The best alternative to Spotlight is Vicinae, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Spotlight and 19 are so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting alternatives to Spotlight are Keypirinha, DocFetcher, Albert and Cling Fuzzy Finder.
High-performance native launcher for Linux built with C++ and Qt delivers fast keyboard-driven system access, an efficient modular core, built-in modules, support for server-side React or TypeScript extensions, and reuse of Raycast extensions with minimal changes.
A lightning fast and flexible keystroke launcher for Windows. No installation required (portable). Extensible with Python3 plugins.
DocFetcher is an Open Source desktop search application: It allows you to search the contents of files on your computer. — You can think of it as Google for your local files. The application runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, and is made available under the Eclipse Public License.
Albert is a C++/Qt based desktop agnostic keyboard launcher that helps you to accomplish your workflows in a breeze. Its goals are usability and beauty, performance and extensibility.
Quickly fuzzy search system, hidden, or dotfiles using keyboard navigation, then preview, copy paths, batch rename, or run custom scripts. Supports exclusion rules, minimal UI, Quick Filters, and power user features for efficient macOS file management.
EverythingToolbar is integration for the Windows taskbar to use "Everything" which is an administrative tool that locates files and folders by filename instantly for Windows.
It's Lightweight & Simple
Ever had a folder full of PDF files, where you knew, somewhere in there, is what you're looking for. But you did not know in which file. So you had to search each of them at a time…
This macOS tool leverages fighting game style key combinations to expedite app launches, execute commands, or even activate fun features like confetti, providing a faster alternative to launchers like Spotlight, Alfred, and Raycast. It supports customization and seamless integration with existing tools.
Quite comfortable to use if you install KDE's Plasma.
Modern macOS launcher with native Swift implementation, offering Fuzzy, Leader, Text, and Talk modes, modal interface, extension support, no subscription required, free version with soft limits, and one-time unlock for full features for customizable workflow.
If you ever liked tools like Raycast and Alfred, but wanted to own them and tweak them yourself, then SOL is the tool for you. All the affordances of complex tools now made open source.
EasyFind is an alternative to (or supplement of) Spotlight to find files, folders, or contents in any file without indexing.
... because it finally finds stuff Spotlight doesn't! You can also use wildcards like *.jpg, and similar. (although you have to first choose "wildcard mode" with the radio buttons) It works and searches quite fast, too, I wonder if it uses Spotlight's index database with a much better interface a search results list. Recommended.
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It is not an alternative to Spotlight or to KRunner.