Everything Search on Windows: Find Any File Instantly
How to install Everything by voidtools for instant file search on Windows 10 and 11. Search by name, size, date, regex, HTTP server and integration with other tools.
Everything by voidtools finds any file instantly — literally 0.1 seconds to locate any file on your drive. Windows Search is a turtle in comparison.
Why Everything Is So Fast
Windows Search indexes file contents — slow. Everything only indexes file names and paths from the NTFS MFT (Master File Table). MFT is read directly without scanning each file — initial indexing takes 2–5 seconds.
Limitation: only works with NTFS drives. FAT32 and exFAT not supported.
Install
winget install voidtools.Everything
Or from voidtools.com — portable version available.
Grant administrator access on first launch (needed to read MFT).
Basic Search
Open Everything (Win + Alt + F) and start typing.
photo → all files with "photo"
*.pdf → all PDFs on all drives
budget 2026 → files containing both words
"project plan" → exact phrase
Search Syntax
Operators
| Operator | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|
| space | work report |
both words |
| |
*.jpg | *.png |
jpg or png |
! |
*.txt !temp |
.txt without temp |
"..." |
"annual report" |
exact phrase |
Filters
size:>100mb → files over 100 MB
dm:today → modified today
dm:thisweek → modified this week
ext:mp4,mkv,avi → video files
path:C:\Users → only in Users folder
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Win + Alt + F |
Open Everything |
Enter |
Open file |
Ctrl + Enter |
Open containing folder |
Ctrl + C |
Copy path |
HTTP Server — Search from Another Device
Tools → Options → HTTP Server → Enable HTTP server → Port: 8080
Open http://PC_IP:8080 from any browser on your network.
Everything CLI
es.exe *.log
es.exe -size +104857600 -sort size-descending
es.exe *.pdf > pdf_list.txt
Everything vs Windows Search
| Everything | Windows Search | |
|---|---|---|
| Search speed | ⚡ Instant | Slow |
| Content search | ❌ | ✅ |
| Regex | ✅ | ❌ |
| FAT32/exFAT | ❌ | ✅ |
Summary
| Task | Command/Action |
|---|---|
| Find file | Open → type name |
| Large files | size:>500mb |
| By file type | ext:pdf,docx |
| Modified today | dm:today |
| Search from phone | Tools → HTTP Server |