Add Set Default Search Directory For Finder as a Mac TIL

2026-08-31 16:51:46 +00:00 · 2026-07-23 15:04:31 -05:00
parent 7128f99da2
commit 25f5029ad3
2 changed files with 43 additions and 1 deletions
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+# Set Default Search Directory For Finder
+
+In MacOS's Finder.app, when I click the Search (magnifying glass) icon and type
+something in, it performs the search across all of "This Mac". This has always
+really bugged me because I'm usually already in the directory that I want to be
+specifically searching in.
+
+A small quality-of-life improvement for me was to update the setting that
+controls this to search in the current directory instead.
+
+This can be done via the Finder.app menu at the bottom of the _Advanced_ section
+in the _Settings_. The three setting options are:
+
+- Search This Mac
+- Search the Current Folder
+- Search the Previous Search Scope
+
+This can also be controlled from the command line using the `defaults write`
+command. The specific setting is called `FXDefaultSearchScope` and the above
+three settings translate to:
+
+- `SCev` (Search This Mac)
+- `SCcf` (Search the Current Folder)
+- `SCsp` (Search the Previous Search Scope)
+
+I can see the current default setting with `defaults read`:
+
+```bash
+❯ defaults read com.apple.finder FXDefaultSearchScope
+SCev
+```
+
+I can then change it to the _Search the Current Folder_ option like so:
+
+```bash
+❯ defaults write com.apple.finder FXDefaultSearchScope -string "SCcf"
+```
+
+All the open Finder windows still hold the original setting. I need to do a
+`killall Finder` to effectively reload them. Now if I try doing a search, it
+should default to the current directory instead of _This Mac_.