Catfish vs LocalSearch

CCatfish8.6Visit LocalSearch8.4Visit

Higher score C Catfish #5 in Desktop Search Software 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 4 features Visit Catfish

vs

LocalSearch #6 in Desktop Search Software 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 4 features Visit LocalSearch

• Catfish fits best

  Simple free full-text search on Linux

• LocalSearch fits best

  Linux users indexing file metadata locally

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Side by side

Feature	CCatfish 8.6/10 Visit ↗	LocalSearch 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.6	8.4
Ranking	#5 in Desktop Search Software	#6 in Desktop Search Software
Best for	Simple free full-text search on Linux	Linux users indexing file metadata locally
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Self-hosted
Platforms	Linux	Linux
Support	Docs	Community, Docs
Features Catfish 1/4 · LocalSearch 1/4
Content search	✓	✓
Email search	Not checked yet	—
Message search	Not checked yet	—
OCR search	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Supported platforms	linux	Linux
Index locations	local, network	User home directory by default; configurable indexed locations
Indexed-item limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Searches filenames, paths, and file contents Filters by file type, modification date, hidden files, and exact matches Free and open source with list, thumbnail, index, and command-line options	Indexes the home directory by default and supports configurable locations Extracts structured metadata from several file types and monitors filesystem changes Offers SPARQL queries, command-line utilities, and supported metadata writeback
Cons	Platform support is focused on Linux Integration coverage centers on Zeitgeist, locate, and mlocate Designed for filesystem search rather than broader desktop content search	Centers on metadata and RDF queries rather than direct full-text search Does not provide email or message search Designed as a GNOME framework, not a standalone commercial search app
Our verdict	Catfish is a lightweight desktop file-search utility for Linux and Unix systems, with a GTK-based interface suited to users who want a straightforward way to find files. It searches filenames and paths, and can search inside file contents… Read the review →	LocalSearch is an open-source filesystem indexer and search framework used by core GNOME desktop components. It is aimed at Linux users and applications that need to find files through names, filesystem characteristics, and structured… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Catfish — where it wins

  • Searches filenames, paths, and file contents
  • Filters by file type, modification date, hidden files, and exact matches
  • Free and open source with list, thumbnail, index, and command-line options

  Where it doesn't

  • Platform support is focused on Linux
  • Integration coverage centers on Zeitgeist, locate, and mlocate
  • Designed for filesystem search rather than broader desktop content search

• LocalSearch — where it wins

  • Indexes the home directory by default and supports configurable locations
  • Extracts structured metadata from several file types and monitors filesystem changes
  • Offers SPARQL queries, command-line utilities, and supported metadata writeback

  Where it doesn't

  • Centers on metadata and RDF queries rather than direct full-text search
  • Does not provide email or message search
  • Designed as a GNOME framework, not a standalone commercial search app

• CCatfish8.6/10 · Free plan

  A capable free search utility for Linux users who want simple local and network file discovery.

  Visit CatfishFull verdict →
• LocalSearch8.4/10 · Free plan

  A GNOME search framework for Linux users who want queryable local file metadata.

  Visit LocalSearchFull verdict →