Spotlight in macOS Tahoe — Faster with Keyboard Shortcuts
Apple overhauled Spotlight in macOS Tahoe (macOS 26). The search tool is now more powerful and keyboard-friendly: natural-language queries, in-place actions, clipboard history, and new dedicated shortcuts make finding and doing things faster without opening apps.
Key improvements
- Natural-language search: Type phrases like “send” to get relevant app actions (Mail, Messages) and start composing directly in Spotlight.
- Spotlight Actions: Run tasks (send texts, create notes, start timers, etc.) without launching full apps.
- Clipboard history: Access recent copied items from Spotlight and paste or copy again quickly.
- Improved keyboard navigation: Use Tab and arrow keys to move through results fast.
- New keyboard shortcuts: Cmd+1 = Applications, Cmd+2 = Files, Cmd+3 = Actions, Cmd+4 = Clipboard history.
Tips
- Try natural commands like “create note” or “send message to [name]” to see actionable results.
- Use Cmd+3 to access actions without leaving the keyboard — big time-saver for power users.
- Clipboard history in Spotlight helps when you need to reuse recent snippets across apps.
Original German excerpt (translated): “If you use macOS Tahoe, you’ve likely already met the new Spotlight search. Apple has revamped the systemwide search and added welcome feature enhancements. A few details not obvious at first glance are worth a short mention here. Users who prefer keyboard shortcuts over the mouse will…”
Have you tried the new Spotlight yet? Which shortcut or action sped up your workflow? Share in the comments below.
More info: Apple — What’s new in macOS