Find files by date with mdfind and $time values

mdfind exposes Spotlight's indexed metadata dates such as kMDItemContentModificationDate, and pairs them with handy $time keywords like today, this_week, and this_month.

macOSdatesmdfindspotlightLow risk

Run `mdfind 'kMDItemContentModificationDate >= $time.this_week'` to list every indexed file modified in the past week.

01Command

Command

$ mdfind 'kMDItemContentModificationDate >= $time.this_week'
mdfind 'kMDItemContentCreationDate >= $time.yesterday && kMDItemFSName == "*.pdf"'

02What it does

Date comparisons use ISO 8601 strings or the built-in $time constants ($time.today, $time.yesterday, $time.this_week, $time.this_month). They compose with other Spotlight predicates using &&, so you can narrow a date range by name or content type in the same query.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

RequirementsSpotlight indexing must be enabled for the volumes being searched

!Warning: Results depend entirely on Spotlight's index; files in folders excluded from Spotlight (including many dot directories) will never appear.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

mdfind — find files using Spotlight metadata
SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: Lists kMDItem date attributes and the $time.this_week / $time.yesterday value syntax.

Last verified: 2026-09-17 · Category: Files & Folders

06Related solutions

Query Spotlight's Raw Syntax with mdfind

macOSmetadatasearchmdfind

Use kMDItem attributes to search file metadata the Spotlight UI can't express, faster than find ever will.

Low risk ✓ 2026-09-17

Read a File's Spotlight Metadata with mdls

macOSmetadatamdlsphotos

Dump every indexed attribute of any file: EXIF, dimensions, duration, authors, content types.

Low risk ✓ 2026-09-17