LocalSpider FAQ

LocalSpider is a private desktop app for semantic file search. It helps you find images, PDFs, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other local files by meaning, not just by filename or exact keyword.

Semantic file search means searching by meaning instead of exact words or filenames. You can describe what you are looking for in natural language, and LocalSpider searches your local file index for files that match the intent of the query.

LocalSpider searches by file meaning and visual content, while normal desktop search usually depends on filenames, folder paths, and exact keyword matches. That means LocalSpider can help find a file even when the filename is vague or the exact search words do not appear in the file name.

No. LocalSpider indexes and searches files locally on your computer. Your files, filenames, and search queries are not uploaded to a cloud server for indexing or search.

LocalSpider can search documents, images, spreadsheets, and presentations. Supported formats include PDF, DOCX, TXT, MD, RTF, JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, SVG, HEIC, XLS, XLSX, CSV, ODS, TSV, PPT, PPTX, KEY, and ODP.

Yes. LocalSpider can search images by what they visually contain, not only by filename or metadata. For example, you can search for a screenshot showing an invoice or a photo of a whiteboard with a flowchart.

Yes. LocalSpider is designed as private AI file search that runs locally on your device. File indexing and search happen on your computer, and the product does not rely on uploading your files to a cloud search service.

Yes. LocalSpider is available for Windows and macOS. Search and indexing run locally on both platforms.

LocalSpider is for people who manage many local files and need a faster way to find them by content. It is useful for researchers, students, creators, consultants, product managers, knowledge workers, and anyone with messy downloads, screenshots, PDFs, documents, or project folders.

You can join the LocalSpider waitlist from any Join the waitlist button on the website. The waitlist form asks for your name and email, and an optional product suggestion.

The Lifetime Deal includes a one-time payment for a lifetime license for one device. There are no subscription fees or renewals.

Indexing is optimized to run locally with sensible limits. You can pause indexing anytime, and after the first indexing pass, ongoing updates are lightweight and run in the background.