Research archives
Search reports, references, and downloaded document collections without reorganizing them first.
v1.0 · macOS 14+ · On-device
Search whereSpotlight stops.
Find text and file names across folders, PDF and Office documents, images, and nested archives—without unpacking every file or waiting for a full-disk index.
Available now · Free download
Instant
No background full-disk index
Deep
ZIP, 7z, RAR, and folders
Precise
Pages, slides, cells, and OCR regions
Local
Documents stay on this Mac
Made for unstructured libraries
When the answer may be several files deep.
ZipSeek is useful when opening and unpacking every candidate would take longer than the search itself.
Project handoffs
Trace a phrase through mixed folders, Office files, and the archives supplied by another team.
Long-term records
Find names, clauses, and identifiers in old ZIP, 7z, and RAR packages while preserving the source path.
One focused workflow
Choose a place. Search what is inside.
ZipSeek follows the structure you already have instead of asking you to reorganize it first.
Choose a file or folder
Open a folder, a document, an image, or an archive—or drag it into the window.
Choose what counts
Search contents, file names, or both. Limit the document types and enable OCR only when needed.
Inspect the exact hit
Open the nested path and review the matching page, paragraph, slide, worksheet cell, or image region.
Nested archives
Follow the full path without unpacking first.
ZipSeek can move through ZIP, 7z, and RAR archives, including archives stored inside other archives. The result keeps the full breadcrumb so the source remains understandable.
Default depth: 5
Raise the archive limit in Settings when a real library needs more.
Safe boundaries
Size, expansion, and depth limits prevent runaway extraction.
Clear limitations
Password-protected ZIP is supported; encrypted 7z and RAR are not yet supported.
Location-aware results
A match should lead somewhere useful.
Text PDFs open on the matching page. Office results keep paragraph, slide, or worksheet locations. OCR results show the recognized region directly on the image.
Coverage
The formats used in real project folders.
Documents
TXT, RTF, EPUB, PDF, DOCX, ODT, PPTX, ODP, XLSX, ODS
Images and OCR
PNG, JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, BMP, GIF, WebP, and image-only PDFs
Archives
ZIP, 7z, RAR, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, and common container variants
Simple ownership
Try everything for 3 days. Then decide once.
The final price and Family Sharing availability are shown by your local App Store.
Trial
3-day free trial
- All search and OCR features
- No automatic charge
- Search pauses when the trial ends
Pro
ZipSeek Pro
- One-time in-app purchase
- No subscription
- Restore through your Apple ID
Privacy
Your content is processed locally.
ZipSeek does not upload document contents, require an account, show ads, run analytics, or track you. It keeps bounded, regenerable caches on this Mac to make repeated searches faster.
Read the privacy policy →FAQ
Before your first search.
Does ZipSeek build a background index of my Mac?+
No. It searches only locations you choose. It may keep bounded local text and OCR caches for files you searched.
Will modified files use stale cached text?+
No. Cache entries are keyed to file identity and modification details, so changed files are processed again.
Does it support Windows-created archives?+
Yes. ZipSeek handles common Windows archive and filename encodings, including East Asian filenames, while respecting macOS path rules.
Can it search attachments embedded in Office or PDF files?+
Yes when attachment search is enabled. File-type filters apply to the result files users selected, keeping the behavior predictable.
Search the folder you already have.
Download it free from the Mac App Store. Try every feature for 3 days, then unlock Pro with one purchase if it fits your workflow.