Files
Files and folders show up as you type their name, with a Files view to browse recent files and a preview beside them.
Find a file
Type any part of a file's or folder's name in the bar. Matching files appear with the letter you type, together in one block:
- Each row shows the name, then the kind, size, date modified and folder, like “PDF document · 2 KB · Today, 9:05 PM · ~/Documents”.
- Type several words to narrow it down. Every word must be in the name or in a folder above it, and at least one in the name:
taxes 2025finds~/Documents/2025/taxes.pdf. - A folder ranks above a file with the same name, so
desktopfinds your Desktop folder first. - The bar shows the best 8. When a folder is among them, at most two things from inside it are shown with it, so one project can't fill the list. When more match, Show All N Files opens them all in the Files view.
Press ↵ to open a file in its app, or a folder in Finder.
Find a file by what's inside it
Pause typing for a moment and Saiki also asks Spotlight for files whose text contains your words. They appear at the bottom of the list as “Contains “…”” rows, up to five, without moving your selection. This needs at least 3 letters, and each word you type must start a word in the file's text.
Turn it off with Search inside files in Settings → File Search.
Hidden files
Dotfiles and what's inside hidden folders (.zshrc, .config, .ssh) are found too, a little below the rest, and labeled Hidden File or Hidden Folder. Type a leading dot, like .zsh, to put them first. Turn off Include hidden files in Settings → File Search to leave them out.
Actions on a file
Select a file or folder and press ⌘K:
| Action | Key | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Open, or Open in Finder | ↵ | Opens the file in its app, or the folder in Finder |
| Show in Finder | ⌘↵ | Selects it in a Finder window |
| Copy Path | ⇧⌘C | Copies its full path |
| Quick Look | ⌘Y | Previews it above the bar. ↑ ↓ move the preview with the selection; esc or ⌘Y closes it |
| Ask AI About This File | ⌘U | Attaches it to a question for your AI. See Asking and chatting |
| Open With… | Every app that can open it, the default first | |
| Convert to… | ⇧↵ | Saves a copy in another format. See Convert files |
| Move to Trash | ⌃X | Press it twice: the first press asks, the second moves it to the Trash |
| Pin to Empty Bar | ⇧⌘F | Keeps it at the top of the empty bar. See Pins |
In the main search you'll also find Reset Ranking and Don't Show for “…” (see How search works).
- Drag a row out of the bar into Finder, Mail or any app to use the file there.
- Pick several files with ⌘-click, or ⇧↑ and ⇧↓. ↵ then asks your AI about all of them, and ⌘K can convert them together. esc lets go of them.
The Files view
Type files and press ⇥, press ⌘2 on the empty bar, run the Files command, or choose Show All N Files under a search.
- With nothing typed, it lists your Recents: the files you changed most recently.
- Typing lists up to 500 files and folders that match.
- Chips across the top narrow it: Recents, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, iCloud Drive, Images, Videos and Audio. A place with nothing typed lists what's directly in it, newest first, as Finder does. Images, Videos and Audio list the newest such files anywhere.
- Press ⇧⇥ to step through the chips, or click one.
- Press ⇥ or → on a folder to open it in the bar.
The preview
The Files view and a folder you've opened in the bar show the selected file beside the list:
- Documents and pictures are drawn as Quick Look draws them. A PDF scrolls, and a text file shows its text.
- When you searched for words, the PDF or text opens where they appear, with them marked.
- A movie or recording gets a player that waits for you to press play.
- Below it, Information lists Where, Type, Size, Created and Modified.
Press ⇧⌘P (or ⌘K → Hide Preview) to hide it and show the list across the whole bar. Saiki remembers your choice.
Browse folders in the bar
Select any folder and press ⇥ or → to open it in the bar instead of Finder. The field shows where you are, like “~ › Desktop › Projects”.
- Folders come first, then files, in Finder's order. Typing filters the list.
- ⇥ or → opens the selected folder. ⌫ on an empty field, ← or ⌘↑ goes up to the folder above.
- esc goes back to the search.
Type a path
Type a path that starts with ~/ or /, like ~/Desk. The bar lists that folder, narrowed to names that start with what you typed after the last slash. Press ⇥ to complete the selected name, as Terminal does: ~/Desk becomes ~/Desktop/. Type ~/. to see hidden items.
What gets searched
Saiki keeps its own index of the names in your home folder, plus iCloud Drive if you use it. It's built once in the background and kept current as files change, so a file you save, move or delete shows up or leaves right away, even with the bar open.
Some folders are always skipped because they're huge and never what you're looking for: Library, node_modules, build folders, .git, caches and the Trash. Apps are listed as Applications, not files. A folder macOS shows as one file, like a .pages document, is found as one file.
Settings
Settings → File Search:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| File Search (switch at the top right) | Turns file search off. Nothing of the index stays loaded, and files leave search |
| Searched Folders | Shows the folders indexed and how many files and folders are in the index |
| Always skipped | The folders that are never indexed |
| Add Exclusion… | Leaves a folder or a pattern out of results, below |
| Search inside files | The “Contains …” rows from Spotlight. On at first |
| Include hidden files | Dotfiles and hidden folders in results. On at first |
Leave something out
- In Settings → File Search, choose Add Exclusion….
- Type a folder, like
~/Downloads/Old, or a pattern, like*.log,node_modulesor**/Archive/**. The line below says what it will leave out. - Press ↵. Matching files leave search at once.
A pattern without a slash matches a name and anything inside a folder with that name. A pattern with a slash matches the whole path, and * crosses folders. To change or remove an exclusion, select it and press ↵, or ⌘⌫ to remove it.