---
name: "SpotTest"
subtitle: "A drag-and-drop diagnostic for why Spotlight can't find a file"
date: 2026-07-20
link: "https://eclecticlight.co/downloads/"
linkText: "eclecticlight.co"
source: "The Eclectic Light Company"
topics: [macos-apps]
tags: [spotlight, diagnostics, free, utility]
description: "A free macOS utility that generates crafted test files to probe Spotlight indexing and search, from a developer who has documented most of Spotlight's known bugs."
---

SpotTest builds a folder of deliberately crafted test files, then runs both NSMetadata and `mdfind` searches against them to show exactly where Spotlight's indexing breaks down. Its 1.3 update adds a drop window that reports what the command-line tool `file(1)` thinks a file actually is, set beside what Spotlight's own importers decided, useful for the exact moment a document goes missing from search for no visible reason. Free, from the developer behind most of Spotlight's documented bug reports.
