Mac Spotlight Reindex — Search Not Working & Index Corruption

Fix macOS Spotlight issues including search returning no results, index corruption, high CPU usage from mdworker, and missing files in search results. This guide covers everything you need to know about this topic, including common causes, step-by-step solutions, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Here are the key things to understand: Spotlight uses the mdworker and mds processes to index file content and metadata. A corrupted index causes missing search results or Spotlight showing outdated information. After macOS updates, Spotlight may need to reindex which temporarily uses high CPU. The .Spotlight-V100 folder at the volume root contains the index data. Privacy settings can exclude folders from Spotlight indexing. Understanding these fundamentals will help you diagnose and resolve this issue more effectively.

The most common reasons this occurs include: Corrupted Spotlight index from disk errors or interrupted indexing. macOS update triggering a full reindex. External drive index not updating properly. Privacy settings accidentally excluding important folders. Third-party software (Parallels, VM software) corrupting index. Identifying the root cause is the first step toward finding the right solution.

To resolve this, follow these recommended steps: Force reindex via Terminal: sudo mdutil -E / (erases and rebuilds index for boot volume). Force reindex specific volume: sudo mdutil -E /Volumes/DriveName. Check indexing status: mdutil -s /. If mdworker uses high CPU, wait for reindex to complete (can take several hours). Check Privacy exclusions: System Settings > Siri & Spotlight > Spotlight Privacy — remove accidental exclusions. If these steps do not resolve the issue, consider consulting additional resources or a qualified professional.

This article is part of our Mac Error Codes collection on Error Codes Wiki. We provide comprehensive, up-to-date information to help you find solutions quickly.