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The fastest and most secure way to search all your work
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Eric Friedman

Haystack - The fastest and most secure way to search all your work

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Haystack helps you make the most of your time, by searching all your files and documents in the cloud in one place. It's been built for privacy from the ground up, so your data isn't stored on a server, just your computer.

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CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
Hi @ericfriedman, thanks for hunting us! We created Haystack because we wanted a way to search for everything on the cloud without giving up our privacy. Questions like “where that document is”, “which is the latest version” and “what was that website again?” suck up far too much of people’s days (and energy). Privacy was one of our biggest focus, which is why Haystack doesn’t store any of your data in the cloud. Everything is local. We build a search engine on your computer while also getting results directly from your cloud accounts, so you never have to look in more than one place. It’s fast, doesn’t take up much space and makes finding and sharing information really easy. We’ve built Haystack for Engineers (keyboard shortcuts), Designers (beautiful UI) and everyone in between (Searches 20+ tools). In our early testing, it saves people over 20 minutes a day. We’re still adding more and more integrations, so if you have one in mind let us know. We love feedback, so please share it below! Thanks again @ericfriedman - we appreciate the love and if anyone has any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them. Thanks!
Tony Peccatiello

Ultimately it is ridiculous that I can find a random fact on google faster than I can find a document that I saved yesterday. The way we nest files for organization directly impacts the speed at which we can recover them. Haystack is like having the power of a google search across all of your various document storage locations.

Pros:

Helps me find documents much much faster. It is intuitive and is something that I have wanted for years.

Cons:

I would like to integrate it across more places and folders.

CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
Thanks for the review Tony! We're working on adding more integrations as well as a Desktop Application version for Mac & PCs so we can also search your documents, desktop and have a universal shortcut key wherever you are currently working.
Eric Friedman
Hunter
I’m really excited to hunt Haystack with you today. Haystack is a chrome extension for anyone that wants to know "where is that file?". I had the pleasure of working with Charles (CEO) while at Expa and excited to share his new service. The great thing about Haystack is that your privacy is protected - no data is stored or accessed by the service (even your logins). If you need to search across cloud platforms in a safe and secure way - checkout Haystack. Charles has been working hard on bringing this to Chrome and is here today to answer questions and chat with folks who try it out - download it now and let us know what you think!
Luke Gilson

I had the chance to use a Beta version of this, signup was super-easy, and it all of a sudden works. A solution for dealing with the million different services PMs decide to use (e.g. Google Drive for X, GH for Y, Slack for Z). Most importantly, it manages to not be intrusive, and doesnt store any of your docs on their servers.

Pros:

super easy to use. One of the few products in a while that feels magical. It "just works".

Cons:

Would be good to add more services.

CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
Thanks for the review Luke! Definitely working on more services... Watch this space :)
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Are there any in particular you are after by the way?
Arjun Dev Arora

Big fan!

Pros:

Speed Bringing in results from lots of different platforms (appreciate the upfront work on integrations)

Cons:

Easier to digest and process results (different views on the results)

CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
Thanks for the review Arjun, love the idea of multiple views for the results, I'll add it to the priority list!
Ayla Lewis

Haystack is simply magical! Now that I've been using it, I can't imagine working without it -- Its the best way to quickly navigate to and across all your online docs and files

Pros:

- Super quick setup - Easy to navigate and add integrations

Cons:

- Perhaps additional integrations, otherwise its fantastic!

CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
Thanks for the review Ayla! Any particular integrations you'd like to search? @aylalalewis
Ayla Lewis
@cdouglasosborn1 Actually, I just checked the updated integrations list and WOWZA! There's a TON of integrations! And then I was also going to suggest an easier way to add to Collections, but then I saw the "Add to Collection" button, so there's no need for improvement/change there either So I guess what I'm trying to say is: I don't have any recommendations for improvement right now :) I'm excited to continue exploring the features and will definitely let you know any feedback!
CharlesDouglasOsborn
@ayla_lewis :). Thanks so much, we aim to please :)
Lachlan Kirkwood
Great product! Looking forward to trialling this out 👍
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@lachlankirkwood Great to hear, apologises there was an issue with the code, but it should now be fixed. You can gain instant access here: https://app.haystackapps.com/cod.... All feedback is greatly appreciated!
Lachlan Kirkwood
@cdouglasosborn1 Thanks for the update!
Ronnie Boadi

Installing was super quick and it found my documents in a heartbeat. Searching was surprisingly rapid and it already feels feature rich. Can't wait to see how this builds from here.

Pros:

Quick to set up, powerful and simple

Cons:

Could add more options for new tab page

CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
Thanks for the review Ronnie! Would love to add more options to our new tab. Are there any in particular that you would like to see? @ronnie_boadi
Ronnie Boadi
@cdouglasosborn1 maybe just some user defined quick short cuts. COuld also add quick licks to doc.new sheet.new and slide.new for quick creation of new docs
Paige Birnbaum

As someone who normally has 30 tabs open at a time and rarely ever turns off their laptop for fear of loosing track of what they were working on, this is really a game changer for me. Highly recommend!

Pros:

It's so simple and easy to use. Super intuitive so took no time to set up. Makes finding my documents a breeze.

Cons:

Limited previews for .pngs and .jpegs so don't always know what image I'm opening if I didn't label it properly

CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
Thanks so much @paige_birnbaum for the review! We're working on getting better previews for all integrations, including the download files which I think is what you ran into. Appreciate the feedback!
Paige Birnbaum
@cdouglasosborn1 Great, thanks! And yes, that's exactly what I was talking about. Glad you're already working on it!
Dai Truong

I'm excited about the product Charles is building and am sure the integrations/shortcuts will only get better.

Pros:

This is a quick way for me to bounce between emails, sheets, and docs. It easily saves me 15+ minutes a day.

Cons:

- Allow users to update the default sites attached to "slash searches" - Added integration for folders on computer/desktop

CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
Thanks so much for the review Dai! The ability to add additional default Slash Search is definitely something we're building out! And the folders on the Desktop/Documents will be available in our Desktop version... coming soon :).
Anna Filou
I haven't tried this yet but how does it compare to simply using Spotlight on a Mac? I have my Google Drive locally syncing with my MacBook and spotlight can find search queries inside documents too, so I wonder if using Haystack offers any advantage?
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@anna_0x Hi Anna, great question! So if you just use Drive, then there is limited advantages (except maybe taking up less space on your machine). The main advantages would be: - Searching Drive directly means files that have not synced will also show up - Ability to search other file locations too (OneDrive, Slack, Gmail) - Ability to also search your browser history - Ability to add Drive documents into a 'Collection' and open them all at the same time when you want to. However, this current version is also just a browser extension which means that it can only search your Downloads folder on your computer, so the advantage spotlight has over it are it can also search your Desktop/Documents folder. We have a version in the works that will support these though. Overall Drive sync + Spotlight isn't a bad solution to the problem though! Are there other features that you would like that would make it better than the Drive/Spotlight solution you have now?
Anna Filou
@cdouglasosborn1 I see, so this is mostly aimed at people who have their files stored on multiple cloud storage providers (and use Gmail and Slack which I don't..) Honestly, Spotlight + GDrive offline sync works pretty much perfectly ^^; The "Ability to add Drive documents into a 'Collection' and open them all at the same time when you want to." sounds like a cool feature though. It's like what Workona does with Chrome tabs.
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@anna_0x Exactly, very similar to Workona for the collections feature. Glad you've got a system that works well for you, that's the important thing! :)
Travis Murdock

Not more to tell

Pros:

Love the idea of finding everything in one place

Cons:

Needs to store my index in the cloud so it can't be lost when my computer is lost.

Eric Chaves
So far, I'm quite impressed! I use google drive for a lot of my business documents. Right out of the box, haystack has boosted my productivity finding and opening these google drive files. I'm excited to keep exploring the product to see how else it will help my workflow. I will definitely use the "collections" feature which can save a group of browser tabs I have open for one project that I need to work on later.
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@eric_chaves Thanks for checking us out! Really glad you love the collections feature, its one that seems like it wouldn't work in a search tool, but I think it really gets us closer to the first place people go to for creating and continuing work.
Ronnie Boadi
This is one of those rare finds that is so simple to use that you wonder where it's been all this time. Why did nobody make this before? Super quick and solves a common everyday issue we all face. Nice work Charles!
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@ronnie_boadi Thanks Ronnie! I couldn't agree more :)
Will McKim
Is the Safari Extension available? I see the tag but not the link.
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@will_mckim Hi Will, apologises it is on its way (we underestimated the approval process). If you add your email to the homepage (https://www.haystackapps.com) and write in the box you're after Safari, I'll make sure you're one of the first to get access to it!
Jake Cohn
I really like how extensive yet efficient it is. Functionality is pretty deep yet easy to use. Going to be a commonly used product for me!
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@leftearpod Great to hear Jake, thanks for trying it out!
Abhinaya Konduru
Really excited to starting using it. Is this a side project for you and how are you planning on monetizing it? Personal problem/preference: I use a feature to cycle through multiple "new tab" style chrome extensions. If that is the case, what is the fastest way to bring Haystack up? Is it possible to have a dropdown option to click on the widget on the browser?
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@itsabhinaya Thanks for giving it a go! This is a full product launch/company :). For monetisation, our goal is to be free for the common work tasks (files, documents, history) and then have a paid version for Sales & Marketing specific data that can also be viewed aggregate (think 360 view of the consumer without the data headache). For bringing up Haystack there are 3 ways: 1. Keyboard shortcut: Control + Spacebar, works as long as you are in Chrome. 2. Click on the Haystack icon (yellow circle with hourglass) in the top right of Chrome 3. Go to your New tab and type in the box. By default Haystack takes over your new tab with a beautiful and useful tab - however we know people often dislike this so its very easy to disable and return back to Chromes original one. Love the questions, let me know if you'd like any more information on the above!
Abhinaya Konduru
@cdouglasosborn1 Awesome! I am currently using this and having trouble pulling up Haystack. https://chrome.google.com/websto... I can't use the shortcut, not able to see the icon, and "new tab" is a different extension from my list of extensions now.
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@itsabhinaya Sorry to hear that! So I've not seen Multi-Tab before... The way it works is actually pretty limiting, as it actually disables all the other extensions in that list to ensure the extension you pick has the new tab view. So there are 2 solutions to this: 1. SImplest way: Uninstall Haystack and then Install this 'No New Tab' version of Haystack here: https://chrome.google.com/websto... 2. Longer way: First we need to Re-enable Haystack: Go to chrome://extensions, go through the list, find Haystack and click on the toggle to re-enable it. This will get it to take over your new tab, so to set the new tab application you want, don't use the Multi-tab tool, instead uninstall and re-install the extension that you want to have the new tab. This will override Haystacks (as which ever extension you installed last takes priority). I hope that helps, let me know if not though and I'm happy to help solve!
Abhinaya Konduru
@cdouglasosborn1 'No New Tab' version of Haystack works great for me and I get to keep the other extensions as well.
CharlesDouglasOsborn
Maker
@itsabhinaya Great to hear!
DALAUN FRANKLIN
urrhht
Sharon Hurley Hall
This is just the most awesome tool. I've been using another tool to try to achieve the same thing, but Haystack is lightning fast - I've only been using it for a few days, but already it's been hugely useful. I'm a writer, so I collect a lot of research and have a lot of authored pieces. This is the quickest way I know to find exactly what I'm looking for without wasting time.
M D
RIP Haystack