For Everything users · checked 25 October 2026
Everything for Mac? Meet Espresso.
Everything by voidtools runs only on Windows: there is no Mac version. Espresso is the closest thing on a Mac. It keeps its own index of the name and path of every file on every disk, updates results on every keystroke, follows changes live, and understands the same search language (wildcards, | for OR, ! for NOT, regex:, size:, dm:, ext:, dupe:). It also keeps disks searchable after you unplug them. Espresso Free is free for personal use; Espresso Pro is €29 once.
What carries over from Everything.
Feature by feature: what you use in Everything on Windows, and what it is in Espresso on a Mac.
| In Everything (Windows) | In Espresso (Mac) |
|---|---|
| Index of every file and folder name on NTFS volumes, kept current with the USN Journal | Its own index of every disk macOS can mount (APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32, NTFS read-only), kept current with FSEvents: about 16 ms from a change to the result |
| Results on every keystroke, in a sortable list | The same: every match, sorted by any column, as you type |
| Search syntax: AND, | OR, ! NOT, < > groups, wildcards, regex:, size:, dm:, ext: | The same syntax, typed the same way; where fsearch or FinderSearch disagree, Everything’s meaning wins |
| Filters (Audio, Video, Picture, Document…) | Blends: Everything, Audio, Video, Images, Documents, Folders, Archives, Code, Applications, on ⌘1–⌘9 |
| Bookmarks and search macros | Saved searches (Your Usual, ⌘S) and macros: projects: → infolder:~/Projects !node_modules |
| dupe: and sizedupe: | dupe: and sizedupe:, also in Free |
| content: reads files at search time, because contents are not indexed | Pro: content: searches text read slowly in the background, so a search doesn’t open every file; looks: finds what photos show |
| FAT, exFAT and network drives added by hand in Options › Folders | Every mounted disk is indexed; network shares (SMB, NFS) when you turn them on |
| Unplugged volumes leave the results | Unplugged disks stay searchable, marked offline: 2 in Free, unlimited in Pro |
| A global hotkey for the search window (optional) | The Shot: a search panel on ⌥ Space, from any app |
| ES, the command-line interface | Pro: the espresso command, with JSON output, plus Shortcuts, Raycast, Alfred and an MCP server for AI assistants |
| ETP/FTP and HTTP servers | None: Espresso searches only on your Mac and sends nothing about your files anywhere |
| Freeware, donations welcome | Free for personal, non-commercial use; Pro €29 once for work, every update, up to 3 Macs |
The syntax you already know.
Type these the way you type them in Everything. Each one works in Espresso as written, in the main window, in the ⌥ Space panel and from the command line.
| You type | Finds |
|---|---|
report 2026 | names with both words |
jpg | png | either word |
!draft | names without the word |
<invoice | receipt> 2026 | grouping |
"annual report" | an exact phrase |
IMG_*.heic | wildcards, matched against the whole name |
regex:^IMG_\d+\.jpg$ | a regular expression on names |
case:README ww:art | match case, whole words |
startwith:IMG endwith:final wfn:song.mp3 | start, end, whole file name |
ext:jpg;png;heic | extensions |
size:>1gb size:huge | sizes, presets from empty to gigantic |
dm:today dc:lastweek da:thismonth | modified, created, last opened |
dm:2026-01-01..2026-03-31 | date ranges |
parent:~/Desktop depth:2 root: | where the item is |
file: folder: empty: | files, folders, empty folders |
audio: video: pic: doc: zip: | kinds |
dupe: ext:pdf | duplicate names |
len:>100 count:20 | long names, at most 20 results |
width:>3000 height:1080 | image and video dimensions |
content: works too, with Espresso Pro. Every operator, filter and function is on one page:
Espresso search syntax.
What changes on a Mac.
Not Espresso’s choices, macOS’s: a few habits from Windows need a small change.
| On Windows, in Everything | On a Mac, in Espresso |
|---|---|
| A backslash searches the full path: docs\invoices | A slash does: docs/invoices (or path:invoices) |
| Drive letters: C:\ or D: | Disk names: disk:Backup, or online: / offline: |
| attrib:H for hidden files | hidden:, and Lungo in the toolbar to include hidden files and app contents |
| exe: for programs | app: for applications |
| Exact matching only | Exact by default too; Forgive Typos (⌥⌘F) forgives one or two mistakes per word when you want it |
Other Everything-style apps for the Mac.
Espresso isn’t the only answer. These also find files by name on a Mac; the comparison of eleven Mac search apps puts the main ones side by side, with sources.
- Find Any File: no index: reads the disk at every search, contents included.
- ProFind: its own search with an optional disk cache, content search with OCR.
- Oil Find: open source, own index with FSEvents, Apple silicon, offline disks and contents in its $9.99 Pro.
- Cardinal: open source, Everything-compatible syntax, macOS 12+.
- EverythingMac: open source, own index of all volumes with FSEvents, macOS 14+.
- Locseek: own index; free for Desktop, Documents and Downloads, external disks in Pro.
Questions, answered short.
- Is there an Everything for Mac?
- No. Everything by voidtools runs only on Windows. Espresso brings the same idea to macOS: an index of every file name on every disk, results on every keystroke and the same search syntax.
- What is the best alternative to Everything on a Mac?
- If you want what Everything does — find any file by name, instantly, on every disk, with the same syntax — Espresso is built for exactly that, and also keeps unplugged disks searchable. If you only search occasionally and want nothing indexed, Find Any File reads the disk at every search. If you need a launcher that also finds files, Raycast or Alfred. Our comparison of eleven Mac search apps has the details and the sources.
- Does Espresso understand Everything’s search syntax?
- Yes. Spaces for AND, | for OR, ! for NOT, < > for groups, quotes, * and ? wildcards, and the functions Everything users rely on — regex:, case:, ww:, path:, ext:, size: with its presets, dm:, dc:, da:, parent:, depth:, file:, folder:, dupe:, sizedupe:, len:, count: — work as written. The differences come from macOS itself: paths use / instead of \, disks have names instead of letters, and there are no Windows attributes.
- Is Espresso free like Everything?
- Espresso Free is free forever for personal, non-commercial use, with every disk, live updates, the full search syntax and two offline disks. Using it for work needs Espresso Pro: €29 once, every update, up to 3 Macs, with a 14-day free trial.
- Is Spotlight good enough instead of Everything?
- Spotlight answers a different question: it searches what files say and shows a few ranked results. It leaves out hidden files and app contents, and it can’t search a disk that isn’t connected. For Everything-style name search, use a dedicated index such as Espresso; many people keep both.
- How fast is Espresso compared with Everything?
- Both answer while you type. We haven’t measured them side by side, because they run on different operating systems. Measured on a MacBook Air M2 (15 October 2026), Espresso finds every “invoice” among 1,856,094 files in 0.14 ms, and a new file shows up in results in about 16 ms. The raw data is published on our comparison page.
- Does Espresso index external drives and NAS shares?
- Every disk macOS can mount is indexed: internal, USB and Thunderbolt drives, SD cards, in APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32 or NTFS. Network shares (SMB, NFS) are indexed when you turn them on. Disks you unplug stay searchable.
Sources, checked 25 October 2026
- voidtools: Everything FAQ (https://www.voidtools.com/faq/)
- voidtools: Searching (syntax) (https://www.voidtools.com/support/everything/searching/)
- Espresso: search syntax (https://docs.espressoformac.com/search-syntax)
- Espresso: disks (https://docs.espressoformac.com/disks)
- Espresso: inside files (Pro) (https://docs.espressoformac.com/inside-files)
- Espresso: command line and automation (Pro) (https://docs.espressoformac.com/automation)
Everything is a product of voidtools. Espresso is not affiliated with voidtools.