Shotlight for Mac
Downloading. Next: open it the first time (one extra step).
Free while in early access. No account, and Shotlight never connects to the internet.
4ec0c8f62c078630e760b28a596382c887bc2d6e7fac7643cf2c5e0bf1ca43f3One extra step.
This early build isn’t signed by Apple yet. Apple only vouches for apps from developers in its paid program, and Shotlight hasn’t joined yet, so macOS asks you to confirm that you trust it.
- 01Drag Shotlight to ApplicationsOpen the downloaded
Shotlight-0.3.0.dmgand drag the app onto the Applications folder. - 02Open it, then click DonemacOS says it can’t verify the app. Click Done, not Move to Trash.
- 03Click Open Anyway in System SettingsOpen System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down to Security, click Open Anyway next to Shotlight, and confirm with your password.
- 04That’s itShotlight appears in the menu bar and walks you through a short setup. From now on it opens normally.
Good to know
- You do this once per version. After an update, macOS may also ask again for access to your Desktop. Both go away once Shotlight is signed by Apple.
- Prefer Terminal? After step 1, this does the same as steps 2 and 3:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Shotlight.app - To check the download, run
shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Shotlight.dmgand compare it with the SHA-256 above.
Updating
Shotlight never checks for updates by itself, because it never goes online. To update, download the latest version here and replace the app in Applications. Your names, search index and settings stay as they are. New versions are listed in the changelog.
Uninstalling
Quit Shotlight from its menu, then move it from Applications to the Trash. To remove its search index too, delete ~/Library/Application Support/Shotlight. Your screenshots keep their new names.