Find Any File vs Fenn: A Modern Take on File Search for macOS
Apr 4, 2025
Let’s get this out of the way: Find Any File (FAF) is a powerful tool. It does exactly what it promises—it helps you locate any file on your Mac. For years, it’s been a go-to for power users frustrated with Spotlight’s surface-level indexing.
But it’s 2025. And the way we work and search has changed.
Enter Fenn: a new kind of search engine for macOS. Built from the ground up to understand not just what you type, but what you mean. A system that doesn’t just index filenames, but looks inside your videos, PDFs, images, and more. Locally, privately, and instantly.
In this article, we’re going to break down the difference between these two tools—where Find Any File shines, where it falls short, and how Fenn fills in the gaps for a smarter, more modern macOS search experience.
The Interface: One Feels Stuck in Time
Let’s start with what you see first: the UI.
UI Feels Old
Find Any File hasn’t changed much in the last decade and it shows.
Its interface is built like a utility: minimalist, functional, and a little dated.
FAF's default window, with old-style macOS UI elements.
In contrast, Fenn embraces a more fluid, modern interface that looks and feels native to today’s macOS experience. From persistent windows to keyboard-first interactions, it’s designed for speed and focus.
Modern looking Fenn search bar
The UX: Power Comes with Complexity
Find Any File’s UX Is… Work
Find Any File gives you powerful control but that control comes at a cost.
When you really need to find the file 😟
Here’s what we noticed:
There’s a search bar, but you can’t actually trigger the search by pressing Return
Instead, you need to click multiple buttons to define your parameters
You have to manually decide what to search, where, and how. Every time
Want to do a quick, vague search like “cat photo” or “slide about revenue”? You’re out of luck
It’s functional for precision work. But it demands a lot of thinking upfront, and doesn’t forgive you if you forget the file name.
Fenn’s UX: Just Type What You Remember
Fenn flips the model. You don’t need to remember filenames, extensions, or folders. You just describe what you’re looking for:
“The Zoom call where we discussed Q3 pricing”
“PDF with mental health tips for startup founders”
“Slide deck with pink neon design”
“Screenshot of Wi-Fi password at café”
Fenn understands semantics, not just keywords. More on that below.
How are you supposed to find this image with FAF ? The filename is image_1.
Semantics: Where the Real Gap Shows
This is the biggest difference.
Find Any File Doesn’t Understand What You Mean
Find Any File is literal. You type something, it looks for that exact string in filenames, metadata, or deep in system folders.
You can find any file if you remember how you named it, what folder it was in, and how your past self chose to save it.
But if you’re like most people, you save things like this:
IMG_2023_1130.jpgMeeting_Recording_10.mp4final_final_v2_USETHISONE.pdf
Good luck searching for that.
Fenn Understands the Idea, Not Just the Words
Fenn uses semantic search. That means it doesn’t care what the file is called—it cares what it means.
Want to understand how this works? Read What Is Semantic Search and Why Your Mac Needs It in 2025.
Here are a few examples Fenn handles with ease:
Type “dog wearing a party hat” → Fenn jumps to that moment inside a video
Type “startup burnout PDF” → Fenn brings up the exact page discussing resilience, even if those words never appear
Type “coffee420” → Fenn finds the screenshot of the Wi-Fi password text embedded in an image
It works for images, voice notes, long recordings, buried text in PDFs, and more. All processed locally on your machine.
Built for Now: Local AI vs System-Level Utilities
Find Any File is a great tool for digging through macOS’s file system, especially for system files or deeply buried caches. It's loved by developers and IT pros for a reason.
But it wasn’t designed for the modern reality of how we use our Macs:
Thousands of screenshots, media files, and meeting recordings
Creative assets, design inspiration, visual references
Complex documents where content matters more than filename
Fenn was built for exactly this world. It runs on Apple Silicon, uses MLX for private, on-device AI, and helps you search inside your files, not just around them. Curious how? Check out Why MLX Makes Your MacBook the Best Productivity Tool of All Time
One More Thing: Credit Where It’s Due
We want to give a genuine shout-out to the developer behind Find Any File.
This app has filled an important gap in the macOS ecosystem for years. It’s fast, reliable, and deeply useful, especially for tech-savvy users who want system-level visibility.
We’re not here to troll FAF or its users. We’re here to offer a different kind of tool. One built for how people think, how they remember, and how they work today.
If FAF is like Terminal. Powerful, precise, but cold, then Fenn is more like having an AI research assistant who actually remembers where you saved that random file from three weeks ago.
Final Thought: Search Like It’s 2025
If you love Find Any File, keep using it—it’s great at what it does.
But if you’ve ever thought:
“I know I saw that somewhere…”
And you don’t want to spend 20 minutes hunting, tagging, or reindexing - Fenn is ready.
Smart. Visual. Semantic. Local.
Search that feels modern, fast, and effortless.
👉 Try Fenn now – and never lose a file again.
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