mac OS X mdfind, mdutil, mdls, mdimport. file metadata utilities spotlight

mac OS X file metadata utilities

used by SpotLight

mdfind -- finds files matching a metadata query

mdfind [-live] [-count] [-onlyin directory] query

Consults the central metadata store and returns a list of files that match the metadata query.
The query can be a string or a query expression.

-live provide live-updates to the number of files matching the query. When an update causes the query results to change the number of matches is updated. The find can be cancelled by typing ctrl-C.
-count
-onlyin dir Limit the scope of the search to dir
-interpret as if typed into the Spotlight menu.
For example, the string "search" would produce the following query string:
(* = search* cdw || kMDItemTextContent = search* cdw)

-literal don't interpret
-0 outputs an NULL after each result path. useful with xargs -0.

EXAMPLES

Returns files with any metadata attribute value matching image :

  mdfind image

   mdfind "kMDItemAuthor == '*MyFavoriteAuthor*'"

Files with any metadata attribute value matching skateboard. Continues to run after gathering the initial results, providing a count of the number of files that match the query.

   mdfind -live skateboard

open all the files in Preview :

 $ mdfind -onlyin /Users/shared/books "kiss kate" | xargs open

Make the search term more selective, use grep and regular expressions.

 $ cat file1.txt 
Kiss me 
$ cat file3.txt 
Kiss me, kate 

$ mdfind -onlyin /Users/saruman/splotlight-test "kiss me," 
/Users/saruman/splotlight-test/file1.txt
/Users/saruman/splotlight-test/file3.txt

The comma is ignored by spotlight. Using grep:

$ mdfind -onlyin /Users/saruman/splotlight-test "kiss me," | xargs grep -i "Kiss me,"
  /Users/saruman/splotlight-test/file3.txt:Kiss me, kate
grep: /Users/saruman/splotlight-test/file: No such file or directory
grep: 4.txt: No such file or directory
$

Use grep to make the search term case sensitive. The command failed on the filename file 4.txt because it contains a space.
Specify option -0 (zero) to both mdfind and xargs .

$ mdfind -0 -onlyin /Users/saruman/splotlight-test "kiss me," | xargs -0 grep -i "Kiss me,"
/Users/saruman/splotlight-test/file3.txt:Kiss me, kate
/Users/saruman/splotlight-test/file 4.txt:Kiss me, kate

mdfind, mdutil, mdcheckschema, mdls

mdimport -- import file hierarchies into the metadata datastore.

mdimport [-VXLrg] [-d level | category] [-w delay] file | directory import metadata from files or file system hierarchies.

-A output the attributes and their localizations in the current language
-X output the schema
mdimport -X 2008-03-27 20:54:56.169 mdimport[287:10b] Schema: id(501) (null)

-r Ask the server to reimport files for UTIs claimed by the listed plugin.
reimport all of the chat files on the system to be :
mdimport -r /System/Library/Spotlight/Chat.mdimporter

-L list of installed importers
-d level set debug level 1-4
-p output performance information
-V output timing information
-n Don't actually set the attributes on the file. Useful for debugging.
‑w msecs Wait for the specified interval between scanning files.
-g plugin Load the plugin at the provided path, ignoring system installed plugins. Useful for testing plugins that have not yet been installed.

mdfind, mdimport, mdcheckschema, mdls

mdutil -- manage the metadata stores used by Spotlight

mdutil [-pEsavd] [-i on | off] volumei ...

-i on | off Sets the indexing status for volumes .
may be delayed due to low disk space or other conditions.
-E ERASE volume's store.
-p flush (purge) locally cached files to the network device
-a all volumes.
-s output status
-d disable SEARCHes on volume
-v verbose
mdutil -s -a /Volumes/PHOTOS: Indexing and searching disabled. /: Indexing and searching disabled. /Volumes/BACKUPS/Backups.backupdb: Indexing enabled. Scan base time: 2008-03-24 19:29:35 -0400 (264962 seconds ago), reasoning: 'scan required - mount side' /Volumes/DATA-1: Indexing disabled. /Volumes/DATA: Indexing and searching disabled. /Volumes/BACKUPS: Indexing and searching disabled.

-p Flush local caches to the network device.

mdfind, mdimport, mdutil, mdls

mdcheckschema schema.xml [...]

The mdcheckschema command validates the mdimporter schema files provided as arguments and indicates whether the schema could be successfully parsed.

mdfind, mdimport, mdutil, mdcheckschema

mdls -- lists the metadata attributes for the specified file

mdls [-name attributeName] [-raw [-nullMarker markerString]] file ...

outputs the values of all the metadata attributes associated with files

-name attributeName only matching metadata attribute. multiple occurances permitted
-raw output raw attribute data in the order that was requested.
Fields separated with a NULL useful with xargs -0.
-nullMarker markerString Sets a marker string to be used when a requested attribute is null. Only with -raw . Default is null

> mdls 0installScreen-090502 kMDItemContentCreationDate = 2009-05-03 10:16:14 -0400 kMDItemContentModificationDate = 2009-05-03 10:16:14 -0400 kMDItemContentType = "public.data" kMDItemContentTypeTree = ( "public.data", "public.item" ) kMDItemDisplayName = "0installScreen-090502" kMDItemFSContentChangeDate = 2009-05-03 10:16:14 -0400 kMDItemFSCreationDate = 2009-05-03 10:16:14 -0400 kMDItemFSCreatorCode = "" kMDItemFSFinderFlags = 0 kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon = 0 kMDItemFSInvisible = 0 kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden = 0 kMDItemFSIsStationery = 0 kMDItemFSLabel = 0 kMDItemFSName = "0installScreen-090502" kMDItemFSNodeCount = 0 kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID = 80 kMDItemFSOwnerUserID = 501 kMDItemFSSize = 185107 kMDItemFSTypeCode = "" kMDItemKind = "Plain text" kMDItemLastUsedDate = 2009-05-03 10:16:14 -0400 kMDItemUsedDates = ( 2009-05-03 00:00:00 -0400)

mdls hereWeGo.aiff kMDItemAudioBitRate = 352800 kMDItemAudioChannelCount = 1 kMDItemAudioSampleRate = 22050 kMDItemBitsPerSample = 16 kMDItemContentCreationDate = 2015-01-08 22:31:31 +0000 kMDItemContentModificationDate = 2015-01-08 22:31:34 +0000 kMDItemContentType = "public.aifc-audio" kMDItemContentTypeTree = ( "public.aifc-audio", "public.audio", "public.audiovisual-content", "public.data", "public.item", "public.content" ) kMDItemDateAdded = 2015-01-08 22:31:31 +0000 kMDItemDisplayName = "hereWeGo.aiff" kMDItemDurationSeconds = 0.884172335600907 kMDItemFSContentChangeDate = 2015-01-08 22:31:34 +0000 kMDItemFSCreationDate = 2015-01-08 22:31:31 +0000 kMDItemFSCreatorCode = "" kMDItemFSFinderFlags = 0 kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon = (null) kMDItemFSInvisible = 0 kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden = 0 kMDItemFSIsStationery = (null) kMDItemFSLabel = 0 kMDItemFSName = "hereWeGo.aiff" kMDItemFSNodeCount = (null) kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID = 20 kMDItemFSOwnerUserID = 501 kMDItemFSSize = 43088 kMDItemFSTypeCode = "" kMDItemKind = "AIFF-C audio" kMDItemLogicalSize = 43088 kMDItemMediaTypes = ( Sound ) kMDItemPhysicalSize = 45056 kMDItemTotalBitRate = 352800

mdls /Volumes/DATA/dgerman/CreditCardF.jpg kMDItemAcquisitionMake = "Canon" kMDItemAcquisitionModel = "CanoScan 5600F" kMDItemBitsPerSample = 32 kMDItemColorSpace = "RGB" kMDItemContentCreationDate = 2013-08-30 16:35:08 +0000 kMDItemContentModificationDate = 2013-08-30 16:35:08 +0000 kMDItemContentType = "public.jpeg" kMDItemContentTypeTree = ( "public.jpeg", "public.image", "public.data", "public.item", "public.content" ) kMDItemCreator = "MP Navigator EX 2.0" kMDItemDateAdded = 2014-08-22 01:36:06 +0000 kMDItemDisplayName = "CreditCardF.jpg" kMDItemEXIFVersion = "2.2.1" kMDItemFSContentChangeDate = 2013-08-30 16:35:08 +0000 kMDItemFSCreationDate = 2013-08-30 16:35:08 +0000 kMDItemFSCreatorCode = "" kMDItemFSFinderFlags = 0 kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon = (null) kMDItemFSInvisible = 0 kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden = 0 kMDItemFSIsStationery = (null) kMDItemFSLabel = 0 kMDItemFSName = "CreditCardF.jpg" kMDItemFSNodeCount = (null) kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID = 20 kMDItemFSOwnerUserID = 501 kMDItemFSSize = 1250728 kMDItemFSTypeCode = "" kMDItemHasAlphaChannel = 0 kMDItemKind = "JPEG image" kMDItemLogicalSize = 1250728 kMDItemOrientation = 0 kMDItemPhysicalSize = 1253376 kMDItemPixelCount = 4436545 kMDItemPixelHeight = 1945 kMDItemPixelWidth = 2281 kMDItemProfileName = "sRGB IEC61966-2.1" kMDItemResolutionHeightDPI = 600 kMDItemResolutionWidthDPI = 600 kMDItemWhiteBalance = 0

mdattributes

ContentTreeType

public
 .data, .item, .folder, .directory, .content .text, .plain-text, .html, .executable
 .unix-executable, .composite-content, .source-code, .shell-script, .script, .content,
 .perl-script, .log

    com.microsoft.word.doc,
    com.adobe.pdf,
    com.netscape.javascript-source,
    com.microsoft.excel.xls,
    com.apple.log,
    com.apple.finder.burn-folder,



/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.com.apple.metadata.mds.scan.plist
    <key>Label <string>com.apple.metadata.mds.scan
    <key>ProgramArguments
     <string>/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mdworker
        <string>-s <string>mdworker-scan
        <string>-c <string>MDSSyncScanWorker
        <string>-m <string>com.apple.metadata.mds.scan 
    <key>MachServices  <key>com.apple.metadata.mds.scan  <key>ResetAtClose <true>  
    <key>POSIXSpawnType <string>Interactive
    <key>CFBundleIdentifier <string>com.apple.Spotlight
    <key>LowPriorityBackgroundIO <false>




    <key>Label <string>com.apple.metadata.mds
    <key>ProgramArguments  <string>/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Support/mds 
    <key>MachServices
    <dict>
        <key>com.apple.metadata.mds <true>
        <key>com.apple.metadata.mds.legacy <true>
        <key>com.apple.metadata.mds.xpcs <true>
        <key>com.apple.metadata.mds.cachedelete <true>
    </dict>
   <key>POSIXSpawnType <string>Interactive
    <key>KeepAlive <true>
    <key>SoftResourceLimits
    < <key>NumberOfFiles 2048 <
    <key>HardResourceLimits < <key>NumberOfFiles 2048 <
    <key>CFBundleIdentifier <string>com.apple.Spotlight
    <key>LowPriorityBackgroundIO <false>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables <





/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.index.plist
    <key>Label <string>com.apple.metadata.mds.index
    <key>ProgramArguments
     <string>/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mds_stores 
  <key>MachServices
    
        <key>com.apple.metadata.mds.index <true>
        <key>com.apple.metadata.mds.index.xpc <true>
    
    <key>SoftResourceLimits  <key>NumberOfFiles 2048 
    <key>HardResourceLimits  <key>NumberOfFiles 2048 
    <key>LowPriorityBackgroundIO <true>
    <key>CFBundleIdentifier <string>com.apple.Spotlight
    <key>POSIXSpawnType <string>Interactive
    <key>EnableTransactions <true>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables <dict/>


apple.spotlight.IndexAgent

apple.Spotlight




/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.diagnosticextensions.osx.spotlight.helper.plist
        <key>Label <string>com.apple.diagnosticextensions.osx.spotlight.helper
        <key>Program(sic)?Arguments? <string>/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiagnosticExtensions.framework/PlugIns/osx-spotlight.appex/Contents/XPCServices/spotlighthelper
        <key>MachServices  <key>com.apple.diagnosticextensions.osx.spotlight.helper <true> 
        <key>EnableTransactions <true>
        <key>EnablePressuredExit <true>
        <key>RunAtLoad <false>
        <key>POSIXSpawnType <string>Adaptive 


>launchctl list |grep  'md' |cut -f3-4 -d '.'|sortc
/usr/bin/sort --ignore-leading-blanks --ignore-case  | uniq -c | sort -n |more
   1 metadata.mdbulkimport
   1 metadata.mdflagwriter
   1 metadata.mdwrite

   1 mdmclient.agent

   1 mdworker.bundles
   1 mdworker.isolation
   1 mdworker.sizing
   3 mdworker.32bit
   3 mdworker.lsb
   5 mdworker.mail
   5 mdworker.shared
   9 mdworker.single

errors

mds[64]: (DiskStore.Error:235) Unable to create/find index location 974713FF-7724-4479-9EF1-48A552026443 0

`-live`	provide live-updates to the number of files matching the query. When an update causes the query results to change the number of matches is updated. The find can be cancelled by typing ctrl`-C.`
`-count`
`-onlyin dir`	Limit the scope of the search to `dir`
`-interpret`	as if typed into the Spotlight menu. For example, the string "search" would produce the following query string: (* = search* cdw \|\| kMDItemTextContent = search* cdw)
`-literal`	don't interpret
`-0`	outputs an NULL after each result path. useful with xargs -0.

`-i on \| off`	Sets the indexing status for `volumes` . may be delayed due to low disk space or other conditions.
`-E`	ERASE `volume`'s store.
-p	flush (purge) locally cached files to the network device
`-a`	all volumes.
`-s`	output status
-d	disable SEARCHes on `volume`
`-v`	verbose mdutil -s -a /Volumes/PHOTOS: Indexing and searching disabled. /: Indexing and searching disabled. /Volumes/BACKUPS/Backups.backupdb: Indexing enabled. Scan base time: 2008-03-24 19:29:35 -0400 (264962 seconds ago), reasoning: 'scan required - mount side' /Volumes/DATA-1: Indexing disabled. /Volumes/DATA: Indexing and searching disabled. /Volumes/BACKUPS: Indexing and searching disabled.
`-p`	Flush local caches to the network device.

`-name attributeName`	only matching metadata attribute. multiple occurances permitted
`-raw`	output raw attribute data in the order that was requested. Fields separated with a NULL useful with xargs -0.
`-nullMarker markerString`	Sets a marker string to be used when a requested attribute is null. Only with `-raw` . Default is `null`