How to Disable Spotlight Search on Mac (and Replace It With Something Better)
Spotlight Search is the built-in Mac search feature. It appears when you use the Command + Space key combination or when you click the Search icon in the menu bar to find a file anywhere on your computer.
When it comes to built-in search functionality, Spotlight Search is pretty good. It opens apps, files and folders perfectly. You can use it to search the web , perform calculations and transformations, find definitions, and more.
While this is great, there is a whole world of keyboard launchers for Mac that offer new features, plugins, and endless customization possibilities. Whether you’re using your Mac for work or an experienced Mac user, you’ll appreciate how these utilities can help you be more productive without taking your hands off the keyboard.
These utilities can help you run automation, manage the clipboard, expand text, perform custom searches, change system settings, and even arrange windows. But first…
How to disable Spotlight search keyboard shortcut on Mac
You don’t have to turn off Spotlight search to replace it with something better – you can still leave it and use it from the menu bar if needed.
However, to take full advantage of one of these alternatives, you’ll need to turn off the spotlight search keyboard shortcut (Command + Space) by following these instructions:
- On your Mac, click the Apple icon in the top menu bar and select the System Preferences option . (You can also press Command + Space to open Search in Spotlight and type in “Settings,” like the good old days.)
- Click the Spotlight icon (which looks like a blue circle with a magnifying glass), and then click the Keyboard Shortcuts button in the lower left corner.
- Make sure Spotlight is highlighted in the left column, then deselect Show Spotlight Search in the right column.
After that, when you use the keyboard shortcut Command + Space, nothing happens.
Now for the fun part: replacing Spotlight with a better quality third-party application. Each application in the list below can use the default Command + Spacebar keyboard shortcut, and you can also use alternative keyboard shortcuts to take advantage of several of them.
At the heart of Alfred is automation (free or $ 40 paid version).
Alfred is available in both free and paid versions. Think of the free version as the simpler, easier-to-use version of Spotlight Search. It does exactly the same thing as Spotlight Search, but better and faster. It is especially good for finding and running files and folders (with a separate modifier for folder searches only).
But if you buy the Powerpack (which costs £ 29 or about $ 40), Alfred turns into an automation machine, unlocking features like clipboard history, text expansion, hotkeys, and most importantly, automation (which Alfred calls “workflows “).
You can create workflows with a flowchart-based visual builder in the application itself. The workflow engine allows you to integrate system functions, third-party activities, and even web APIs to complete day-to-day tasks with a single click. But the beauty of Alfred is that you don’t really have to do all the work of creating your own workflows – there is a thriving online community that creates and publishes workflows that you can simply install on your Mac.
Raycast is designed to work on the web (free)
If tools like Alfred have been around for a decade, Raycast is a relatively new player in the field, but it’s focused directly on the future – a future in which we all spend most of our time working in a web browser.
If that sounds like you, take a look at Raycast. The app is currently in beta testing, but it is evolving rather quickly. Raycast has a sleek, modern interface and covers all basic functions such as launching applications, converting units, file searching, and web searching. Its file search and web search capabilities are not instantaneous as they require you to select a search option first.
Where Raycast shines is in its web integration and performance-related features. Raycast integrates with Github, Asana, G Suite, Zoom, Jira, Calendar and more. allowing you to perform actions on connected services without leaving Raycast.
To work better with your Mac, Raycast also has a built-in clipboard manager and windowing tool. Raycast also plans to release a proprietary API that will allow developers to create custom integrations that will allow you to perform additional common tasks right from within Raycast. Since they will be based on their own API, these features are likely to perform better than community workflows in apps like Alfred.
LaunchBar – that’s what was supposed to be Spotlight Search ($ 30, 30-day trial version )
LaunchBar is the spiritual successor to Spotlight Search. It looks great, has basic functionality, and runs pretty darn fast. It’s speed-focused and designed for people who originally run Macs. LaunchBar has the steepest learning curve of all three apps listed here, but once you climb it, you can just fly.
LaunchBar offers one of the best local file search and file management implementations. It makes it easy to search, move or copy files without even opening Finder.
In addition to performing search functions, LaunchBar can act as a replacement for the app switcher. After opening the LaunchBar, simply use the space bar to switch between open applications. Using the abbreviation feature, you can open an application by typing a single letter (for example, “S” for Safari).
The Instant Send feature lets you import any file or text into the LaunchBar and then decide what to do with it by choosing from the options available, including sending it to a folder, application, or email contact.
Which keyboard launcher is right for you?
If you’re just getting started with keyboard launchers, start with the free version of Alfred. If your work life is integrated with web services like GitHub, Asana, and Jira, using Raycast as an additional tool is worth it (you can always assign a different keyboard shortcut to it).
If your goal is to run faster on Mac (and you don’t need plugins), you can’t go wrong with LaunchBar. The best combination of speed and keyboard shortcuts for searching, moving files and managing the clipboard.