How to Search Files by Tag on Mac with Spotlight and Finder

Search by tag in Spotlight

1. Press Command-Space to open Spotlight.
2. Type tag: and the tag name, with no space after the colon, for example tag:Invoices.
3. Open a result, or press Command-Return to show it in Finder.

Add words after the tag to narrow the results, for example tag:Invoices 2026. Put tag names that contain spaces in quotes, for example tag:"To Review".

Search by tag in Finder

• Click a tag in the Finder sidebar to see every file that has it.
• Or type tag:Invoices in the search field of a Finder window. Choose This Mac or the current folder to set where Finder searches.
• As you type a tag name, Finder may suggest it under Tags. Pick the suggestion to filter by that exact tag.

Find files with more than one tag

Enter several tag searches to find files that have all of them:

tag:Invoices tag:2026

For an either-or search, use OR in capital letters, for example tag:Invoices OR tag:Receipts. Results can vary between macOS versions. For searches you repeat, a Smart Folder is more reliable.

Save a tag search as a Smart Folder

1. In Finder, choose File > New Smart Folder.
2. Click the Add button (+) near the top right.
3. Choose Tags from the first menu, then enter the tag name.
4. Click + again to add more conditions, such as a second tag or a date.
5. Click Save, name the folder and choose whether to add it to the sidebar.

A Smart Folder doesn't move or copy anything. It just shows matching files wherever they are, and updates as you tag or untag files.

Search by tag in Terminal

If you use scripts, the mdfind command searches the same Spotlight index:

mdfind "kMDItemUserTags == 'Invoices'"
mdfind -onlyin ~/Documents "kMDItemUserTags == 'Invoices'"

When a tag search finds nothing

• Check the exact spelling. Finder treats “Invoice” and “Invoices” as different tags.
• Check that the folder is not excluded from Spotlight in System Settings > Spotlight.
• Check that the file still has the tag with File > Get Info.

For more fixes, see Finder tags not showing.

Find and narrow tagged files in Little Tagger

Search works best when tags are consistent. In Little Tagger, you can filter workspace files by tags and other properties, see which tags are in use and how many files carry each, and merge near-duplicates so one search finds everything. See find and filter files.

On macOS 26 or later, Spotlight can also open your saved Little Tagger presets and workflows. That finds the saved actions, not tagged files. See find presets and workflows with Spotlight.