Apropos and Spotlight
Since macOS 26, Spotlight runs actions from apps that adopted App Intents and can find menu items of the app in front, mixed in with apps and files. Apropos opens straight onto that app: its menus with their paths and shortcuts, then actions for your selection.
Use them together
- They use different keys, Command-Space and Option-Space, so nothing needs to change.
- Use Spotlight for files, apps and App Intents actions. Use Apropos for the menus of the app you are in and for your selection.
- Apropos learns, on your Mac, which command usually comes next, and says why.
Side by side
| Feature | Apropos | Spotlight |
|---|---|---|
| Default key | Option-Space, any key you like | Command-Space |
| Menu commands of the app in front | The list itself: every command, its menu path and its shortcut, as soon as it opens | Mixed into results; Command-3 narrows to actions and menu items |
| Actions on what you selected | Built in for text, files, the page, the folder and git, plus your own | Some actions, such as Change Case and Translate |
| Launch apps and search files | No, on purpose | Yes |
| Clipboard history | No | Yes, once you turn it on |
| Account | None | Part of macOS |
| Price | Not announced yet | Included with macOS |
Checked on 20 October 2026. Linked cells open their source. Download Apropos