Its own live index
A full scan once, then file system events keep it current. New, renamed and deleted files show up in the results within a moment.
Everything Locator keeps its own index of every file and folder you choose, updates it live, and answers each keystroke in milliseconds. If you used Everything on Windows, you already know how to drive it.
| Name ▴ | Path | Size | Date Modified | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Report 2026.pdf | ~/Documents/Finance | 18.4 MB | 2026/3/12 09:41 | PDF document |
| Bug Report Export.pdf | ~/Projects/locator/qa | 11.2 MB | 2026/9/30 17:05 | PDF document |
| Performance report Q3.pdf | ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive/Team | ☁ 42.1 MB | 2026/10/2 11:20 | PDF document |
| report-final-v4.pdf | ~/Downloads | 13.9 MB | 2026/10/27 22:14 | PDF document |
| Site Survey Report.pdf | ~/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud Drive/Work | 27.6 MB | 2026/6/18 14:32 | PDF document |
| Thesis report draft.pdf | /Volumes/Archive/2026 | 10.6 MB | 2026/1/9 08:03 | PDF document |
## features
A full scan once, then file system events keep it current. New, renamed and deleted files show up in the results within a moment.
The index is saved to disk. On the next launch macOS replays what changed while the app was closed, so there is no rescan.
AND, OR, NOT, quotes, groups, wildcards, path matching, ext:, size:, dm:, regex: and the rest work the way Windows users expect.
Cloud files are indexed without downloading them, and files that exist only in the cloud are marked in the list.
A global shortcut brings the window up ready to type, and puts it away again. It can live in the menu bar without a Dock icon.
It indexes the folders you grant and nothing else. Hidden files, app contents and folders like node_modules are your call.
## search syntax
Operators, wildcards, modifiers and functions follow Everything, with Ctrl swapped for ⌘. Match Case, Whole Word, Match Path and Regex are one shortcut away, and Help › Search Syntax (⌘?) lists them all in the app.
| report pdf | # both words |
| mp3|flac | # either one |
| invoice !draft | # exclude a word |
| "annual report" | # exact phrase |
| *.heic | # wildcard, whole name |
| ~/Projects/ .swift | # match the path |
| ext:jpg;png size:>5mb | # by type and size |
| dm:thisweek folder: | # folders changed this week |
| empty: parent:~/Downloads | # empty folders in Downloads |
| regex:^IMG_\d{4}\. | # regular expression |
## keyboard
## changelog
Point it at your home folder, an external drive or iCloud Drive, and search the whole thing from any app with ⌘⇧Space.
Download on the Mac App Store