Compare software

plocate vs fselect: catalog facts
plocate	fselect
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source, dual licensed under MIT and Apache 2.0.
Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Very fast file name lookups Smaller index than mlocate	Readable SQL-like queries instead of find flags Subqueries and aggregate functions
Linux only Results are only as fresh as the last index update	Not a complete replacement for find and ls Query grammar is SQL-like but not real SQL
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0-or-later	License: MIT OR Apache-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.