How to Use Mac Finder Tags in Terminal

How to Use Mac Finder Tags in Terminal

by Heinz Tschabitscher | Aug 23, 2026 | Mac Tips and Resources

Wish you could wield the organizational magic of Finder tags right from a Terminal prompt? Find out here how to use Mac Finder tags in Terminal ⤓ to add, remove or reset tags for files and folders flexibly and list files by tag to boot.

How to Use Mac Finder Tags in Terminal

Using the Third-Party Application “Tag”

Time needed: 5 minutes

To get easy access to Mac Finder tags on the Terminal command line using the “tag” application:

  1. Install tag.

    Here’s how: You can install tag most conveniently using either Homebrew or MacPorts; you can also compile the application from the source code with Xcode.

  2. Use tag to examine a file’s tags.

    Here’s how: Use tag <filename> to see the tags currently applied to a file.
    Example: tag "First, Guided by the Light.md" will list the tags assigned to the Markdown document.
    Shortcut: tag alone will list all visible files in the current directory with all their tags.
    Checking the tags for a file with tag in macOS Terminal

  3. Apply tags with tag in Terminal.

    Here’s how: Use tag -a <tag,"another tag",tag3> <files and folders> to apple one or more tags to one or more files.
    New tag: If the tag does not mach one you have previously set up on your Mac, tag will create the tag (without a color assigned).
    Example: tag -a "La De Du",Reading * will apply both the La De Du and the Reading tag to all files in the current directory.
    Nota bene: There is no whitespace that separates multiple tags; they are separated only with a comma; files are separated by whitespace.
    Tagging files in macOS Terminal using tag

  4. Remove individual tags from files using tag.

    Here’s how: Use tag -r <tag,"another tag",tag3> <files and folders> to remove a list of tags from a list of files.
    Example: tag -r Reading "First, Guided by the Light.md" will remove the Reading tag from the Markdown document.
    Escapism: You can either surround file and tag names that include whitespace with quotation marks or precede each whitespace character with a backslash character.
    Removing a tag from a file in Mac Terminal using tag

  5. List all files for a tag using tag in Terminal.

    Here’s how: Use tag -f <tag or tags> to list all files on the system that have all of the listed tags assigned.
    Example: tag -f "La De Du",Reading will list all files and folders that have both the La De Du and the Reading tag.
    Just this folder: In the current folder, you can also use tag -m <tag or tags> to find matching files.
    Their word: James Berry includes information on using tag in the readme file.
    Finding files by tag using tag in Mac Terminal

All tagged and labeled “done”?

⇆ Buy La De Du a tea

Tips help fuel these email and tech how-tos.

Examine Tags for a File Using “Xattr”

To use the xattr utility that comes with macOS for examining a file or folder’s tags:

  • Use xattr -l <files or folders> on the Terminal command line.
    Here’s what happens: This command will print all file attributes; you can find the Finder tags under com.apple.metadata:_kMDItemUserTags: in encoded form (with the tag name at the end)..
    Example: xattr -l First,\ Guided\ by\ the\ Light.md will list all attributes including tags for the Markdown file.
    Just tags: To see just tags, you can use tag -p com.apple.metadata:_kMDItemUserTags <files or folders>.
    Listing the Finder tags for a file using xattr in macOS Terminal

In Finder:
How to Tag Files and Folders on a Mac
How to View Tagged Files and Folders on a Mac

Find Files by Tag Using “Mdfind”

To employ the standard macOS mdfind Terminal application to list files by tag:

  • Use mdfind 'kMDItemUserTags == "<tag>"'.
    Example: mdfind 'kMDItemUserTags == "Reading"' will list all files with the tag Reading.
    Listing files by tag using mdfind in Mac Terminal

How to Use Mac Finder Tags in Terminal: FAQ

Can I strip all tags off of files with tag?

Yes.

To quickly reset tags for a file using tag:

  • Use tag -s * <file> to remove all tags from the specified files.
    Why this works: The -s command sets a file’s tags to the list given, and * specifies no tags in this case (it means all tags with other commands, though).
    Example: tag -s * * will strip all files in the current directory off all tags.

Can I have tag work recursively through directories?

Yes.

Except for the finding command -f, you can add the switch -R to have tag go through directories recursively.
Example: tag -Ra Reading "La De Du" will add the Reading tag to the folder La De Du as well as to all files and folders in it.

Can tag auto-complete tag names for me?

No.

You will have to enter or copy tag names manually; tag cannot auto-complete tag names.

(Tested with macOS Tahoe 26 and tag 0.10.0; first published October 2025, last updated August 2026)

Home » Mac Tips and Resources » How to Use Mac Finder Tags in Terminal