0 0 0.3rem;
+  font-size: inherit;
+  font-weight: 400;
+  letter-spacing: normal;
+  scroll-margin-top: 4rem;
+}
+
+.md-typeset .rb-file-title code {
+  font-weight: 700;
+}
+
+/* Lines the search skips continue the card's list */
+.rb-search-skip > ul {
+  margin-top: 0.1rem;
+}
+
 .rb-file-entry ul,
 .rb-sys-file ul {
   margin: 0.3rem 0 0;
@@ -265,8 +283,7 @@
 .rb-permalink:focus {
   opacity: 1;
 }
-.rb-file-entry:target,
-.rb-sys-file:target {
+.rb-file-entry:has(> .rb-file-title:target),
+.rb-sys-file:has(> .rb-file-title:target) {
   background: var(--rb-surface);
-  scroll-margin-top: 4rem;
 }
diff --git a/mkdocs.yml b/mkdocs.yml
index 9c521968..87fdda72 100644
--- a/mkdocs.yml
+++ b/mkdocs.yml
@@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ markdown_extensions:
 - tables
 - toc:
     permalink: true
+    # File cards are level 4 headings: the search lands on them, and a
+    # page of a hundred cards keeps a readable table of contents.
+    toc_depth: 3
 - pymdownx.details
 - pymdownx.highlight:
     anchor_linenums: true
diff --git a/scripts/generate_site.py b/scripts/generate_site.py
index 1a6ef12c..d551e497 100644
--- a/scripts/generate_site.py
+++ b/scripts/generate_site.py
@@ -1728,16 +1728,19 @@ def _render_platform_systems(
         sys_link = _system_link(sys_id, "../")
 
         anchor = sys_id.replace(" ", "-")
+        # Every system is a heading with the same anchor in both layouts:
+        # emulator cards link here, and the site search splits a page at its
+        # headings. Folded into blocks under one heading, every hash pasted
+        # in the search led to the systems overview of a 100-block page.
         if use_collapsible:
             status_tag = "OK" if ok_count == total else _count(total - ok_count, "issue")
-            lines.append(f'<a id="{anchor}"></a>')
-            lines.append(f'??? note "{sys_id} ({ok_count}/{total} - {status_tag})"')
+            lines.append(f"### {sys_link} {{ #{anchor} }}")
+            lines.append("")
+            lines.append(f'??? note "{_count(total, "file")} ({status_tag})"')
             lines.append("")
             pad = "    "
         else:
-            # The same anchor in both layouts: emulator cards link here.
-            lines.append(f'<a id="{anchor}"></a>')
-            lines.append(f"## {sys_link}")
+            lines.append(f"## {sys_link} {{ #{anchor} }}")
             lines.append("")
             pad = ""
 
@@ -2528,22 +2531,18 @@ def _system_file_card(
             anchor = ""
         else:
             anchored.add(anchor)
-    id_attr = f' id="{anchor}"' if anchor else ""
-    lines = [f'<div class="rb-sys-file"{id_attr} markdown>', ""]
-    # The anchor is this page's, the second link is the file's own address,
-    # resolved by content wherever its card moves.
+    lines = ['<div class="rb-sys-file" markdown>', ""]
+    # The heading's own link is this page's, the second link is the file's
+    # own address, resolved by content wherever its card moves.
     permalink = (
-        f' <a class="rb-permalink" href="#{anchor}" title="Link to this card">#</a>'
         f' <a class="rb-permalink" href="../../files/?sha1={sha1_full}" '
         f'title="Permanent link, by content">permalink</a>'
     ) if anchor else ""
-    lines.append(f'**`{name}`** <span class="rb-badge rb-badge-muted">{size}</span>{permalink}')
+    lines.append(_card_title(
+        f'{_code(name)} <span class="rb-badge rb-badge-muted">{size}</span>{permalink}',
+        anchor,
+    ))
     lines.append("")
-    if f.get("path"):
-        # The card named a file, its hashes and provenance, but not where to
-        # get it: a user missing scph5501.bin found the reference and no way
-        # to the bytes.
-        lines.append(f"- Collection path: {_code(f['path'])} ([download]({_fetch_url(f['path'])}))")
     # Every hash in full: the site search indexes text, not a title
     # attribute, so a pasted md5 or crc32 (what clrmamepro, RomVault or an
     # emulator log prints) found nothing behind a 12-character prefix.
@@ -2551,6 +2550,16 @@ def _system_file_card(
                          ("CRC32", f.get("crc32")), ("SHA256", f.get("sha256"))):
         if value and value != "unknown":
             lines.append(f'- {label}: <span class="rb-hash">{_code(value)}</span>')
+    if emus:
+        lines.append(f"- Emulators: {', '.join(_emulator_links(sha1_full, consumers))}")
+    provenance = f.get("provenance", {})
+    if provenance:
+        lines.extend(_provenance_lines(provenance, "../"))
+    if f.get("path"):
+        # The card named a file, its hashes and provenance, but not where to
+        # get it: a user missing scph5501.bin found the reference and no way
+        # to the bytes.
+        lines.append(f"- Collection path: {_code(f['path'])} ([download]({_fetch_url(f['path'])}))")
     if plats:
         # Each link lands on the platform's system section, and says where
         # that platform puts the file: from the card, retrodeck sent the
@@ -2562,15 +2571,53 @@ def _system_file_card(
         # looking up scph5501.bin found every platform but RetroBat, whose
         # pack installs it for six cores.
         lines.append(f"- Also installed by: {', '.join(installed)}")
-    if emus:
-        lines.append(f"- Emulators: {', '.join(_emulator_links(sha1_full, consumers))}")
-    provenance = f.get("provenance", {})
-    if provenance:
-        lines.extend(_provenance_lines(provenance, "../"))
+    lines[2:] = _search_skipped_apart(lines[2:])
     lines.extend(["", "</div>", ""])
     return lines
 
 
+# Card lines the site search leaves out. They list where a file goes and
+# who cites it, links to other pages that index the same names, and they
+# were 6.6 of the 24.7 MB the browser downloads and indexes before the first
+# result. The name, the hashes, the entry's path and the notes stay
+# searchable.
+SEARCH_SKIPPED = (
+    "- Platforms:", "- Also installed by:", "- Source:", "- Asked for by:",
+    "- Collection path:", "- Collection copy:", "- Collection copies:",
+    "- Installed by the platform's own package on:",
+    "- Not in the platform's package", "- Never opened on these platforms",
+)
+
+
+def _search_skipped_apart(lines: list[str]) -> list[str]:
+    """Card list lines, each run the search skips in a block of its own."""
+    out: list[str] = []
+    skipping = False
+    for line in lines:
+        skip = line.startswith(SEARCH_SKIPPED) or (skipping and line.startswith("    "))
+        if skip and not skipping:
+            out.extend(["", '<div class="rb-search-skip" data-search-exclude markdown>', ""])
+        elif skipping and not skip:
+            out.extend(["", "</div>", ""])
+        skipping = skip
+        out.append(line)
+    if skipping:
+        out.extend(["", "</div>", ""])
+    return out
+
+
+def _card_title(text: str, anchor: str) -> str:
+    """A file card's heading, so the site search lands on the card.
+
+    The search splits a page at its headings: a card titled in bold sent a
+    pasted md5 to the top of a page of a hundred cards. Level 4 stays out
+    of the table of contents (toc_depth 3), and a card without an anchor
+    keeps the id the toc gives it.
+    """
+    attributes = f"#{anchor} .rb-file-title" if anchor else ".rb-file-title"
+    return f"#### {text} {{ {attributes} }}"
+
+
 def generate_system_page(
     manufacturer: str,
     consoles: dict[str, list],
@@ -2863,14 +2910,13 @@ def _render_emulator_file(
 
     badges = _file_badges(f, in_repo)
     badge_str = " ".join(badges)
-    id_attr = f' id="{anchor}"' if anchor else ""
-    lines.append(f'<div class="rb-file-entry"{id_attr} markdown>')
+    lines.append('<div class="rb-file-entry" markdown>')
+    lines.append("")
+    lines.append(_card_title(f"{_code(fname)} {badge_str}", anchor))
     lines.append("")
-    permalink = f' <a class="rb-permalink" href="#{anchor}" title="Link to this file">#</a>' if anchor else ""
-    lines.append(f"**`{fname}`** {badge_str}{permalink}")
     if desc:
-        lines.append(f"<br>{_escape_tags(str(desc))}")
-    lines.append("")
+        lines.extend([_escape_tags(str(desc)), ""])
+    body_start = len(lines)
 
     details = []
     if fpath and fpath != fname:
@@ -3022,6 +3068,7 @@ def _render_emulator_file(
                 lines.append(f"    - `{c.get('name', '')}`{extra}")
             else:
                 lines.append(f"    - {c}")
+    lines[body_start:] = _search_skipped_apart(lines[body_start:])
     lines.append("")
     lines.append("</div>")
     lines.append("")
@@ -5224,6 +5271,9 @@ markdown_extensions:
 - tables
 - toc:
     permalink: true
+    # File cards are level 4 headings: the search lands on them, and a
+    # page of a hundred cards keeps a readable table of contents.
+    toc_depth: 3
 - pymdownx.details
 - pymdownx.highlight:
     anchor_linenums: true
diff --git a/tests/test_audit_regressions.py b/tests/test_audit_regressions.py
index 2c500274..7e632e89 100644
--- a/tests/test_audit_regressions.py
+++ b/tests/test_audit_regressions.py
@@ -4098,8 +4098,9 @@ class AFileCardSaysAllItKnows(unittest.TestCase):
         text = "\n".join(_render_emulator_file(
             entry, {"files": [entry]}, None, [entry], lambda f: True, "file-neogeo-zip",
         ))
-        self.assertIn('id="file-neogeo-zip"', text)
-        self.assertIn('href="#file-neogeo-zip"', text)
+        # The card is a heading with this id, linked by the heading's own
+        # permalink.
+        self.assertIn("{ #file-neogeo-zip .rb-file-title }", text)
         self.assertIn("Standalone path: `Firmware/neogeo.zip`", text)
         self.assertIn("`m11.bin`", text)
         self.assertIn("CRC32 `0000000b`", text)
@@ -4819,7 +4820,7 @@ class VersionAnchorsFollowContent(unittest.TestCase):
             "raze", {"emulator": "Raze", "type": "standalone", "files": files},
             {"files": {}, "indexes": {}},
         )
-        return re.findall(r'id="(file-[^"]+)"', page)
+        return re.findall(r"\{ #(file-[^ ]+) \.rb-file-title \}", page)
 
     def test_inserting_a_version_keeps_the_others(self):
         a = {"name": "DUKE3D.GRP", "path": "DUKE3D.GRP", "crc32": "bbc9ce44"}
diff --git a/tests/test_site_render.py b/tests/test_site_render.py
index 13630dbe..8f7dd3b1 100644
--- a/tests/test_site_render.py
+++ b/tests/test_site_render.py
@@ -337,5 +337,79 @@ class TheDatHoldsEveryCopy(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(dat.count("<rom "), 2)
 
 
+class TheSearchLandsOnTheCard(unittest.TestCase):
+    """The site search splits a page at its headings. Emulator cards were
+    titled in bold and platform systems folded into blocks under one
+    heading, so a pasted hash led to the page top or to the systems
+    overview of a 100-block page."""
+
+    def test_a_platform_system_is_a_heading(self):
+        import generate_site
+
+        by_system = {f"system-{i:02d}": [{"name": f"f{i}.bin", "status": "ok"}]
+                     for i in range(11)}
+        lines = generate_site._render_platform_systems(by_system, {}, {})
+        headings = [line for line in lines if line.startswith("### ")]
+        self.assertEqual(len(headings), 11)
+        self.assertTrue(headings[0].endswith("{ #system-00 }"))
+        self.assertNotIn('<a id="system-00"></a>', lines)
+        self.assertIn('??? note "1 file (OK)"', lines)
+
+    def test_an_emulator_card_is_a_heading_with_its_anchor(self):
+        import generate_site
+
+        entry = {"name": "scph5501.bin", "required": True}
+        lines = generate_site._render_emulator_file(
+            entry, {"files": [entry]}, None, [entry], lambda f: True, "file-scph5501-bin")
+        self.assertTrue(lines[2].startswith("#### `scph5501.bin` "))
+        self.assertTrue(lines[2].endswith("{ #file-scph5501-bin .rb-file-title }"))
+
+    def test_a_system_card_is_a_heading_with_its_anchor(self):
+        import generate_site
+        from cross_reference import FileConsumers
+
+        entry = {"name": "a.bin", "sha1": "a" * 40, "md5": "b" * 32, "size": 3}
+        lines = generate_site._system_file_card(entry, FileConsumers({"files": {}}))
+        self.assertTrue(lines[2].startswith("#### `a.bin` "))
+        self.assertTrue(lines[2].endswith("{ #sha1-aaaaaaaaaaaa .rb-file-title }"))
+
+
+class TheSearchSkipsLinkLists(unittest.TestCase):
+    """The search index was 24.7 MB, read and indexed before the first
+    result. Lists of platforms, copies and source citations on every card
+    made 6.6 MB of it, names already indexed on their own pages."""
+
+    def test_a_system_card_keeps_its_hashes_and_skips_its_platforms(self):
+        import generate_site
+        from cross_reference import FileConsumers
+
+        consumers = FileConsumers({"files": {}})
+        sha1 = "a" * 40
+        consumers.platforms = {sha1: {"retroarch"}}
+        consumers.installed = {sha1: {"batocera": {"bios/a.bin"}}}
+        consumers.emulators = {sha1: {"duckstation"}}
+        entry = {"name": "a.bin", "sha1": sha1, "md5": "b" * 32, "size": 3}
+        text = "\n".join(generate_site._system_file_card(entry, consumers))
+        searched, skipped = text.split('<div class="rb-search-skip" data-search-exclude markdown>')
+        self.assertIn("- MD5:", searched)
+        self.assertIn("- Emulators:", searched)
+        self.assertIn("- Platforms:", skipped)
+        self.assertIn("- Also installed by:", skipped)
+        self.assertEqual(text.count("</div>"), 2)
+
+    def test_runs_alternate_in_card_order(self):
+        import generate_site
+
+        lines = ["- SHA1: x", "- Source: `a.c:1`", "- Platforms: p",
+                 "- Destination: `d`", "- Contents (1 members):", "    - `m`"]
+        out = [line for line in generate_site._search_skipped_apart(lines) if line]
+        self.assertEqual(out, [
+            "- SHA1: x",
+            '<div class="rb-search-skip" data-search-exclude markdown>',
+            "- Source: `a.c:1`", "- Platforms: p", "</div>",
+            "- Destination: `d`", "- Contents (1 members):", "    - `m`",
+        ])
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()
diff --git a/tests/test_site_system_links.py b/tests/test_site_system_links.py
index 61e9d4be..17f05e3d 100644
--- a/tests/test_site_system_links.py
+++ b/tests/test_site_system_links.py
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ class AnIdNamesOneCardPerPage(unittest.TestCase):
                  "path": "bios/Nintendo/DS/a.bin"}
         page = gs.generate_system_page(
             "Nintendo", {"DS": [entry], "DSi": [entry]}, FileConsumers({"files": {}}))
-        self.assertEqual(page.count('id="sha1-aaaaaaaaaaaa"'), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(page.count("#sha1-aaaaaaaaaaaa .rb-file-title"), 1)
         self.assertEqual(page.count("rb-sys-file"), 2)
 
 
diff --git a/wiki/architecture.md b/wiki/architecture.md
index 14289f14..e467fd95 100644
--- a/wiki/architecture.md
+++ b/wiki/architecture.md
@@ -66,6 +66,16 @@ dist/                    generated packs (gitignored)
 `platforms/`, `emulators/`, `database.json`, and the `wiki/` sources.
 Documentation changes belong in `wiki/` or in the generator.
 
+The site search splits each page at its headings and sends a result to the
+heading above the match. Every file card is therefore a level 4 heading with
+the card's anchor, and every platform system a heading of its own: a hash
+pasted in the search opens that card or that system, not the top of the page.
+Level 4 stays out of the table of contents (`toc_depth: 3`). The lines that
+list other pages (platforms, packs, source citations, collection paths) sit
+in a `data-search-exclude` block, since the browser downloads and indexes the
+whole search index before it shows a first result. File names, hashes, the
+paths an emulator reads and the notes stay searchable.
+
 ## Data flow
 
 ```