Magpie SearchSupport.
Answers to common questions, troubleshooting, and how to reach us.
The user guide
Everything about Magpie Search in one document: first run, searching, the query language, Find by meaning, settings, shortcuts and troubleshooting. You can also open it from Settings › General.
Troubleshooting
A file I know is there doesn't show up. What can I check?
- Is its folder in Settings › Folders, with Subfolders ticked if the file is deeper down? Is its kind ticked in Settings › Indexing?
- Is Magpie still reading? Look at the status line, and use ⋯ › Rescan folders now to check again.
- Hidden files, files in node_modules, .git, bin or obj folders, files over 300 MB and old binary Office files (.doc, .xls, .ppt) aren't read. Password-protected documents can only be found by name.
- Try fewer words, partial words, Typo-tolerant search (Advanced) or Find by meaning.
Text in my pictures isn't found. Why?
- If the pictures contain another language, tick it in Settings › Text recognition. Pictures are read again automatically.
- “Downloading the text-reading model” in the status line means Magpie is waiting for a download. Check your internet connection.
- Very small, blurry or rotated text may not be readable. Accurate mode reads small screen text better than Fast mode.
The keyboard shortcut doesn't work.
Another app may already use Ctrl+Shift+Space. Choose a different shortcut in Settings › Appearance.
Magpie uses CPU after I add a big folder.
That's the first reading. It runs at low priority and stops when it's done. Pause it from the tray menu if you need full speed for something else. By default Magpie also pauses while a laptop runs on battery.
Something looks wrong with the index.
Settings › General › Rebuild index reads everything again in the background.
How do I remove everything?
Uninstall Magpie, then delete %LocalAppData%\Magpie. That folder holds the index (magpie.db), settings.json, downloaded models and magpie.log. Your own files are never changed.
Privacy and your data
- Nothing is uploaded. Text extraction, text recognition, Find by meaning and search all run on your PC.
- Magpie only reads the folders you add and the kinds of files you choose. It never changes your files; the duplicate finder only moves a copy to the Recycle Bin after you confirm.
- The only internet access is downloading the models you enable (text-recognition languages and the Find by meaning model). These are ordinary file downloads; no personal data, file or text is sent. There is no analytics, advertising or tracking.
- Everything Magpie stores is in
%LocalAppData%\Magpie: magpie.db (the index), settings.json (settings and recent searches), models\ and magpie.log. Settings › General › Open data folder shows it. Delete the folder to remove it.
The full privacy policy has the details.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+Space | Open or close Magpie from anywhere (changeable in Settings › Appearance) |
| Ctrl+F | Search box, or Find in text when the preview has focus |
| Space | Show the selected file's full text |
| F3 / Shift+F3 | Next / previous match in the text |
| Ctrl+C / Ctrl+Shift+C | Copy the picture or file / copy its text |
| Ctrl+E | Show in Explorer |
| Ctrl+D | Pin or unpin |
| Ctrl+L | List or grid |
| Ctrl+2 | Advanced search |
| Ctrl+P | Choose the scope (collection or folder) |
| F1 / F5 | Search tips / rescan folders |
Common questions
Is Magpie Search really free?
Yes. Magpie Search is free, with every feature included. There is no account, no trial, no paid tier, no ads and no tracking.
Does Magpie upload my files anywhere?
No. Magpie reads your files on your own PC, recognises text in pictures on your PC, and keeps its index in %LocalAppData%\Magpie. The only time it goes online is to download the models you switch on (text-recognition languages and the optional Find by meaning model). Those are ordinary file downloads: no file, text or personal data is sent.
Which file types can it read?
Word, Excel and PowerPoint files (.docx .docm .xlsx .xlsm .pptx .pptm), OpenDocument files (.odt .ods .odp), .rtf, PDFs (with text recognition for scanned pages), text and notes (.txt .md .markdown .log, plus any extensions you add, such as .csv, .json or .py) and pictures (.png .jpg .jpeg .bmp .gif .tif .tiff .webp).
It doesn't read old binary Office files (.doc .xls .ppt), and it skips hidden and system files, node_modules, .git, bin and obj folders, and files over 300 MB.
Does it work on Windows 10?
Yes. Magpie Search runs on Windows 10 version 2004 or later and on Windows 11, 64-bit. It needs about 220 MB of disk space for the program.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Reading documents, PDFs and notes never needs the internet. Text recognition needs a one-time download of each language you use (English is about 12 MB) and Find by meaning needs its model once. After that, everything works without a connection.
How do I upgrade from Magpie — Screenshot Finder?
Version 2 was called Magpie — Screenshot Finder. Install version 3 and it upgrades in place: your folders, languages and the text already read from your pictures are kept, so nothing has to be read again.
Contact
Found a bug or have a question the guide doesn't answer? Write to elham.derakhshan [at] outlook.com. It helps to mention your Windows version and, for errors, what %LocalAppData%\Magpie\magpie.log says.
Reporting a security issue? See security.txt.