diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index a7c0dd4eb..b84b5b04a 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -37,31 +37,20 @@ function(gen_bison name)
  set_source_files_properties(${name}.cc ${name}_base.h PROPERTIES GENERATED TRUE)
 endfunction()
 
-function(gen_flex name)
-  GET_FILENAME_COMPONENT(_in ${name}.lex ABSOLUTE)
-  cur_gen_dir(gen_dir)
-  # set(lib_name "${name}_flex")
-
-  set(full_path_cc ${gen_dir}/${name}.cc)
-  ADD_CUSTOM_COMMAND(
-           OUTPUT ${full_path_cc}
-           COMMAND mkdir -p ${gen_dir}
-           COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove ${gen_dir}/${name}.ih
-           COMMAND flex -o ${gen_dir}/${name}.cc  --c++ ${_in}
-           DEPENDS ${_in}
-           WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
-           COMMENT "Generating lexer from ${name}.lex" VERBATIM)
-
-  set_source_files_properties(${gen_dir}/${name}.h ${gen_dir}/${name}.cc ${gen_dir}/${name}_base.h
-                              PROPERTIES GENERATED TRUE)
-endfunction()
-
 add_third_party(
   dconv
   URL https://github.com/google/double-conversion/archive/refs/tags/v3.2.0.tar.gz
   LIB libdouble-conversion.a
 )
 
+add_third_party(
+  reflex
+  URL https://github.com/Genivia/RE-flex/archive/refs/tags/v3.3.2.tar.gz
+  CONFIGURE_COMMAND <SOURCE_DIR>/configure --disable-avx --prefix=${THIRD_PARTY_LIB_DIR}/reflex
+)
+
+set(REFLEX "${THIRD_PARTY_LIB_DIR}/reflex/bin/reflex")
+
 add_third_party(
   jsoncons
   URL https://github.com/danielaparker/jsoncons/archive/refs/tags/v0.168.7.tar.gz
@@ -111,6 +100,25 @@ else(ENABLE_GIT_VERSION)
     set(PRJ_BUILD_TIME "bigbang")
 endif(ENABLE_GIT_VERSION)
 
+
+function(gen_flex name)
+  GET_FILENAME_COMPONENT(_in ${name}.lex ABSOLUTE)
+  cur_gen_dir(gen_dir)
+
+  ADD_CUSTOM_COMMAND(
+           OUTPUT ${gen_dir}/${name}.cc ${gen_dir}/${name}.h
+           COMMAND mkdir -p ${gen_dir}
+
+           COMMAND ${REFLEX} -o ${gen_dir}/${name}.cc  --unicode --header-file=${gen_dir}/${name}.h
+                             --bison-complete  --bison-locations  ${_in}
+           DEPENDS ${_in} reflex_project
+           WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
+           COMMENT "Generating lexer from ${name}.lex" VERBATIM)
+
+  set_source_files_properties(${gen_dir}/${name}.h ${gen_dir}/${name}.cc
+                              PROPERTIES GENERATED TRUE)
+endfunction()
+
 # the output file resides in the build directory.
 configure_file(server/version.cc.in "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/server/version.cc" @ONLY)
 
diff --git a/src/core/search/CMakeLists.txt b/src/core/search/CMakeLists.txt
index a2de29810..cced83d0b 100644
--- a/src/core/search/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/core/search/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,5 +6,5 @@ gen_bison(parser)
 cur_gen_dir(gen_dir)
 
 add_library(query_parser query_driver.cc ${gen_dir}/parser.cc ${gen_dir}/lexer.cc)
-target_link_libraries(query_parser base absl::strings)
+target_link_libraries(query_parser base absl::strings TRDP::reflex)
 cxx_test(search_parser_test query_parser)
diff --git a/src/core/search/ast_expr.h b/src/core/search/ast_expr.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..492fbbf52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/search/ast_expr.h
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+// Copyright 2023, DragonflyDB authors.  All rights reserved.
+// See LICENSE for licensing terms.
+//
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <ostream>
+
+namespace dfly {
+
+namespace search {
+
+class AstExpr {};
+
+}  // namespace search
+}  // namespace dfly
+
+namespace std {
+
+inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, const dfly::search::AstExpr& ast) {
+  os << "ast";
+  return os;
+}
+
+}  // namespace std
diff --git a/src/core/search/lexer.lex b/src/core/search/lexer.lex
index 03f9158f0..890e600a9 100644
--- a/src/core/search/lexer.lex
+++ b/src/core/search/lexer.lex
@@ -1,21 +1,24 @@
+%top{
+  // Our lexer need to know about Parser::symbol_type
+  #include "core/search/parser.hh"
+}
 
-/* Seems that flex does not have unicode support.
-   TODO: to consider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RE/flex in the future.
-*/
 %{
   #include <absl/strings/escaping.h>
   #include <absl/strings/numbers.h>
-  #include "base/logging.h"
-  #include "core/search/query_driver.h"
 
-  // Define main lexer function. QueryDriver is the shared state between scanner and parser
-  #undef YY_DECL
-  #define YY_DECL auto dfly::search::Scanner::ParserLex(QueryDriver& driver) -> Parser::symbol_type
+  #include "base/logging.h"
+
+  #define DFLY_LEXER_CC 1
+     #include "core/search/scanner.h"
+  #undef DFLY_LEXER_CC
 %}
 
-%option noyywrap nounput noinput batch debug
-%option yyclass="dfly::Scanner"
-%option c++
+%o bison-cc-namespace="dfly.search" bison-cc-parser="Parser"
+%o namespace="dfly.search"
+%o class="Scanner" lex="Lex"
+%o nodefault batch
+/* %o debug */
 
 /* Declarations before lexer implementation.  */
 %{
@@ -32,35 +35,38 @@ dq    \"
 esc_chars ['"\?\\abfnrtv]
 esc_seq \\{esc_chars}
 str_char ([^"]|{esc_seq})
+term_char [_]|\w
+
 
 %{
   // Code run each time a pattern is matched.
-  # define YY_USER_ACTION  loc.columns (yyleng);
 %}
 
 %%
 
 %{
-  // A handy shortcut to the location held by the driver.
-  auto& loc = driver.location;
-  // Code run each time yylex is called.
-  loc.step ();
+  // Code run each time lex() is called.
 %}
 
-{blank}+   loc.step ();
+[[:space:]]+   // skip white space
 
-\n         loc.lines (yyleng); loc.step ();
+"("            return Parser::make_LPAREN (loc());
+")"            return Parser::make_RPAREN (loc());
+"*"            return Parser::make_STAR (loc());
+"~"            return Parser::make_NOT_OP (loc());
+":"            return Parser::make_COLON (loc());
+"=>"           return Parser::make_ARROW (loc());
 
-"("        return Parser::make_LPAREN (loc);
-")"        return Parser::make_RPAREN (loc);
+-?[0-9]+       return make_INT64(matched_view(), loc());
 
--?[0-9]+    return make_INT64(Matched(), loc);
+{dq}{str_char}*{dq}  return make_StringLit(matched_view(1, 1), loc());
 
-{dq}{str_char}*{dq}  return make_StringLit(string_view{YYText(), size_t(YYLeng())}, loc);
+"$"{term_char}+ return Parser::make_PARAM(str(), loc());
+"@"{term_char}+ return Parser::make_FIELD(str(), loc());
 
-[[:alnum:]]+   return Parser::make_TERM(Matched(), loc);
+{term_char}+   return Parser::make_TERM(str(), loc());
 
-<<EOF>>    return Parser::make_YYEOF(loc);
+<<EOF>>    return Parser::make_YYEOF(loc());
 %%
 
 Parser::symbol_type
@@ -74,11 +80,6 @@ make_INT64 (string_view str, const Parser::location_type& loc)
 }
 
 Parser::symbol_type make_StringLit(string_view src, const Parser::location_type& loc) {
-  DCHECK_GE(src.size(), 2u);
-
-  // Remove quotes
-  src.remove_prefix(1);
-  src.remove_suffix(1);
   string res;
   if (!absl::CUnescape(src, &res)) {
     throw Parser::syntax_error (loc, "bad escaped string: " + string(src));
diff --git a/src/core/search/parser.y b/src/core/search/parser.y
index 63a816ff8..f7d346f01 100644
--- a/src/core/search/parser.y
+++ b/src/core/search/parser.y
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 
 // Added to header file before parser declaration.
 %code requires {
+  #include "core/search/ast_expr.h"
+
   namespace dfly {
   namespace search {
     class QueryDriver;
@@ -24,11 +26,12 @@
 %code {
 #include "core/search/query_driver.h"
 
-#define yylex driver.scanner()->ParserLex
+#define yylex driver->scanner()->Lex
+
+using namespace std;
 }
 
-// Only for parser
-%param { QueryDriver& driver }
+%parse-param { QueryDriver *driver  }
 
 %locations
 
@@ -40,36 +43,35 @@
 %token
   LPAREN  "("
   RPAREN  ")"
+  STAR    "*"
+  ARROW   "=>"
+  COLON   ":"
+  NOT_OP  "~"
 ;
 
 %token YYEOF
-%token <std::string> TERM "term"
+%token <std::string> TERM "term" PARAM "param" FIELD "field"
+
 %token <int64_t> INT64 "int64"
-%nterm <int> bool_expr
+%nterm <AstExpr> search_expr
 
 %printer { yyo << $$; } <*>;
 
 %%
-%start input;
 
-input:
-  %empty
-  | bool_expr
-  {
-    std::cout << $1 << std::endl;
-  }
+query:
+  search_expr
+  | query search_expr
   ;
 
-bool_expr: TERM {
-  std::cout << $1 << std::endl;
-} | TERM bool_expr {
-   std::cout << $1 << std::endl;
+search_expr: TERM {
+  cout << $1 << endl;
 }
 
 %%
 
 void
-dfly::search::Parser::error(const location_type& l, const std::string& m)
+dfly::search::Parser::error(const location_type& l, const string& m)
 {
-  std::cerr << l << ": " << m << '\n';
+  cerr << l << ": " << m << '\n';
 }
diff --git a/src/core/search/query_driver.h b/src/core/search/query_driver.h
index f07f55f2c..0b13d1fbd 100644
--- a/src/core/search/query_driver.h
+++ b/src/core/search/query_driver.h
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include <memory>
-#include <sstream>
 
+#include "core/search/ast_expr.h"
 #include "core/search/parser.hh"
 #include "core/search/scanner.h"
 
@@ -23,19 +23,22 @@ class QueryDriver {
     return scanner_.get();
   }
 
-  void SetInput(const std::string& str) {
-    istr_.str(str);
-    scanner()->switch_streams(&istr_);
+  void SetInput(std::string str) {
+    cur_str_ = std::move(str);
+    scanner()->in(cur_str_);
   }
 
   Parser::symbol_type Lex() {
-    return scanner()->ParserLex(*this);
+    return scanner()->Lex();
   }
 
   Parser::location_type location;
 
+  void Add(AstExpr) {
+  }
+
  private:
-  std::istringstream istr_;
+  std::string cur_str_;
   std::unique_ptr<Scanner> scanner_;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/core/search/scanner.h b/src/core/search/scanner.h
index 7a9e2a2f8..19f8f3688 100644
--- a/src/core/search/scanner.h
+++ b/src/core/search/scanner.h
@@ -4,27 +4,30 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
-#if !defined(yyFlexLexerOnce)
-#include <FlexLexer.h>
+// We should not include lexer.h when compiling from lexer.cc file because it already
+// includes lexer.h
+#ifndef DFLY_LEXER_CC
+#include "core/search/lexer.h"
 #endif
 
-#include "core/search/parser.hh"
-
 namespace dfly {
 namespace search {
 
-class QueryDriver;
-
-class Scanner : public yyFlexLexer {
+class Scanner : public Lexer {
  public:
   Scanner() {
   }
 
-  Parser::symbol_type ParserLex(QueryDriver& drv);
+  Parser::symbol_type Lex();
 
  private:
-  std::string Matched() const {
-    return std::string(YYText(), YYLeng());
+  std::string_view matched_view(size_t skip_left = 0, size_t skip_right = 0) const {
+    std::string_view res(matcher().begin() + skip_left, matcher().size() - skip_left - skip_right);
+    return res;
+  }
+
+  dfly::search::location loc() {
+    return location();
   }
 };
 
diff --git a/src/core/search/search_parser_test.cc b/src/core/search/search_parser_test.cc
index c386ab0ad..04b222167 100644
--- a/src/core/search/search_parser_test.cc
+++ b/src/core/search/search_parser_test.cc
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ using namespace std;
 class SearchParserTest : public ::testing::Test {
  protected:
   SearchParserTest() {
-    // query_driver_.scanner()->set_debug(1);
+    query_driver_.scanner()->set_debug(1);
   }
 
   void SetInput(const std::string& str) {
@@ -25,6 +25,12 @@ class SearchParserTest : public ::testing::Test {
     return query_driver_.Lex();
   }
 
+  int Parse(const std::string& str) {
+    query_driver_.SetInput(str);
+
+    return Parser(&query_driver_)();
+  }
+
   QueryDriver query_driver_;
 };
 
@@ -32,7 +38,7 @@ class SearchParserTest : public ::testing::Test {
 #define NEXT_EQ(tok_enum, type, val)                    \
   {                                                     \
     auto tok = Lex();                                   \
-    EXPECT_EQ(tok.type_get(), Parser::token::tok_enum); \
+    ASSERT_EQ(tok.type_get(), Parser::token::tok_enum); \
     EXPECT_EQ(val, tok.value.as<type>());               \
   }
 
@@ -60,6 +66,20 @@ TEST_F(SearchParserTest, Scanner) {
 
   SetInput(R"( "hello\"world" )");
   NEXT_EQ(TOK_TERM, string, R"(hello"world)");
+
+  SetInput(" $param @field:hello");
+  NEXT_EQ(TOK_PARAM, string, "$param");
+  NEXT_EQ(TOK_FIELD, string, "@field");
+  NEXT_TOK(TOK_COLON);
+  NEXT_EQ(TOK_TERM, string, "hello");
+
+  SetInput("почтальон Печкин");
+  NEXT_EQ(TOK_TERM, string, "почтальон");
+  NEXT_EQ(TOK_TERM, string, "Печкин");
+}
+
+TEST_F(SearchParserTest, Parse) {
+  EXPECT_EQ(0, Parse(" foo "));
 }
 
 }  // namespace search