Find Any File 2.6.1 — Mac version

Compatibility is refreshingly broad. Find Any File 2.6.1 runs on anything from macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) right up to the latest release the developer lists as macOS 27. It's a tidy, focused utility that feels at home on an old MacBook rescued from a drawer or a current machine.

Mounting network shares Spotlight ignores

• It reads any disk you can mount, including network shares and volumes Spotlight never indexes.
• The hierarchical results view makes sense of a mess of folders without flattening everything into a single list.
• Plain text search digs into unformatted content inside files — configs, logs, and raw data — not just filenames.
• You can combine filters for name, date, and size to narrow a search before a single result appears.
• AppleScript support arrived in the 2.6 release, so you can fold it into your own workflow scripts.

The Spotlight companion

Think of it as a companion to Spotlight, not a replacement. When Spotlight's index gets fussy or you need to comb through a dusty backup drive, Find Any File steps in. It searches what you point it at, no index required. The new columns for Comments, Trashed and Hidden items help spot the clutter that normally stays out of sight.

Shortcuts and quiet tricks

Most people launch the app, type a name and hit return. There's more tucked away.

• Drag a folder onto the Dock icon to set it as the search location instantly. Works from Finder or Path Finder.
• Option-click the search button in the toolbar to restart the last search without retyping anything. Handy when you've tweaked a filter and want a fresh run.
• Right-click any result row to reveal the file in Finder or copy its full POSIX path. If you're stitching together shell scripts, that path copy saves a lot of pecking at the keyboard.
• Hold Shift while opening a result to reveal the enclosing folder instead of launching the file. Small thing, but it stops you opening a plist by accident when you only wanted to see its neighbours.
• Use the "Kind" filter for a quick win. Type pdf or app and the app narrows results to that file type without a separate dropdown hunt.

Firing off searches from an AppleScript

Version 2.6 was a quiet release that added muscle where it counts. AppleScript support means you can now fire off a search from a script and act on the results — useful if you run a regular tidy-up on a shared drive. The Comments column puts Finder comments front and centre, and the app got better at actually finding them. The Trashed and Hidden columns bring forgotten bits into view: files you binned but haven't emptied, and items buried by a leading dot or a Finder flag. For anyone who has ever hunted a half-deleted config file, those columns earn their keep fast.

Bypassing the unidentified-developer block

"It won't open because it's from an unidentified developer."
Mount the disk image, run the Open Gatekeeper friendly file, and press Enter in the Terminal window that appears. Then drag the app to your Applications folder and launch it. That's the whole dance.

Search turns up too much.
Stack your filters. Combine a name fragment with a date range and a minimum file size. The power is in narrowing before the scan finishes, not scrolling through a haystack afterwards.

Can't find text inside a file.
Find Any File reads plain, unformatted text. It won't search inside Word docs, PDFs or Mail messages — that's Spotlight's job. If you need to dig through rich documents, a tool like any to iso mac won't help here, but knowing the boundary saves frustration.

Results feel sluggish on a network volume.
That's normal. The app reads the disk directly rather than leaning on a pre-built index. On a slow NAS, give it a moment and narrow the scope — one folder tree instead of the whole share makes a real difference.

• AppleScript support added so you can run searches from your own scripts.
• New columns: Comments, Trashed, and Hidden.
• Comment-finding is now more reliable.

• macOS 10.11 or newer
• Runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs