mdfind — Spotlight Search from the Command Line

mdfind searches the Spotlight index straight from the command line – which makes it noticeably faster than find, because it queries a ready-made database instead of walking through directories. You can search not only by filename, but by content and metadata too: images above a certain resolution, files from a particular download, anything changed since yesterday. Using kMDItem attributes, you can build surprisingly precise queries. This guide walks you through the commands you reach for daily – rounded out with mdls for reading a file's metadata and mdutil for managing the index itself.

mdfind — Basic Search

mdfind '<query>' — Search for files matching a query (like Spotlight).

mdfind 'invoice 2026'

mdfind -name '<filename>' — Search by filename only.

mdfind -name 'docker-compose.yml'

mdfind -onlyin <dir> '<query>' — Limit search to a specific directory.

mdfind -onlyin ~/Projects 'TODO'

mdfind -count '<query>' — Show only the count of matching files.

mdfind -count -name '*.pdf'

mdfind -live '<query>' — Continuously watch for new matches (live query).

mdfind -live 'screenshot'

mdfind — Metadata Queries

mdfind 'kMDItemContentType == "<type>"' — Find files by content type (UTI).

mdfind 'kMDItemContentType == "public.png-image"'

mdfind 'kMDItemKind == "<kind>"' — Find files by kind.

mdfind 'kMDItemKind == "PDF Document"'

mdfind 'kMDItemFSSize > <bytes>' — Find files larger than a specific size.

mdfind 'kMDItemFSSize > 100000000'

mdfind 'kMDItemContentModificationDate > $time.today(-7)' — Find files modified in the last 7 days.

mdfind 'kMDItemContentModificationDate > $time.today(-7)'

mdfind 'kMDItemWhereFroms == "*example.com*"' — Find files downloaded from a specific domain.

mdfind 'kMDItemWhereFroms == "*github.com*"'

mdfind 'kMDItemPixelWidth > 3000 && kMDItemContentType == "public.jpeg"' — Find high-resolution JPEG images.

mdfind 'kMDItemPixelWidth > 3000 && kMDItemContentType == "public.jpeg"'

mdls — File Metadata

mdls <file> — Show all Spotlight metadata attributes of a file.

mdls photo.jpg

mdls -name <attribute> <file> — Show a specific metadata attribute.

mdls -name kMDItemContentType document.pdf

mdls -name kMDItemPixelWidth -name kMDItemPixelHeight <file> — Show multiple specific attributes.

mdls -name kMDItemPixelWidth -name kMDItemPixelHeight photo.png

mdls -name kMDItemWhereFroms <file> — Show where a file was downloaded from.

mdls -name kMDItemWhereFroms ~/Downloads/installer.pkg

mdls -name kMDItemDurationSeconds <file> — Show duration of an audio/video file.

mdls -name kMDItemDurationSeconds song.mp3

Spotlight Index Management

mdutil -s / — Show Spotlight indexing status for a volume.

mdutil -s /

mdutil -i on / — Enable Spotlight indexing on a volume.

sudo mdutil -i on /

mdutil -i off <volume> — Disable Spotlight indexing on a volume.

sudo mdutil -i off /Volumes/External

mdutil -E / — Erase and rebuild the Spotlight index.

sudo mdutil -E /

Common Patterns

mdfind -name '.env' -onlyin ~/Projects — Find all .env files in your projects.

mdfind -name '.env' -onlyin ~/Projects

mdfind 'kMDItemContentType == "com.apple.application-bundle"' -onlyin /Applications — List all applications.

mdfind 'kMDItemContentType == "com.apple.application-bundle"' -onlyin /Applications

mdfind -name '<filename>' | head -1 | xargs open — Find a file and open it immediately.

mdfind -name 'readme.md' | head -1 | xargs open

mdfind 'kMDItemFSCreationDate > $time.today(-1)' -onlyin ~/Downloads — Find files downloaded today.

mdfind 'kMDItemFSCreationDate > $time.today(-1)' -onlyin ~/Downloads

Conclusion

On indexed volumes, mdfind is almost always the faster choice over find: it queries the prebuilt Spotlight index instead of traversing the file system. The key caveat: it only finds what is actually indexed – system paths, excluded folders, or volumes with indexing turned off simply won't show up. When in doubt, check the status with mdutil -s, and use mdls to inspect a file's kMDItem attributes so you can refine your queries. Once you grasp how Spotlight collects metadata, a single precise query can replace many awkward find constructions.