Compare software

fselect vs FileQL: catalog facts
fselect	FileQL
Best for: People who find SQL easier to write than find expressions	Best for: Command-line users who want to query and summarize file collections
Free Free and open source, dual licensed under MIT and Apache 2.0.	Free Free and open source under the MIT license.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Command line
Readable SQL-like queries instead of find flags Subqueries and aggregate functions All 3 strengths for fselect Readable SQL-like queries instead of find flags Subqueries and aggregate functions Can compare results across several directories	Queries file metadata using SQL-like statements Works on local files without a database import All 3 strengths for FileQL Queries file metadata using SQL-like statements Works on local files without a database import Offers Cargo and Winget installation
Not a complete replacement for find and ls Query grammar is SQL-like but not real SQL	Focused on querying local file metadata
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT OR Apache-2.0	License: MIT
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Offline features available	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for fselect github.com/jhspetersson/fselect Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for FileQL github.com/AmrDeveloper/FileQL Catalog checked October 8, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.