Everything vs Flow Launcher

Everything

• Windows users who want to find files and folders by name as they type
• Drives holding hundreds of thousands or millions of files
• Scripts and other programs that need a file index through the command line or SDK

Flow Launcher

• Windows users who want a keyboard launcher at no cost
• People who already use Everything or Windows Search and want it in a launcher
• Tinkerers who install or write their own plugins

Everything

• Windows only; the FAQ lists Windows XP through Windows 11.
• It indexes file and folder names, not contents. Searching inside files is possible but slow.
• NTFS indexing needs the Everything service or administrator rights, and FAT volumes and network shares must be added as folder indexes by hand.
• The Lite build removes the HTTP and ETP/FTP servers and IPC, so the command-line tool and SDK do not work with it.

Flow Launcher

• Windows only; the download section says it supports Windows 10 and later.
• On first install, Windows may raise a security warning because the code is not signed, according to the README.
• Integrations such as Spotify, Steam and Obsidian come from community-made plugins and not from the core app.
• Help comes through GitHub, Discord and Reddit, and the project is funded by sponsors.

Everything

Instant filename search

Starts by listing every file and folder on the PC and narrows the list as you type. Only names are indexed: about 250,000 files on a fresh Windows 11 install take about 5 seconds.

Real-time index updates

Results update as files change. NTFS indexes are kept current through the USN Journal, so changes made while Everything was closed are picked up when it restarts.

Search syntax

Supports boolean operators, wildcards, file-type and location filters and optional regular expressions. A content: function searches inside files, but contents are not indexed, so it is slow.

Low resource use

The vendor quotes about 35 MB of RAM and under 14 MB of disk space for roughly 250,000 files, and about 100 MB of RAM for 1,000,000 files.

HTTP and ETP/FTP servers

Search and open your files from a web browser on another computer, phone or tablet on the local network. Version 1.4 includes the servers; for version 1.5 they are separate plugins.

Command line and SDK

The ES command-line tool queries a running copy of Everything, and the SDK gives other programs a DLL and Lib interface to it over IPC.

Flow Launcher

App and file search

Search for and launch apps, and find files or file contents using Everything or the Windows index, from a window opened with a customizable hotkey.

Web searches and bookmarks

Run a web search with your chosen search engine, open URLs and find bookmarks from different browsers.

System and shell commands

Shut down, restart, sleep or lock the PC, search Windows and Control Panel settings, and run batch or PowerShell commands as Administrator or another user.

Plugin Store

Install community plugins from the Plugin Store in Settings or by typing pm install. Plugins can be written in C#, F#, Python, JavaScript or TypeScript.

Dialog Jump

Search for a file or folder and jump an Open or Save As dialog to its path. Alt+G points the dialog at the folder open in the active file manager.

Preview panel and themes

F1 toggles a preview panel that can show media files as large images. Themes, window size, animation and sound can be changed, or you can build your own theme.

Everything

• Everything$0

  Freeware in installer, portable ZIP and Lite builds, with 32-bit, 64-bit and ARM downloads. Donations are optional.

Flow Launcher

• Flow Launcher$0

  The complete launcher as an installer or portable ZIP, or through winget, Scoop or Chocolatey. Sponsorship is optional.