Cardinal file search for macOS
Ranked 2 of 3 file search tools by recommenders
Recommended as a fast, accurate, free file search app for macOS; one caveat is that search may not update after a file is deleted.
Recommended as a fast, accurate, free file search app for macOS; one caveat is that search may not update after a file is deleted.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Search doesn't update after file deletion
“the current search doesn't update when you delete a file that's in it”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Cardinal: Fastest file searching tool for macOS”
Other file search tools people recommend
The two most recommended other file search tools, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everything by voidtools | 78 | 4 | 95% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Cardinal file search for macOSThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Recoll | 6 | 1 | 86% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Fastest and most accurate file search app for macOS.”
“Cardinal is a free modular eurorack synth you could mess around with”
“Cardinal/Rack (or even PD) are approximately infinitely better than anything we could or would do.”
“Surge-XT, Vitalium and/or PlugData or Cardinal can get you so far on the synthesis world”
“although there are good ones: lsp, decent sampler, cardinal, surge”
“the current search doesn't update when you delete a file that's in it”
“Holy crap, thanks for sharing this.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.