Spotlight in macOS Tahoe – macOS Tahoe 26 introduces one of the most impressive Spotlight upgrades in years. With a refreshed interface, built-in clipboard access, and brand-new Actions that let you run app-specific tasks directly from search, Spotlight is now more powerful—and more convenient—than ever.
There’s plenty of hidden functionality tucked into the new design, so we’ve created a simple guide to help you get the most out of Spotlight’s expanded features.
Getting Started With Spotlight
You can open Spotlight anytime by pressing Command (⌘) + Space Bar or by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the menu bar.
The main Spotlight window remains the fastest way to locate almost anything on your Mac. Just start typing to instantly surface:
- Apps
- Documents
- Emails
- Contacts
- Web results
- Dictionary definitions
You can drag files from Spotlight directly to your desktop or into a Finder window, or simply open them by double-clicking or pressing Return.
Spotlight still supports many useful features added over the years, including the ability to perform calculations, convert units, check flight status, and view local weather.
When Spotlight is open, moving your pointer reveals four icons on the right side of the window—Apps, Files, Actions, and Clipboard. You can click to browse these sections or jump to them instantly using keyboard shortcuts:
- ⌘ + Space + 1 — Apps
- ⌘ + Space + 2 — Files
- ⌘ + Space + 3 — Actions
- ⌘ + Space + 4 — Clipboard
We’ll walk through each mode later, but first, let’s explore Spotlight’s system-wide search filters.
Filter Your Searches With Categories
As you begin typing, Spotlight automatically displays category suggestions like Screenshots, System Settings, or Folders. Click any category to immediately filter results.
Filter Results by Location
If you know where a file is stored, you can narrow the search based on location. For example:
- Type iCloud Drive
- Press Tab
- Enter the file name
- Press Return
Spotlight will now look only in that destination.
Reveal a File’s Location
When a file in the results is highlighted, hold Command (⌘) to show its location path beneath the name. You can double-click that path to open the folder directly in Finder.
Filter by App or Item Type
Spotlight lets you restrict searches to a specific app. Just type the app name (like Notes or Calendar) and press Tab, then enter your search terms.
You can also search by item type using a slash:
/PDF/folder/image
Or use Apple’s “kind” keywords in the search bar, such as:
kind:images Edinburgh
Below are commonly supported keywords:
| Item Type | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Apps | kind:app, kind:application |
| Contacts | kind:contact |
| Folders | kind:folder |
| kind:email, kind:mail message | |
| Calendar Events | kind:event |
| Reminders | kind:reminder |
| Images | kind:image |
| Movies | kind:movie |
| Audio | kind:audio |
| Music | kind:music |
| PDFs | kind:pdf |
| Settings | kind:settings |
| Bookmarks | kind:bookmark |
| Fonts | kind:font |
| Presentations | kind:presentation |
Refine Searches With Additional Keywords
Spotlight also understands contextual keywords such as:
- from:
- to:
- author:
- tag:
- title:
- name:
- contains:
For example:
author:Johntitle:Jonggol
These extra filters make it easy to pinpoint exactly what you need.
