How to find files by tag on a Mac

Updated 2026-10-18

Finder tags let you label files across folders, such as Tax 2026 or To Review, without moving them. Finding them again is quick once you know the four places tags show up.

Add a tag

Right-click a file or folder and click one of the coloured tag dots, or choose Tags to type a name.
Select a file and press Command-I. Type in the Tags field near the top of Get Info.
When saving from an app, use the Tags field in the save dialog.
Select several files first to tag them all at once.

A tag can have a colour, a name or both. Names are more useful for finding, because colours run out fast.

Find files with one tag

Sidebar: click the tag under Tags in the Finder sidebar. Finder lists every file with that tag, from every indexed folder.
Spotlight: press Command-Space and type tag: followed by the tag name, for example tag:Tax.
Finder search: start typing the tag name in a Finder search box and pick the suggestion marked Tags.

If a tag is missing from the sidebar, open Finder Settings, click Tags and tick the ones you want to show. You can also drag them into the order you prefer.

Combine tags with other filters

Choose File, then New Smart Folder.
Click the plus button and choose Tags from the rule menu (use Other if it is not listed).
Add more rules, such as Kind is PDF or Created date is this year.
Hold the Option key while clicking the plus button to add a group of rules joined by Any, All or None, which lets you match either of two tags.
Click Save and add it to the sidebar.

A Smart Folder like “PDFs tagged Tax, created this year” is a good end-of-year shortcut.

See tags in list view

Press Command-J in a list view folder and tick Tags to add a Tags column. Clicking its header sorts the folder by tag, which is a quick way to spot untagged files in a project.

Keep tags from getting lost

Tags are stored with the file on your Mac and sync through iCloud Drive. They can be dropped when a file passes through something that does not understand them, such as email, some cloud storage services or a drive formatted for Windows. If tags matter, keep tagged files on your Mac or iCloud Drive, and add the tag word to the file name for anything you send elsewhere.

Keep a short list of tags you actually use. Five well-chosen names beat thirty that you forget to apply.

See tags while you browse in FileSift

FileSift shows your Finder tags on files while you browse folders as large thumbnails, so you can see what is tagged without switching to list view. It reads your folders in place and does not move or rename files, and you can open anything in Finder to add or change a tag. Tags are a Finder feature, and FileSift is designed to work next to it rather than replace it.

Common questions

Can a file have more than one tag?

Yes. Add as many as you like. Finder shows up to three colour dots and lists all tag names in Get Info.

Do tags work in iCloud Drive?

Yes. Tags on files in iCloud Drive sync to your other Macs signed in to the same Apple Account.

FileSift shows your folders as large thumbnails, searches in plain English and clears duplicates. US$19 once, for macOS 14 or later. See what it does.

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