# Samurai Search: Text/PDF files — user reviews

> 8 indexed App Store user reviews of Samurai Search by Michael Rourke, rated 5.00/5 from 20 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/samurai-search-textpdf-files/id1576636770/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/samurai-search-textpdf-files/id1576636770.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 17 · 4★ 0 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 0

## Most critical reviews (8 lowest-rated)

### 5/5 — Seriously one of the best tools I have on the phone

*2026-06-06*

Thanks for adding save functions for results.

Favorite tool.

### 5/5 — Just What I Needed

*2025-08-26, version 1.53*

Very useful little app, it performs well and the results are presented clearly. Extremely helpful and just what I was looking for - Thank You :)

### 5/5 — Fantastic Utility

*2025-05-24*

Really happy I found this. Need to search against a list and this is perfect. Works well with files downloaded to my phone. 

Only suggestion I’d have is adding another level - search for term, then search for second term in the results. (I sometimes have many matches which I then need to scan by sight.)

### 5/5 — The best tool for searching text files

*2024-12-08*

I’ve been keeping a daily journal since 2011. Samurai Search is a great tool for efficiently searching my journal.

### 5/5 — Finally, a great free search app

*2024-08-18*

Bless the developer for creating this app! Samurai Search is terrific. It's very intuitive. You add a search folder and then put in your search parameters. It's supports every text format you can think about as well as PDFs. You can also add your own text extensions if you want. 

For power users, it supports Regex, file filters, and so on. It ripped through a multi megabyte list of hundreds of json files immediately. The search terms were highlighted in each indicated file. You can export that list. It's a huge time saver if you are working on an iPad or iPhone.

Sure, there are tons of websites that will do this. You could also run a terminal app. However, Samurai Search makes it easy and keeps your local searches local. 

 Finally, it is truly free. No cripple-ware, no ads, no registration required. Still, if I had to pay a reasonable fee for this app, I absolutely would. Thumbs up!

### 5/5 — Great App with Amazing Support

*2024-05-06*

Downloaded app May 3 and made an enhancement request. The developer responded immediately, submitted an App Store update the next day, and got approved by Apple on May 6!

The search now works perfectly for my needs — looks for whole words in various Files directories, shows me the surrounding context, and lets me tap to see the original file (text in my case, which I then search through again in Koder).

Thank you so much for making my day (and week).

### 5/5 — Wow! Solves the iCloud 'not downloaded' problem!

*2022-09-24*

'Files' on my iPad will search 'Contents' of iCloud files, but it only sees the files that are currently downloaded. Even after various tricks that supposedly force downloads, it doesn't see the new files (yet?)...  

Samurai with the download option sees all the hits in the folder, quickly and simply, with option to share to reader apps. 

Thank You!

### 5/5 — Excellent search tool!

*2022-05-06, version 1.21*

I have a lot of TV scripts sitting on a network server. I often think of a snippet of something I want to refer to, but can’t find it. Enter Samurai Search. I can  now easily find all the instances of my most random thoughts in the blink of an eye. What a great tool.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*