Everything is a completely free file search tool and one of the fastest available for Windows. Developed by voidtools, it is built as an alternative to the built-in Windows search experience, which is often buggy and slow. Everything focuses more on instantaneous results by deploying an extremely efficient indexing system.
Everything has built a strong and reliable reputation among power users and developers who are tired of the usual search, which takes ages to bring results. How it works is that it creates an index of file and folder names from NTFS drives and uses real-time updates by utilizing the NTFS USN Journal. This is what makes the results instant, and if you are coming from Windows' traditional search, you will be surprised, like I was.
Instant search and indexing performance
The core functionality of the tool is its indexing, and the biggest strength is its speed. Once the initial indexing is complete, you can type each character and see results update in real time with every letter you type. If you work with large numbers of files or often cannot find what you are looking for, then this is made for you. The file discovery process is so quick that you are left impressed.
By default, the tool indexes local NTFS volumes automatically, but for non-NTFS drives such as exFAT, FAT32, and others, it relies on folder indexing rather than the NTFS USN Journal. The search performance is still fast, but initial indexing and real-time updating may be slightly slower than NTFS drives.
Advanced search filters and customization
While the simple searches are more than adequate for the average user, Everything also incorporates advanced search and filtering that you can use if you want more expertise and customization. You can search using:
- Wildcards and boolean operators
- File size, dates, extensions, and even paths
- File attributes
The advanced filters and features can come in handy. Alongside these, the tool also provides features such as bookmarks, saved searches, keyboard shortcuts, and more. Furthermore, with the long-awaited version 1.5 update released in 2026, Everything now natively supports Dark Mode, property indexing, and full content indexing.
Resource usage and real-time updates
While many users may falsely assume that Everything will be resource-intensive or memory-intensive, that is not the case. It maintains a relatively small database and typically uses minimal resources. The database updates automatically in real time whenever files are created, renamed, moved, or deleted. Because the software monitors NTFS file system changes directly, results generally remain accurate without requiring manual reindexing.
A powerful replacement for traditional Windows file search
Everything is a completely free file indexing tool that offers one of the fastest and most responsive file search experiences available on Windows. Its near-instant indexing, advanced filtering, and a minimalist design make it a useful utility for users who regularly manage large file collections or drives.
