Every file, about 5 milliseconds
Find works from the same scan as Broom's disk map. On an M4 MacBook Air that's 1.78 million files, searched by name in about 5 milliseconds. There's no content indexing to wait for and no folders it quietly skips: ~/Library, dotfiles and app bundles are all in there.
Matching ignores case for every script, so É finds é, and matched letters are highlighted in each result.
Stays current without rescanning
Broom listens to macOS file system events, so files you create, rename or delete show up in results right away. When you reopen the app it replays what changed while it was closed instead of scanning again.
Filters that narrow it down
- Type:
ext:pdfin the search box, or pick a kind: developer files, images, video, audio, documents, archives, apps, caches and logs. - Size: over 1 MB, 100 MB or 1 GB. Pick a kind and leave the name empty to list every big video, archive or disk image.
- Date: changed in the last 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days or year.
- Folder: the whole Mac or just one folder.
Keyboard-first
Arrow keys move through results, Return opens the file, ⌘R reveals it in Finder and ⌘Y opens Quick Look. Anything you don't need can go straight into the cleanup queue.
Questions
Is Broom a Spotlight alternative?
For finding files by name, yes. It searches every file, including hidden and Library folders, and returns results in milliseconds. It doesn't search inside documents or launch apps.
Why can't Spotlight find my file?
Spotlight skips folders it hasn't indexed, hidden folders, and anything excluded under Spotlight privacy settings. A name search over the whole disk, like Broom's Find, doesn't.
How do I search for files by extension on Mac?
In Broom, type ext: followed by the extension, like ext:mov, alone or after part of a name. In Terminal, find ~ -name "*.mov" does the same more slowly.
Does Find work offline?
Yes. Search runs on your Mac and nothing leaves it.