Desktop

Spotlight & Handoff

Poly files in macOS system search, and continuity between your Apple devices.

On macOS, the desktop app plugs into two system features: Spotlight, so your Poly files show up in system-wide search, and Handoff, so whatever you're looking at in Poly follows you to your other Apple devices.

Spotlight

Poly registers its own index with Spotlight. As you browse your files, whether it is from the sync folder or through Finder, Poly adds them to Spotlight, so a ⌘-Space search can find them by name alongside your local files. Selecting a result deep-links straight into the Poly app at that file.

A few details worth knowing:

  • Indexing happens as files are browsed, so recently visited folders are covered first; a file you've never enumerated on this Mac may not be in Spotlight yet.
  • Spotlight results currently match on file names. For content search (i.e. matching what's inside files) use Poly's own search, which is far more capable anyway.
  • The index is per-account and is fully cleaned up when you sign out.
For deep content and semantic search from anywhere, keep Spotlight for names and reach for poly search or the in-app search (⌘K) for meaning.

Handoff

While the desktop app is in the foreground on your Mac, the page you're viewing is advertised to Handoff. On your iPhone, iPad, or another Mac signed into the same Apple ID, the Poly icon appears in the App Switcher or Dock; tap it and the same page opens right where you left off, in the browser at poly.app.

This works for anything with a web URL in Poly, and requires only that Handoff is enabled in System Settings → General → AirDrop & Handoff on both devices.

Platform notes

Spotlight and Handoff are macOS integrations. On Windows and Linux, the sync folder still gives your file manager's own search a view of your file names, and Poly's in-app and CLI search work identically everywhere.

© Poly Corp. 2026