---
id: pyobjc-framework-corespotlight
version: "12.2.2"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# pyobjc-framework-CoreSpotlight — Wrappers for the framework CoreSpotlight on macOS

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 657.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

This package wraps Apple's CoreSpotlight framework for use in Python, letting you interact with macOS's built-in search indexing system. It depends on pyobjc-core and pyobjc-framework-Cocoa to bridge between Python and Objective-C, and runs only on macOS with Python 3.10 or later.

The package itself provides no high-level documentation—you work directly with the CoreSpotlight API as exposed through PyObjC's translation layer, consulting Apple's framework documentation and PyObjC's general guidance on Python-to-Objective-C mapping. It is useful for macOS applications that need to index content for Spotlight search or query indexed metadata.

Use it for:

- Index custom document types or app content into macOS Spotlight so users can search them from the system search interface
- Query the Spotlight index programmatically to retrieve indexed metadata about files or content on the system
- Build macOS desktop applications that integrate with the native search experience without reimplementing indexing

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Provides Python bindings to macOS's CoreSpotlight framework, enabling programmatic access to the system's search indexing and metadata capabilities.

Yes, if you are building a macOS application in Python that needs to integrate with Spotlight search or access CoreSpotlight APIs. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and carries a permissive license. Install friction is moderate due to platform specificity and compiled dependencies, but that is inherent to the task. Not applicable on non-macOS platforms.

## Install

pip install pyobjc-framework-corespotlight
uv add pyobjc-framework-corespotlight
poetry add pyobjc-framework-corespotlight

## Installing pyobjc-framework-CoreSpotlight

Before you install: Medium friction: platform-specific wheels for macOS only (Python 3.10–3.15), with two compiled dependencies. Active maintenance—released 3 days ago with recent commits—reduces risk of bit-rot.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package with minimal restrictions, provided you retain the license notice.

Quickstart:

pip install pyobjc-framework-corespotlight
import CoreSpotlight
# Use CoreSpotlight APIs via PyObjC translation layer

macOS only; requires Python 3.10 or later and depends on pyobjc-core and pyobjc-framework-Cocoa

Verify before relying:

- Whether CoreSpotlight access requires specific macOS versions or entitlements beyond wheel metadata
- Performance characteristics when indexing large numbers of items or querying the search index
- High-level usage examples or tutorials beyond Apple's framework documentation

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 657.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

macos spotlight search integration, corespotlight python bindings, macos search index api, pyobjc framework wrapper, macos metadata indexing, spotlight framework python, macos-native, objective-c-binding

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