Ueli: Error when activating Application Search

[pauLee]

I can not launch any application with Ueli and I get an error when activating or modifying the Application search.

The error:
{ "cmd": "mdfind "kind:apps" | egrep "^\/Applications"", "code": 1, "killed": false, "level": "error", "service": "user-service", "signal": null, "timestamp": "2020-03-06T11:36:49.611Z" }

I'am using Ueli version 8.5.3 on the latest Mac OS 10.15.3
debug.log

[blmhemu]

The bug : You probably might have disabled indexing which this app is using.
https://www.technipages.com/macos-sierra-enable-disable-spotlight

Solution : Try running sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist

[pauLee]

Thank you for that idea but this wasn't the problem. The spotlight-index isn't disabled. I also tried to rebuild the index. Spotlight itself works very good.

[oliverschwendener]

What happens if you reset the application search settings to default?

[pauLee]

The error still remains.

[oliverschwendener]

What happens if you remove all folders in the settings?

[pauLee]

The error disappears when I delete the last folder path. But it doesn't matter which path I remove last.
And the error does not occur if I disable and enable the plugin when all folders are deleted.

[dkanas]

@oliverschwendener I might have found the issue:

I'm running mac OS 10.15.3 and running mdfind kind:apps or mdfind "kind:apps" in the terminal returns nothing, but when I run mdfind kMDItemContentTypeTree=com.apple.application-bundle it seems to return a full list of apps.

[pauLee]

@oliverschwendener I might have found the issue:

I'm running mac OS 10.15.3 and running mdfind kind:apps or mdfind "kind:apps" in the terminal returns nothing, but when I run mdfind kMDItemContentTypeTree=com.apple.application-bundle it seems to return a full list of apps.

Yes, same for me!

[xfirf]

I´ve just added the mentioned command in application-searcher.ts in line 39
executeCommandWithOutput(mdfind kMDItemContentTypeTree=com.apple.application-bundle | egrep "${folderRegex}")
that improves the search but still does not show all applications. Outlook is working now but Mail (Apple Mail) is still missing.

Maybe the folderRegex has to be updated too.

[oliverschwendener]

@xfirf Did you try adding /System/Applications to the application folders in the settings?

[xfirf]

@xfirf Did you try adding /System/Applications to the application folders in the settings?

Ah. Now it´s working as intended. (with the changed line mentioned above)
Thank you.

[oliverschwendener]

@pauLee You still aren't able to find all applictions?

[pauLee]

Yes, unfortunately the situation is still the same. I can't find any apps.

But I get another error:
Error: Command failed: mdfind "kind:apps" | egrep "^/Applications|^/System/Library/CoreServices|^/Users/tom/Applications|^/System/Applications/"

[pthoelken]

When will this fix merged to public and released? The error is thill there on my macOS.
#372

[oliverschwendener]

Before I consider #372 to really fix this problem I want to understand why & when the issue occurs. Unfortunately I can't find a pleasing documentation on how to use mdfind correctly.

For me it seems that mdfind "kind:apps" works just fine on macOS 10.14.x. Are you guys (those who experience this issue) using macOS 10.15.x?

[xfirf]

Before I consider #372 to really fix this problem I want to understand why & when the issue occurs. Unfortunately I can't find a pleasing documentation on how to use mdfind correctly.

For me it seems that mdfind "kind:apps" works just fine on macOS 10.14.x. Are you guys (those who experience this issue) using macOS 10.15.x?

Yes, I´m on OSX 10.15.x

[pauLee]

Before I consider #372 to really fix this problem I want to understand why & when the issue occurs. Unfortunately I can't find a pleasing documentation on how to use mdfind correctly.

For me it seems that mdfind "kind:apps" works just fine on macOS 10.14.x. Are you guys (those who experience this issue) using macOS 10.15.x?

Yes, I'am on Mac OS 10.15.x too.

[pthoelken]

Yes, I'am on Mac OS 10.15.x too.

[oliverschwendener]

So to me it looks like these are the correct ways to retreive apps:

• macOS 10.14.x and older: mdfind "kind:apps"
• macOS 10.15 and newer: mdfind kMDItemContentTypeTree=com.apple.application-bundle

Can you guys confirm this?

[pthoelken]

mdfind kMDItemContentTypeTree=com.apple.application-bundle
works for me in macOS 10.15.5
mdfind "kind:apps"
didn't work

[pauLee]

mdfind kMDItemContentTypeTree=com.apple.application-bundle
works for me in macOS 10.15.5
mdfind "kind:apps"
didn't work

Same for me!

[oliverschwendener]

What are you guys getting when executing this: mdfind "kind:preferences" ?

[pauLee]

What are you guys getting when executing this: mdfind "kind:preferences" ?

Nothing.

[oliverschwendener]

Then this needs to be updated too. But let's create a separate issue for that.

[stefarossi]

I'm encountering this error on 10.13.6. mdfind "kind:apps" returns nothing, while mdfind kMDItemContentTypeTree=com.apple.application-bundle works as expected and returns a huge list of apps.

[gregsadetsky]

I doubt anybody will have the same issue, but I was also having the "mdfind" errors under 10.15. In my case, this is because in System Preferences, under Spotlight, in the "Privacy" tab, I had setup Spotlight to not index a list of directories which ended up containing the applications directory I wanted to have indexed by ueli.

Thank you!