Questions and fixes · Espresso Help

Questions

How is Espresso different from Spotlight?

Spotlight searches file contents and metadata, and picks results for you. Espresso searches the names and paths of every file, hidden and system files included, shows everything that matches in a sortable list as you type, has precise filters and regular expressions, and keeps disconnected disks searchable. With Pro it can also search inside files and by meaning.

Does Espresso slow down my Mac?

Indexing a disk is a burst of work, once. After that Espresso only follows changes as they happen, and does nothing when it’s closed.

How much space does the index use?

About 110 bytes per file: roughly 230 MB for two million files.

Which disks and file systems work?

Any that macOS can mount: APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32, NTFS (read-only) and others. Network shares can be turned on in Settings › Disks; they can be slow to index.

Can I keep folders out of the index?

Yes: Settings › Disks › Decaf, with presets for node_modules, .git and other build folders. See Excluded folders.

Is Espresso free?

Espresso Free is free forever for personal, non-commercial use. Using Espresso at work, and the features listed in Espresso Pro, need Pro: one payment, every update, up to three Macs, with a 14-day free trial.

How do I remove Espresso completely?

If you installed the command-line tool, click Uninstall in Settings › Automation first. Then quit Espresso and move it to the Trash. Its index and settings are in ~/Library/Application Support/Espresso; delete that folder too if you don’t plan to come back.

Fixes

A file I know is there doesn’t show up

Check, in this order:

Is it hidden? Hidden files, and everything in hidden folders like ~/Library, aren’t shown by default. Press ⇧⌘. or add hidden: to the search.
Is it inside an app or package? Turn on Lungo (⌥⌘L), and check Show contents of apps and packages in Settings › Search.
Is a Blend or an option on? A Blend (shown on the Blends button) or Match Case / Match Whole Words in Options can hide it. ⌘1 goes back to Everything.
Is the sidebar on one disk or folder? Select All Disks.
Is the folder excluded? See Settings › Disks › Decaf.
Does it need Full Disk Access? The status bar says when folders were skipped. See Full Disk Access.
Is its disk indexed? It should be listed in the sidebar under Disks or Offline Disks.

An offline disk has a lock on it

Espresso Free keeps the two most recently connected offline disks searchable; the others are locked until you connect them. Nothing is lost. Espresso Pro unlocks all of them.

Results seem out of date

While Espresso is open, changes appear within about a second, and at launch it catches up with what changed while it was closed. Network volumes may not report changes: right-click the disk › Update Index. If you changed excluded folders, use Fresh Grind to apply them right away.

⌥Space doesn’t open The Shot

Espresso has to be running. Turn on Open at login and Keep Espresso open in Settings › General so it always is.
Another app may use the same keys. Pick a different shortcut in Settings › General: Espresso tells you when a combination is taken.
Check that Shortcut opens is set to The Shot.

Espresso says a folder couldn’t be read

Right-click the disk › Folders Couldn’t Be Read… lists them. Most need Full Disk Access. A few belong to macOS and can’t be opened by any app; Espresso skips those without a word.

It needs Espresso Pro, a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later. On other Macs everything else works, including content: and looks: with Inside files.

Still stuck?

Write to support@mokasolutions.dev, also from Help › Contact Support… in Espresso. Tell us what you did, what you expected to happen and what happened instead.