VogonTechnicianAug 11, 2023
Mario Guzmán

If you ship an app for macOS, please do this! I hardly see this at all with Mac apps.

In your info.plist, add `MDItemKeywords` and the value is a list of keywords for your app separated by commas. This will show up in your More Info window for your app under “Keywords”.

Why is this useful? Let’s say you make a Mastodon client app called anything BUT Mastodon, if you throw “Mastodon” in this list in `MDItemKeywords`, searching “Mastodon” in Spotlight would surface it as a search result!

Jun 20, 2023 at 10:38pmIvory for Mac
Show threadMario GuzmánJun 20, 2023
2/2 - I was just reminded of this because I was just trying to add a new calendar even in Outlook so I tried to use Spotlight to open Outlook -- except I typed in “Calendar" because I was thinking “Calendar event” and yet nothing came up. Would have been if Microsoft had added keywords like Email, Calendar, Notes, Invite, etc to surface Outlook in Spotlight better. :D
Show threadAdrian Schönig Jun 21, 2023
@marioguzman Was not aware of this. Nice! Is there any documentation of this or similar keys somewhere? I searched and the most relevant result was a StackOverflow question from 10 years ago…
Show threadMario GuzmánJun 21, 2023
@nighthawk none that I can find but I just did my investigation with Music.app when “iTunes” was bringing up Music as a search result. Found it in the info.plist for Music.
Show threadAdrian Schönig Jun 21, 2023
@marioguzman Ha. Great detective work!
Show threadSörenJun 21, 2023

@nighthawk @marioguzman barely. MD* (Metadata) means it relates to Spotlight. You can use mdfind from Terminal to search for files that have the attribute.

It’s mentioned at https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreservices/kmditemkeywords?changes=__11&language=objc

kMDItemKeywords | Apple Developer Documentation

Keywords associated with this file. For example, “Birthday”, “Important”, etc. An CFArray of CFStrings.

Apple Developer Documentation
Show threadMichael OBrienJun 21, 2023
@marioguzman had no idea 😅 thanks 🙏
Show threadC5Jun 21, 2023
@marioguzman We also have this feature on Linux. It's part of the [Desktop Entry Spec.](https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/desktop-entry-spec-latest.html) as a `Keywords` field, and I **really** love how it works. It makes my life a lot easier. I don't know if iOS also supports `MDItemKeywords` but It's something that I miss a lot while using my Android phone's app search bar.
Desktop Entry Specification

Show threadSaeed TaheriJun 21, 2023
@marioguzman @stroughtonsmith Is there such feature available for iOS as well?
Show threadDean MayersJun 21, 2023
@marioguzman if there was list of macOS table stakes, this would be on it. This feels like the absolute basics.
Show threadjfidFeb 20, 2024
@marioguzman Nice tip! Thanks! I’m shipping a macOS app soon…
Show threadJanOct 6, 2024
@marioguzman does this work on iOS, too? Or do you know if there is a similar way to appear in iOS Spotlight search?
Show threadMario GuzmánOct 6, 2024
@meaningful_jan this is macOS only — iOS doesn’t have this.
Show threadsoftmausDec 12, 2024
@marioguzman @meaningful_jan on iOS, it's kMDItemKeywords (note the leading 'k') https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/761535
I want to add keywords to the syst… | Apple Developer Forums

Show threadJanDec 12, 2024
@softmaus @marioguzman Thanks!
Show threadJonathan HendryOct 7

@marioguzman

But if you add keywords that are irrelevant or deceptive, I'll, I'll, I'll give you such a pinch.

Show threaddevoluteMar 5
@marioguzman I tried to make this happen in one of my favourite MacOS apps. I wonder if it'll take?: https://github.com/keepassium/KeePassium/issues/511