Features

Search

Easily find the right filter setting. File Find has many filter options, with them you can find and filter for almost everything. For a detailed overview, have a look at the How to section below. Right-clicking the find button is going to show more options.

You can start multiple searches at once and see their status by clicking the File Find icon in the menu-bar and going to Searches: >

You can export your set filters as a .FFFilter file, load them again, share them or even set them as a default in the settings.

Efficiently locate your files.

The search results window in File Find provides a simple overview over all found files. Double clicking a path will reveal the file or folder in Finder or File Explorer. There are even more if you go to Tools in the menu bar. You can also find duplicated files. You can save this search as a .FFSearch file by going to File > Save Search. To compare the opened search to an other saved search, click the compare icon on the top right.

Compare your searches.

You can easily compare two searches, one stored and the other opened. To do this, open a search by either loading it from a .FFSearch file or by setting filter options and pressing Find. Then in the results window either press the compare icon or go to Tools > Compare to other Search... This has many use-cases e.g. seeing which files an application installled or finding moved files.

Find duplicated files.

You can easily find duplicated files in every search. Possible (duplication) criterias are: File name, File size or File content. You can even set a matching-percentage so that for example the file name could be up to 90% similar. The duplicated files are sorted in groups. In the results window either press the duplicated icon on the top right or go to Tools > Find duplicated files....

How to

Basic-Tab

Name: Multiple different modes can be selected.

Name is: Input needs to match the file name exactly. Also supports unix shell-style wildcards, which are not the same as regular expressions.

Usage:

Pattern	Meaning
*	matches everything
?	matches any single character
[seq]	matches any character in seq
[!seq]	matches any character not in seq

Name contains: The file name must contain input.
Name begins with: The file name must start with the input
Name ends with: The file name (without the file ending) must end with input. So mple would match with Example.txt.
Name is similar to: Performs a fuzzy search. So amp matches with Example.txt. Matching percentage can be set separately.
Name doesn't contain: Input must not be included in its entirety in the file name.
Name in RegEx: Does a regular expression pattern matching. For a detailed explanation refer to: https://regular-expressions.info

File Types: Select groups of file types that should be included in search results. Click Custom to change selection mode and input a file type (e.g. pdf) without the . that needs to match the file ending of a file exactly, ignoring case. Multiple possible file types can be separated with a semicolon (for example: png;jpg;heic) Click Predefined to switch back. Only the currently visible mode will be taken into account.
Directory: The directory to search in. Excluding subdirectory is possible in Advanced

Properties-Tab

File contains: Allows you to search in files. Input must be in the file content. This option can take really long. Your input is case-sensitive.
Date created and modified: Specify a date range for the date the file has been created / modified, leave at default to ignore.
File size: Input specifies file size in a range from min to max. Select the unit (Byte, Megabyte, Gigabyte...) on the right. Select No Limit to only set a minimum or maximum value.

Advanced-Tab

Limit folder depth: Toggle to include/exclude subdirectories or their subdirectories. Entering a custom number sets the maximum amount of subdirectories in which files are still included.
- 0 or No subfolders means that ony the files directly in the specified directory will be included
- 1 means only the files in the folders that are directly in the specified dir will be considered...
Only search for folders or files: Toggle to only include folders or files in the search results.
Search in system files: Toggle to include files in the system and library folders.

Sorting-Tab

Sorting: Possible sorting options:
- None (fastest)
- File size
- File name
- Date modified
- Date created
- Path: Sorting Path alphabetically
Reverse Sort: Reverse the sorted search results (last comes first). Only appears if a search option is selected.

Frequently Asked Question

Q: What is File Find and how does it work?

A: File Find is an open-source Utility for macOS, Windows and Linux, that makes it easy to find files. To search fill in the filters you need and leave the filters you don't need empty.

Q: Why doesn't File Find find my file/folder?

A: Try the following steps:
- By default (on a fresh install) File Find finds every file/folder except internal system files in the Library or System folders. You can enable them under Advanced.
- Maybe you haven't granted all the permission necessary to find every file. There are also some files that are only accessible to File Find by granting Full Disk Access. To do this open System Preferences, go to Security & Privacy and then add or activate File Find under Full Disk Access.
- File Find uses its own caching algorithm. Scanning results are stored and reused for a faster search. On default this cache gets cleared every two hours. You can clear the cache manually with ⌘ + T on macOS (on Windows/Linux: Ctrl + T). Or right-click on the Find button and select Search and create new cache for selected folder.
- Check the excluded files list in the settings. Files listed there will not show up.
- Press ⌘ + R on macOS (on Windows/Linux: Ctrl + R) to reset all filter settings to default and make sure the file actually meets the given criteria.
- If none of these options help, create a Bug Report.
Q: Why can't I open File Find?

A: On macOS, if you get a message like

“File Find.app” Not Opened
Apple could not verify “File Find.app” is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy.

it is because File Find isn't signed with an Developer Certificate, which has to be acquired by Apple at around 99$. I currently do not have one nor plan on buying one soon. MacOS flags everyone who doesn't have one as "potentially unwanted software". To bypass this you have to press Done, open System Preferences, go to Privacy & Security, scroll down to "File Find.app" was blocked to protect your Mac. and press Open Anyway. There is going to be another Popup, in which you'll have to press Open Anyway again.
Q: Why does File Find sometimes freeze?

A: It is possible that for example reloading files or building the UI at the end of a search can cause File Find to freeze. Just wait a few seconds!
Q: How do I clean the cache?

A: File Find uses its own caching algorithm. Scanning results are stored and reused for a faster search. On default this cache gets cleared every two hours. You can change this behavior in the preferences. You can clear the cache manually with ⌘ + T on macOS (on Windows/Linux: Ctrl + T). Or right click on the Find button and select Search and create new cache for selected folder.
Q: Why does File Find ask for permission for Contacts, Calenders, Photos, etc...?

A: File Find scans the entire specified directory, even if files are excluded they are scanned first and then sorted out. Your photos, calendar data, contacts etc. are stored in a library folder, which means that File Find scans them. File Find does not connect to the internet at all, everything stays on your machine. You could also press Do not allow, the associated files will not appear in your search results.

Q: Why does File Find ask for permission for Downloads, Desktop, Documents, etc...?

A: On macOS if an app scans a directory this popup will automatically appear. If you press Don't allow, File Find will still be able to scan those files, but you are not going to be able to save searches in those directories.

Q: Does File Find connect to the Internet?

A: No.