Open source alternatives to Spotlight

3 projects on starwire do the same job. Ranked by how much of what Spotlight does each one covers, read from its README and website. Ties go to the most active.

What Spotlight does

Launch apps from the keyboardcore
Search files and documentscore
Search inside file contents
Quick calculations and conversions
Web and dictionary answers
Quick actions

Each dot in the table is one job, in this order. Square dots are core jobs and count double. Full means yes, half means partly. "See the evidence" under a project shows the line behind each one. Coverage is what a project documents, not how well it works or how hard it is to move to. How we score this

Project	Covers	Stars	Commits, 12 weeks	Last release	Closed vs opened	Setup	License
Flow.LauncherWindows file search and app launcher with a plugin system	Replaces it94%	16k+48	89	55 days ago	100%	Install like an app	MIT
Covers all 2 core jobs. Partly: Web and dictionary answers.See the evidence Launch apps from the keyboardcoreYesSearch for apps, files or file contents. Search files and documentscoreYesSearch for apps, files or file contents. Search inside file contentsYesSearch for apps, files or file contents. Quick calculations and conversionsYesDo mathematical calculations and copy the result to clipboard. Web and dictionary answersPartlyWeb Searches & URLs Quick actionsYesProvides system related commands.
SuperCmdKeyboard launcher for macOS with a command palette and clipboard history	Replaces it75%	3.2k+5	0	5 months ago	30%	Install like an app	MIT
Covers all 2 core jobs. Not shown: Search inside file contents; Web and dictionary answers.See the evidence Launch apps from the keyboardcoreYesApp file launcher Search files and documentscoreYesfast indexed file search Search inside file contentsNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it. Quick calculations and conversionsYesCalculator Inline math from the bar Web and dictionary answersNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it. Quick actionsYesSystem commands** — Sleep, Restart, Lock Screen
DigUpOn-device search over photos, PDFs, recordings, and code using embeddings	Covers one part38%	6.4k+100	204	24 days ago	43%	Install like an app	MIT
Covers 1 of 2 core jobs. Not shown: Launch apps from the keyboard; Quick calculations and conversions; Web and dictionary answers; Quick actions.See the evidence Launch apps from the keyboardcoreNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it. Search files and documentscoreYesSearch the files on your computer by what's in them Search inside file contentsYesthe clause about pets in the lease Quick calculations and conversionsNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it. Web and dictionary answersNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it. Quick actionsNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.

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