Lightning-fast file search for Windows, powered by NTFS MFT + USN Journal.

An open-source alternative to Voidtools Everything, built with Python and PyQt6 for extensibility and customization.

• Instant indexing via NTFS Master File Table (MFT) direct read with parallel scanning
• FAT32/exFAT/ReFS support for external drives and Dev Drives via recursive os.scandir walk
• USN Journal V2/V3/V4 support — V3/V4 with 128-bit file IDs for ReFS compatibility
• Real-time updates via USN Change Journal monitoring (NTFS) and configurable periodic rescan (FAT/exFAT/ReFS)
• Non-admin fallback — gracefully degrades to os.scandir when UAC is declined
• SQLite FTS5 full-text search cache with WAL mode and memory-mapped I/O
• DB corruption recovery with automatic integrity checks and rebuild
• Sub-second search across millions of files with compiled pattern matching
• Incremental availability — search is available as soon as the first drive finishes indexing
• Minimal footprint — lightweight in-memory index with __slots__ optimization

• Instant-as-you-type results with debounced search
• Smart case sensitivity — uppercase in query auto-switches to case-sensitive (fd-style); explicit case:/nocase: overrides
• Fuzzy matching via fuzzy: modifier — subsequence matching for typo-tolerant search
• Search history with autocomplete suggestions
• Result highlighting — match substrings painted in accent color
• Inline column filtering — per-column filter row below headers
• Regex support (regex:pattern)
• Wildcards (*.py, test?.log)
• Boolean logic — AND (spaces), OR (|), NOT (!term)
• Content search — content:keyword searches inside text files
• Usage-based ranking — frequently opened files rank higher with Relevance sort
• 16 search modifiers: case:, path:, file:, folder:, wholeword:, ext:, size:, dm:, dc:, len:, attrib:, content:, parent:, dupe:, fuzzy:, regex:
• Search syntax help panel accessible from Help menu

• Launcher popup — Ctrl+Shift+F summons a floating search bar (Wox/Flow Launcher style) with keyboard hints and empty-state feedback
• Catppuccin Mocha dark theme — premium polished aesthetic with rounded inputs, focus rings, and consistent spacing
• Details view with sortable columns (Name, Path, Size, Date Modified, Date Created, Type, Attributes)
• Column visibility — right-click header to show/hide columns, persisted in settings
• Keyboard navigation — Enter open, Delete recycle, F2 rename, Ctrl+Enter open folder
• Thumbnail view for visual browsing
• Preview pane for text files, images, and file info with label-above-value layout
• Filter bar with built-in filters (Audio, Video, Image, Document, Executable, Compressed, Folder) + custom filters
• Bookmarks — save/restore search + filter state
• Context menu — Open, Open Path, Copy Name/Path, Terminal Here (CMD/PowerShell/WT), Delete to Recycle Bin, Properties
• System tray with minimize-to-tray and close-to-tray
• Dark title bar via DwmSetWindowAttribute on Windows 10/11
• Accessibility — accessibleName/accessibleDescription on key widgets; focus-visible states on all interactive elements

• HTTP/HTTPS server for remote web browser access with TLS certificate support, token-based authentication, per-IP rate limiting (60 req/min), XSS protection (CSP headers + html.escape), and sticky-header web UI
• .quickfindignore files — place in any directory with glob patterns to exclude files/folders from indexing (like .gitignore)
• EFU file lists for indexing non-NTFS and network drives
• CLI tool (es.py) with full search syntax, CSV/JSON output, and DB cache for instant results
• Per-drive rescan intervals — configure different rescan frequencies for SSD vs NAS drives
• Export/import settings — save and restore configuration as JSON
• Log rotation — RotatingFileHandler with 5 MB max and 3 backups
• 145 automated tests covering search parsing, MFT record parsing, cache helpers, remote server configuration, and ignore patterns
• PyInstaller build script for single-file or single-folder distribution

• Windows 10/11
• Python 3.10+
• Administrator privileges recommended (for NTFS MFT access; falls back to os.scandir without admin)

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/SysAdminDoc/QuickFind.git
cd QuickFind

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run (attempts admin elevation, falls back gracefully)
python quickfind.py

# Basic search (uses DB cache for instant results)
python cli/es.py "*.py"

# Force reindex (bypass cache)
python cli/es.py --reindex "*.py"

# Regex search for log files
python cli/es.py -r "error.*\.log$"

# Find large MP4 files, output as JSON
python cli/es.py --json "size:>100mb ext:mp4"

# Files only, sorted by date modified
python cli/es.py -f -s dm "report"

# Search specific drives
python cli/es.py --drives C,D "*.docx"

# Build single-folder distribution
python build.py

# Build single-file exe
python build.py --onefile

# Clean build artifacts
python build.py --clean

Smart case: Queries with uppercase letters automatically use case-sensitive matching. All-lowercase queries match case-insensitively. Override with case: or nocase:.

Place a .quickfindignore file in any directory to exclude matching files and folders from indexing. Uses glob patterns, one per line (like .gitignore):

node_modules
*.pyc
.git
__pycache__
.venv

Lines starting with # are treated as comments.

QuickFind/
  quickfind.py              # Entry point (bootstrap + admin elevation + fallback)
  build.py                  # PyInstaller packaging script
  requirements.txt          # pip dependencies
  core/
    ntfs.py                 # NTFS MFT/USN via ctypes + ReFS/Dev Drive support
    index.py                # In-memory index + USN monitor + deferred path resolution
    cache.py                # SQLite FTS5 cache + integrity check + search history + usage tracking
    search.py               # Search engine with modifiers + fuzzy matching
    utils.py                # Shared utilities (size parsing)
    file_list.py            # EFU file list import/export
    hidden_paths.py         # Per-filter hidden path management
    everything_import.py    # Everything config file import
  gui/
    main_window.py          # Main window (menus, toolbar, layout, multi-tab search)
    launcher_popup.py       # Floating launcher search bar (Ctrl+Shift+F)
    results_view.py         # Table model + highlight delegate + column filters
    preview_pane.py         # Text/image/info preview
    filters.py              # Filter bar + custom filter editor
    bookmarks.py            # Bookmark manager + panel
    context_menu.py         # Right-click menu with shell integration
    tray.py                 # System tray + global hotkey + app icon
    settings_dialog.py      # Settings dialog with tabs + export/import
    hidden_paths_dialog.py  # Hidden paths management dialog
    theme.py                # Catppuccin Mocha theme system
  server/
    http_server.py          # Remote web search server + token auth + rate limiting
  cli/
    es.py                   # Command-line search tool + DB cache
  tests/
    test_search.py          # Search parsing, modifiers, smart case, fuzzy matching
    test_ntfs.py            # MFT record parsing, FILETIME conversion, USA fixup
    test_cache.py           # Datetime conversion, FTS5 detection
    test_index.py           # .quickfindignore pattern matching
    test_file_list.py       # EFU file loading and FILETIME parsing
  assets/
    quickfind.ico           # App icon (auto-generated on first run)

1. MFT Scan (NTFS): Reads the NTFS Master File Table directly to enumerate all file/folder records in ~1-2 seconds per drive (parallel scanning across drives)
2. Directory Walk (FAT/exFAT/ReFS): Uses recursive os.scandir for non-NTFS drives (external USB, SD cards, Dev Drives)
3. Non-Admin Fallback: If UAC elevation is declined, falls back to os.scandir for all drives
4. Incremental Availability: Search is available as soon as the first drive finishes indexing — no waiting for all drives to complete
5. Path Resolution: Builds parent-child FRN tree to resolve full paths on demand with deferred batch resolution
6. USN Journal (NTFS): Polls the NTFS Change Journal (V2/V3/V4) every second for creates/deletes/renames/modifications
7. Periodic Rescan (FAT/exFAT/ReFS): Re-walks non-NTFS drives at configurable intervals for change detection
8. Search: Parses query modifiers, compiles matchers (regex/wildcard/substring/fuzzy), and filters the in-memory index — falls back to SQLite FTS5 for simple queries
9. DB Cache: SQLite FTS5 database persists the index for instant CLI searches and fast startup recovery
10. Usage Tracking: Files opened via QuickFind have their open counts tracked in SQLite for relevance-based ranking

# Run the test suite (141 tests)
python -m pytest tests/ -v

Tests cover search query parsing (all modifiers), size/date helpers, smart case sensitivity, fuzzy matching, MFT record parsing, USA fixup, USN records, cache datetime round-trip, FTS5 detection, .quickfindignore pattern matching, and EFU file loading.

• XSS protection: HTTP server uses html.escape() for all user-derived content with Content-Security-Policy and X-Content-Type-Options headers
• Rate limiting: Per-IP rate limiter (60 requests/minute) on the HTTP server with 429 Too Many Requests response
• HTTPS support: Optional TLS certificate/key configuration for encrypted remote search access
• Token authentication: Optional Bearer token authentication for the HTTP/HTTPS server
• Safe Win32 calls: All ctypes DLL loads use WinDLL(use_last_error=True) with complete argtypes declarations
• Atomic config saves: Settings, bookmarks, filters, and hidden paths use atomic write (temp file + rename) to prevent corruption on crash
• Privilege scoping: SeBackupPrivilege enabled only when needed for NTFS MFT access

MIT License