Better Spotlight

A fast, native Spotlight replacement for macOS, built with Rust and GPUI—the GPU-accelerated UI framework behind Zed.

Download the latest release

Features

• Instant fuzzy search over your applications
• Real app icons decoded from .icns bundles
• Keyboard-first: type to search, arrows to navigate, Enter to launch
• Mouse support with hover selection and double-click launch
• File and folder search backed by the macOS Spotlight index
• Finder-native file and folder icons with grouped results
• Calculator expressions with Enter-to-copy results
• Private, in-memory clipboard history with search and deletion controls
• Background accessory with no Dock or ⌘Tab presence
• Borderless floating panel, shown only when invoked
• Configurable global shortcut (⌘Space by default)

Install

1. Download Better-Spotlight.dmg from the latest GitHub Release.
2. Open the DMG and drag Better Spotlight into Applications.
3. Open Better Spotlight once from Applications.
4. Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Spotlight and turn off Show Spotlight search.
5. Press ⌘Space to open Better Spotlight.

Disabling the shortcut only replaces Apple's Spotlight window. macOS Spotlight indexing remains enabled and powers Better Spotlight's file search.

To start Better Spotlight automatically, go to System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions, click + under Open at Login, and select Better Spotlight.

Local setup

Requirements:

• macOS 13 or later
• Stable Rust toolchain
• Xcode with the Metal Toolchain

Clone and run the packaged app locally:

git clone https://github.com/starc007/better-spotlight.git
cd better-spotlight
rustup default stable
xcodebuild -downloadComponent MetalToolchain
./scripts/run-local.sh

This builds and opens the local .app bundle, so macOS loads the app name, icon, and other bundle metadata. Use cargo run only for a faster raw-binary development cycle; a raw executable does not include the macOS app icon or other bundle metadata.

Better Spotlight registers ⌘Space when it starts. macOS owns that shortcut by default, so disable System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Spotlight → Show Spotlight search before launching the app. If registration fails, the launcher remains usable and shows the reason in its footer.

Run the complete validation suite:

cargo fmt --check
cargo test
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings

Configuration

Custom shortcut

Create ~/Library/Application Support/Better Spotlight/config and set a shortcut using super, shift, alt, or control plus a key:

shortcut = super+shift+Space

Restart Better Spotlight after changing the file. You can temporarily override the file with BETTER_SPOTLIGHT_SHORTCUT, for example BETTER_SPOTLIGHT_SHORTCUT=alt+Space cargo run.

File results come from the macOS Spotlight index. If expected personal files do not appear, allow Better Spotlight under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Files & Folders, and confirm the location is not excluded from Spotlight.

Clipboard history

Press ⌘⇧V while Better Spotlight is open to switch to clipboard history. Type to filter captured text, use the arrow keys to navigate, and press Enter to copy the selected entry. Press ⌘⌫ twice to delete the selected entry, or use the visible Delete and Clear all controls with their confirmation step.

Clipboard history stays in memory, is limited to the 50 most recent unique text entries, and is erased when Better Spotlight quits. Images and files are not captured.

Package locally

Create an ad-hoc signed application bundle and zip archive:

./scripts/package.sh
open "dist/Better Spotlight.app"

Public releases are distributed as a universal, Developer ID-signed and notarized DMG attached to GitHub Releases. Signing and notarization happen locally so Apple credentials never leave the release Mac. See docs/releasing.md for the release process.

Roadmap

• Global hotkey (⌘Space) toggle
• File search via Spotlight metadata
• Calculator
• Clipboard history
• Plugin system

License

MIT