Lightspot
A Spotlight replacement for macOS with no file indexing, sub-millisecond search and 0% idle CPU.
Install
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openhoangnc/mac-lightspot/main/install.sh | bash
Lightspot looks and feels like Spotlight, down to the floating search bar and translucent glass. The difference is that it never indexes your files, which is the part that makes Spotlight heavy on developer machines.
Why it skips the index
On a machine full of node_modules, .git folders and build output, Spotlight’s background indexers can peg the CPU, grow a hidden index to tens of gigabytes and still fail to find an app. Lightspot searches without a file index, answers in under a millisecond and uses no CPU while idle.
Install options
Add -s -- --user after bash in the install command to install into ~/Applications instead of /Applications. The repository also has a one-line uninstaller.
Support
Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue on GitHub.