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wtf is foundit?

catnologies/foundit — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

4Audience · generalComplexity · 1/5Setup · easy

TL;DR

Foundit is a macOS menu-bar app that lets you search the current Finder folder in place, without opening a new search tab.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Foundit))
    What it does
      In-place Finder search
      Highlights matches
      Keyboard navigation
    Features
      Custom shortcut
      Light Dark Auto theme
      Hide menu-bar icon
      No background scanning
    Requirements
      macOS Sonoma 14+
      Accessibility permission
    Distribution
      Ko-fi download
      Independent developer

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Quickly find a file or subfolder by name inside the Finder folder you already have open.

REASON 2

Jump between matching results with the keyboard instead of scrolling manually.

REASON 3

Keep a distraction-free workflow by avoiding Finder's separate search view.

What's in the stack?

macOSFinder

How it stacks up

catnologies/foundit0labs-in/vision-link1038lab/agnes-ai
Stars444
LanguageTypeScriptPython
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity1/53/52/5
Audiencegeneraldevelopervibe coder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires macOS Sonoma 14.0+ and granting Accessibility permission, app is downloaded via Ko-fi, not the App Store.

No license information is provided in the README.

Wtf does this do

Foundit is a small macOS app that adds fast, in-place search to Finder. Instead of opening a separate search tab or window like Finder's built-in search does, you stay in the exact folder you are already browsing and search only that folder for a matching file or subfolder name. To use it, you open a Finder folder, click Foundit's magnifying-glass icon in the menu bar, or press a keyboard shortcut, then start typing part of a file or folder name. Matching items get highlighted directly inside Finder as you type, and you can press Return or use the up and down arrow keys to move through the results one by one. According to the README, there is no background scanning of your whole drive, so the app is meant to stay light and quick rather than indexing everything up front. Other listed features include a customizable keyboard shortcut so you can trigger the search however feels natural, support for Light, Dark, and Auto appearance so it matches your system theme, and the option to hide the menu-bar icon entirely if you prefer a cleaner menu bar. The app requires macOS Sonoma 14.0 or later, plus Accessibility permission, which the README says is used only to highlight and order the matching items inside Finder, not for anything else. Foundit is built and maintained by a single independent developer rather than a company or team. It is distributed through Ko-fi instead of the Mac App Store: you support the project there with a payment, and in return you receive a link to download the latest version of the app. If you regularly dig through crowded folders in Finder and find the built-in search view clunky or slow to open, Foundit is positioned as a quick, focused alternative that keeps you inside the folder you are already looking at instead of switching to a separate search screen.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Explain how Foundit's in-place Finder search differs from macOS's built-in Finder search.
Prompt 2
What macOS version and permissions does Foundit require to run?
Prompt 3
How do I set a custom keyboard shortcut to launch Foundit?
Prompt 4
Walk me through downloading and installing Foundit after supporting it on Ko-fi.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is foundit?

Foundit is a macOS menu-bar app that lets you search the current Finder folder in place, without opening a new search tab.

What license does foundit use?

No license information is provided in the README.

How hard is foundit to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is foundit for?

Mainly general.

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