everything-search

name	everything-search
description	Provides comprehensive guidance for using ES (Everything Search) command-line tool. Invoke when user asks about file searching, needs help with es commands, or wants to search files efficiently using Everything.

Everything Search Command Helper

This skill provides comprehensive guidance for using the ES (Everything Search) command-line interface tool.

IMPORTANT: Always Use -help First

CRITICAL: Before attempting any ES command, always run es -help to get the most up-to-date information. The ES tool is actively maintained and options may change. Using -help ensures you have the latest syntax and available options.

es -help

What is ES?

ES is a command-line interface to Everything, a powerful file search utility for Windows. It provides fast, efficient file searching with advanced filtering and sorting capabilities.

Installation

Check if Everything and ES are Installed

# Check Everything version
es -get-everything-version

# Check ES version
es -version

# Check if es command is available
es -help

If these commands fail, you need to install Everything and ES.

Install Everything and ES using winget

winget is available on Windows 10/11 by default.

Search for Everything and ES:

winget search Everything

Expected results:

• voidtools.Everything - Everything (main application)
• voidtools.Everything.Cli - ES (Everything CLI)

Install Everything:

winget install voidtools.Everything

Install ES (Everything CLI):

winget install voidtools.Everything.Cli

Verify installation:

es -version
es -get-everything-version

Post-Installation Setup

After installation:

1. Start Everything: Launch Everything from Start menu
2. Configure Everything: Let Everything index your files (usually quick)
3. Verify ES connection:

   es -help
   

Troubleshooting Installation

ES command not found:

• Restart your terminal
• Verify ES is in your PATH: where es
• Reinstall: winget install voidtools.Everything.Cli --force

Everything not running:

• Start Everything from Start menu
• Check if Everything is running in Task Manager

ES cannot connect to Everything:

• Ensure Everything is running
• Restart Everything

Basic Usage

Simple Search

es <search-term>

Limit Results

es -n 10 *.js
es -count 5 package.json

Search by Extension

es ext:exe;ini
es *.txt
es *.js

Search Options

Pattern Matching

• -r <pattern> or -regex <pattern>: Use regular expressions
• -i or -case: Match case (case-sensitive)
• -w or -whole-word: Match whole words only
• -p or -match-path: Match full path
• -prefix: Match start of words
• -suffix: Match end of words

Path Filtering

• -path <path>: Search in specific path
• -parent-path <path>: Search in parent of path
• -parent <path>: Search files with specific parent path

File Type Filtering

• /ad: Folders only
• /a-d: Files only
• /a[RHSDAVNTPLCOIEUPM]: DIR style attributes search (see es -help for details)

Sorting Options

Sort by Property

es -sort name <search-term>
es -sort size <search-term>
es -sort date-modified <search-term>
es -sort extension <search-term>

Sort Order

es -sort name-ascending <search-term>
es -sort size-descending <search-term>

Display Options

Show Specific Columns

es -name -size -extension *.js
es -path-column -date-modified -size *.log
es -full-path-and-name *.txt

Available Columns

• -name: File name
• -path-column: Path
• -full-path-and-name: Full path and name
• -extension or -ext: File extension
• -size: File size
• -date-created or -dc: Creation date
• -date-modified or -dm: Modification date
• -date-accessed or -da: Last access date
• Use es -help for all available columns

Output Formats

es -csv *.js
es -json *.txt
es -tsv *.log
es -txt *.ini

Date Format (IMPORTANT for JSON/CSV exports)

CRITICAL: When using -json, -csv, or other export formats, dates are displayed as FILETIME integers by default, which are not human-readable. Use -date-format to convert to readable format.

# Default (FILETIME - not readable)
es -n 2 -json *.ts
# Output: "date_modified":133564093868587796

# ISO-8601 (local time) - RECOMMENDED
es -n 2 -json -date-format 1 *.ts
# Output: "date_modified":"2024-04-01T09:43:06"

# ISO-8601 (UTC) - for timezone-aware applications
es -n 2 -json -date-format 3 *.ts
# Output: "date_modified":"2024-04-01T01:43:06Z"

# ISO-8601 with full resolution (milliseconds)
es -n 2 -json -date-format 5 *.ts
# Output: "date_modified":"2024-04-01T09:43:06.8587796"

Available date formats:

• 0 - auto (automatic selection)
• 1 - ISO-8601 (local time) - RECOMMENDED
• 2 - FILETIME (default, not readable)
• 3 - ISO-8601 (UTC) - for timezone-aware applications
• 4 - User Locale (system-specific format)
• 5 - ISO-8601 with full resolution (milliseconds)
• 6 - ISO-8601 (UTC) with full resolution

Best practice: Always use -date-format 1 or -date-format 3 when exporting to JSON or CSV for human-readable dates.

Export Options

Export to File

es -export-csv results.csv *.js
es -export-json results.json *.txt
es -export-txt results.txt *.log
es -export-tsv results.tsv *.ini

Use es -help for additional export options.

Statistics and Information

Get Result Count

es -get-result-count *.js

Get Total Size

es -get-total-size *.log

Get Folder Size

es -get-folder-size "C:\path\to\folder"

Version Information

es -version
es -get-everything-version

Advanced Examples

Search and Sort

es -n 20 -sort size -size -name *.log

Search in Specific Path with Custom Columns

es -n 10 -path "C:\Users" -name -size -date-modified *.pdf

Case-Sensitive Whole Word Search

es -i -w "MyFile"

Regex Search

es -r "test_\d+\.txt"

Export Large Results

es -export-json all_files.json *

Search for Folders Only

es /ad -n 20

Search for Hidden Files

es /aH -n 10

Everything Control

Database Operations

es -save-db
es -reindex

Exit Everything

es -exit

Best Practices

1. Always check -help first - ES options may change
2. Use -n to limit results - Prevent overwhelming output
3. Specify columns explicitly - Get only the information you need
4. Use appropriate output format - CSV/JSON for programmatic use, default for human reading
5. Combine filters - Use path, extension, and attributes together for precise searches
6. Export for large result sets - Use -export-* options instead of printing to console

Common Use Cases

Find recently modified files

es -n 50 -sort date-modified-descending *

Export file list for backup

es -export-csv backup_list.csv -path "C:\important\files" *

Troubleshooting

No Results Found

• Check if Everything is running
• Verify the search pattern is correct
• Try a broader search term
• Use -get-result-count to verify search is working

Command Not Found

• Ensure ES is installed and in PATH
• Check Everything is installed on your system

Slow Performance

• Use -n to limit results
• Add path filters to narrow search scope
• Consider using -export-* for large result sets

Notes

• Internal -'s in options can be omitted: -nodigitgrouping
• Switches can start with / instead of -
• Use double quotes to escape spaces and switches
• Switches can be disabled by prefixing with no-: -no-size
• Use ^ prefix or wrap with double quotes to escape special characters

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• User asks about file searching on Windows
• User needs help with es command syntax
• User wants to search files efficiently
• User asks about Everything search tool
• User needs to export file lists
• User wants to find files by specific criteria (size, date, type, etc.)
• User mentions es command or Everything search