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Open Spotlight and search
Open Spotlight by pressing Command-Space, clicking its menu-bar icon if it is available, or pressing the keyboard Search key if your keyboard has one. Start typing; results appear as you enter a query and are ranked by relevance. Spotlight can return apps, files, folders, events, messages and more. Select a result and press Return or click it to preview or open it. Apple’s macOS 26 Spotlight guide describes these basic controls.
- Find a file’s location: Select the file in Spotlight and hold Command to reveal where it is stored.
- Copy a file from results: Drag it from Spotlight to the desktop or a Finder window.
- Calculate or convert: Enter a calculation or conversion in the search field and use the result.
Switch between Spotlight’s four browse modes
While Spotlight is open, press one of these shortcuts to browse a category instead of starting with a general search. The number shortcuts work only while Spotlight is open.
| Shortcut | View | What it helps you browse |
|---|---|---|
| Command-1 | Apps | Apps, including recent or suggested apps. |
| Command-2 | Files | Files, including recent or suggested files. |
| Command-3 | Actions | Available Spotlight actions and shortcuts. |
| Command-4 | Clipboard | Recently copied text, images, links and files. |
These views are useful when you want to browse what Spotlight has surfaced rather than predict the exact search term. Apple’s macOS Tahoe 26 feature guide describes the four views and their shortcuts.
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- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
Narrow results with filters and targeted searches
If a broad search returns too much, refine it using Spotlight filters. Apple lists filters for app, file type, folder and file provider, including documents stored with third-party cloud services. The options available depend on the results and services on your Mac.
- Search a website: Type a site name such as Amazon, YouTube or IMDb, then press Tab to search that site.
- Find screenshots: Type
/screenshots. You can refine the results by text within the screenshots. - Return to an earlier query: Press Up Arrow in Spotlight to revisit previous Spotlight searches.
- Include what you are working on: Spotlight can include current windows and tabs as well as Safari history.
For example, use a folder or file-type filter when you know where a document is or what kind of file it is, but not its exact name. Apple’s feature guide covers website search, screenshot search and these discovery options.
Rank #2
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
Run actions from Spotlight
Spotlight in Tahoe is also an action launcher: choose a task, provide any information it requests, and run it without first navigating to the app that performs it. Apple described the action library as “hundreds” of actions in its June 2025 macOS Tahoe announcement; that is Apple’s product description, not an independent count.
- Press Command-Space to open Spotlight.
- Search for an action, or press Command-3 to browse Actions. You can also choose the Shortcuts button to narrow results to actions.
- Select the action you want. Fill in any fields it presents.
- Press Return to run it. If you selected the wrong action, press Escape to return to search.
Examples Apple gives include adding a file to Notes, changing the case of copied text, starting a FaceTime call, generating a random number, identifying currently playing music, removing an image background, sending email and translating selected text. The available actions vary with the action and system features on your Mac.
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Rank #3
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
Use quick keys for repeated actions
A quick key is a short string assigned to an action or shortcut. For example, Apple describes assigning ft to Start FaceTime Call, then typing ft Ashley and pressing Return. You can assign a quick key beside an action; Apple also says suggested quick keys are assigned automatically after you run an action once. Choosing an action from the menu works without memorizing a quick key, while a quick key can speed up a task you repeat.
Where Spotlight actions come from
Spotlight can run Shortcuts, and developers can make app actions available through Apple’s App Intents API. Tahoe can also surface actions for the app currently in use. These are platform capabilities; the core Spotlight workflow does not require a particular paid third-party app. For current Apple instructions, see Apple Support’s guide to using actions with Spotlight.
Rank #4
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
Browse Clipboard history—and check your macOS version
Press Command-4 while Spotlight is open to view recently copied text, images, links and files. The retention controls are version-specific: MacRumors reports that macOS 26.1 added choices to keep clipboard history for 30 minutes, 8 hours or 7 days, as well as an option to turn the feature off. Those are 26.1 settings, not details to assume for the original Tahoe 26 release. See MacRumors’ report on macOS 26.1 clipboard history.
Apple’s currently served actions instructions also refer to macOS 27, Siri AI beta and Apple Intelligence availability. Do not assume those later-release capabilities apply to Tahoe 26; check the instructions and features for the macOS version installed on your Mac. Availability can also depend on the action and system features.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 15.3-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
