AllTheThings

Windows Search is fine until it isn’t — slow to index, unaware of files it’s decided not to look at, and useless on a drive you’ve just attached. AllTheThings takes the voidtools Everything approach: it reads the NTFS Master File Table directly and indexes every file on a volume in seconds, then tails the USN change journal so creates, renames and deletes show up live. Type, and the results appear as you type.

It’s aimed at administrators, developers, and anyone who works on large NTFS volumes and has given up waiting for the indexer to catch up.

What it does

• Indexes all fixed NTFS volumes and merges them into one result set.
• Reads the NTFS MFT for cold indexing measured in seconds on large disks.
• Loads a persistent cache from %LOCALAPPDATA%\AllTheThings\cache for near-instant warm starts.
• Tails the USN change journal so creates, renames, and deletes appear without a full rescan.
• Shows hardlinked files at every path where the file is linked.
• Supports search-as-you-type, sorting, column customization, result export, and Explorer actions.
• Runs the GUI unelevated after the background indexing service is installed.

Requirements

• Windows.
• At least one NTFS volume.
• The installer for normal use, because it installs the background service that can read raw NTFS volume data.
• Rust and Node.js only if building from source.

The GUI is designed to run without administrator rights. Privileged raw-volume indexing is delegated to the AllTheThingsSvc LocalSystem background service. File actions such as open, rename, delete, and properties run in your own user context, not in the service context.

Install

Download the latest installer from:

https://github.com/Swatto86/AllTheThings/releases

The installer sets up the desktop app, the AllTheThingsSvc indexing service, signed updater assets, and optional startup/tray launch behavior. Uninstalling removes the app and service.

First run

1. Launch AllTheThings from the Start menu.
2. Let the initial scan complete. The first scan reads the MFT for each fixed NTFS volume.
3. Start typing a filename, folder name, extension, path fragment, or query expression.
4. Press Enter to open the selected result, or use right-click actions.

After the first run, AllTheThings loads its index cache and only replays journal changes since the last cache position. If the journal was recreated or its tail has been purged, the app falls back to a full scan.

Search syntax

Syntax	Meaning	Example
space	AND	report 2026
`	`	OR
!	NOT	report !draft
( )	grouping	`report (2025
quotes	exact phrase	"quarterly report"
* and ?	wildcards	invoice-2026-*.pdf
regex mode	regular expressions	enabled from Options
ext:	extension filter	ext:ps1
path:	path filter	path:projects
file:	files only	file: report
folder:	folders only	folder: archive
size:	size filter	size:>1mb
dm:	date modified	dm:thisweek
dc:	date created	dc:2026-01-01..2026-06-30
da:	date accessed	da:yesterday
attrib:	DOS attribute filter	attrib:h
content:	file content search	*.log content:"timeout"

Date filters accept keywords such as today, yesterday, thisweek, thismonth, and thisyear, plus dates, comparison operators, and ranges.

Search Builder

Use the toolbar Builder when you do not want to remember the query language. It can compose a query from name text, content text, extensions, size filters, dates, files versus folders, attributes, and match options. The Builder shows the query it creates, so it is also a good way to learn the syntax.

Result actions

The result list supports open, open containing folder, open with, run as administrator, copy path, copy name, inline rename, delete to Recycle Bin, and properties. Columns can be sorted, resized, reordered, and selected from the header context menu. The app remembers the layout.

Options and settings

Settings include theme, global hotkey, close to tray, start with Windows, Explorer “Search AllTheThings here”, and background service controls. Explorer integration is per-user. On Windows 11 it appears under “Show more options”.

Exporting results

The Export button writes the current filtered result set. The format follows the extension you choose in the Save dialog:

• .csv
• .txt
• .efu

Use .efu when you want an Everything-compatible file list.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/Swatto86/AllTheThings.git
cd AllTheThings
npm install
npm run tauri dev

In development, the installer has not registered the service. Either install the service from an elevated shell, use the Settings service button, or run the development terminal as Administrator.

Build the installer:

npm run tauri build

Troubleshooting

Results are empty

Check the status bar. If it shows access denied, install/start the background service or launch the development build from an elevated terminal.

Search here is missing

Open Settings and enable Explorer integration. On Windows 11, check “Show more options” in the folder context menu.

Content search is slow

content: first narrows candidates by filename, then reads file bodies in your user account. Add filename, extension, path, or size filters to reduce the candidate set.

Links

• GitHub: https://github.com/Swatto86/AllTheThings
• Releases: https://github.com/Swatto86/AllTheThings/releases

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