Searchmonkey III

What Searchmonkey III is

Searchmonkey III is a desktop tool for searching files on disk in real time. It searches the filesystem directly, without keeping a background index or daemon, and streams results as it checks files so they reflect the current state of the disk. Searches support literal text and regular expressions. The interface shows which files were searched, skipped, filtered, or blocked by permissions. Optional plugins add local processing for PDFs, Office documents, OCR, and other formats; supported content is processed on the user's machine. A ripgrep-inspired command line offers controls for paths, regular expressions, globs, hidden files, symlinks, context, and ignored files. Version 0.4.1 is offered for Linux as a portable AppImage, Windows as an installer, and macOS as a universal Intel and Apple Silicon build. The project is built with Tauri and ripgrep and released under the MIT license. The core application has a free plan. One-time plugin plans are listed at $9, paid once for PDF Extractor, $14, paid once for Office Documents, and $18, paid once for Image OCR. The project describes uses such as searching changing codebases, inspecting logs, and working in large directories or environments where background daemons are undesirable.

Who it suits

Searchmonkey III suits people who need to search changing codebases, inspect logs, or search large directories while seeing results as files are scanned. It also fits users who prefer direct filesystem searches without a background index or daemon, and those who want supported document processing to stay local.

Getting started

1. Visit https://searchmonkey.dev/.
2. Download version 0.4.1 for Linux, Windows, or macOS.
3. Install the Windows build, or use the Linux AppImage or macOS universal build.
4. Run a literal or regular expression search on the filesystem.
5. Purchase a PDF, Office Documents, or Image OCR plugin if you need that content processing.

Verdict

Choose Searchmonkey III if you want a free desktop search tool that scans files directly and streams results across Linux, macOS, and Windows. Look elsewhere if you need email search; PDF, Office document, and image OCR processing require separately priced plugins.