Command line and power tools

One-page search reference

Updated 2026-07-31 · 5 min read

The commands and shortcuts from across this site, collected.

Shortcuts

Keys	Does
⌘Space	Spotlight
⌥⌘Space	Finder search window
⌘F	Search in current Finder window
⇧⌘G	Go to typed path
⇧⌘.	Toggle hidden files
Space	Quick Look
⌥⌘C	Copy full path
⌘↑	Enclosing folder
⌘I	Get Info

Spotlight maintenance

mdutil -s /                     # index status
sudo mdutil -E /                # rebuild
sudo mdutil -i on /             # enable indexing
sudo mdimport -R                # rebuild importer cache
mdimport /path/to/file          # re-import one file
mdls /path/to/file              # show all metadata

Searching

mdfind "term"                          # names and contents
mdfind -name term                      # names only
mdfind -onlyin ~/Library "term"        # a folder Spotlight hides
mdfind -count "term"                   # how many
mdfind "kMDItemFSSize > 1073741824"    # over 1 GB

find ~ -iname "*term*"                 # case-insensitive name
find ~ -type f -size +100M             # over 100 MB
find ~ -type f -mtime -7               # modified this week
find ~ -type d -name node_modules -prune   # skip build dirs
find / -name "x" 2>/dev/null           # hide permission noise

Contents

grep -r "term" ~/Documents
rg "term"                              # ripgrep, much faster
rg -t swift "func name"                # one file type

Disk usage

du -h -d 2 ~ | sort -hr | head -25
tmutil listlocalsnapshots /
diskutil info / | grep -i free

Archives

unzip -l archive.zip | grep -i term
tar -tf archive.tar.gz | grep -i term

Search syntax, where supported

ext:pdf            size:>100mb        dm:today
path:Downloads     "exact name"       /regex/
a | b              !exclude

Common questions

What is the single most useful search command on macOS?

mdfind -name term for speed, find ~ -iname "*term*" for completeness.

How do I search a folder Spotlight hides?

mdfind -onlyin ~/Library "term" — the index often has files the interface will not show.