[Fixed] Spotlight Search Not Working on macOS Tahoe & Earlier

Unlike traditional search tools that only rely on filenames, Spotlight goes further. It searches inside documents, scans metadata, and even understands natural language queries. Once you start using it, you will never want to search your Mac any other way.

Sometimes Spotlight on Mac runs into problems. When Mac Spotlight is not working properly, it can disrupt your workflow or even bring it to a halt since you can't quickly find the files or resources you need. The good news is that there are plenty of simple ways to fix it. Let's find them out.

Common Problems and Causes When Spotlight Isn't Working on Your Mac

Before diving into the specific fixes for Spotlight search not working, let's look at the common causes behind the most frequent issues. Understanding these causes will help you see why the solutions work and quickly identify the best fix for your situation.

The most common Spotlight issues include:

• Spotlight search takes too long to load results
• Spotlight search becomes completely unresponsive
• Spotlight is not finding what you are looking for
• Spotlight crashes constantly
• Spotlight shortcut is not working on the Mac keyboard

Possible reasons for Spotlight search not working correctly:

• Disabled Spotlight feature
• Temporary Spotlight index errors
• Unknown system glitches

How to Fix MacBook Spotlight Search Not Working

We will walk you through all the solutions you can try to get Spotlight working again. If you have already tried some of them, feel free to skip ahead, but we highly recommend revisiting them, as missing small details the first time could make a difference.

Check if the Spotlight Feature Has Changed

If your Mac has multiple user accounts, another user may have altered Spotlight search results without you knowing it. Take a minute to confirm that Spotlight search is properly configured.

1. Click the Apple logo and open System Settings.
2. Select Spotlight, then ensure the categories you want included in search results are checked.

   

3. Scroll down to Search Privacy and check if any locations are excluded from search. Remove them if needed.

   

Rebuild the Spotlight Search Index

Spotlight creates a massive, sophisticated index of almost everything on your Mac, including documents, apps, emails, images, system settings, and even pulls information from the browser search history, Siri Suggestions, and maps. This index updates automatically whenever you add, delete, or modify files. Occasionally, this large index (or part of it) can encounter unexpected bugs, causing it to deliver slow, incomplete, or incorrect search results or stop responding.

Rebuilding the Spotlight index can often resolve errors and restore it to proper functioning. There are two ways to do this: you can use a tool to automatically reindex your entire macOS system, or manually rebuild the index for individual folders or drives within Spotlight.

How to automatically reindex Spotlight on Mac for the entire macOS

BuhoCleaner is a simple yet powerful Mac cleaning app that helps you free up space by deleting system junk, duplicate files, large old files, and unwanted apps. It also includes a free, built-in Spotlight reindexing tool that automatically rebuilds and refreshes the Spotlight search index for all locations and search history on your Mac, making the process fast and hassle-free.

Here is how it works:

1. Download BuhoCleaner for free and complete the installation.
2. Open the app and navigate to the Toolkit section.
3. Select Reindex Spotlight and click Start.

   

4. Enter your user password, then click Install Helper to enable the utility for immediate reindexing.
5. Wait for the deindexing process to finish, then click Done.

   

How to rebuild the Spotlight index for a disk or folder

If you prefer not to use a third-party app, you can manually rebuild the Spotlight index yourself. This is especially useful if you know a specific disk or folder is having trouble showing accurate search results.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the Apple menu > System Settings > Spotlight from the sidebar.
2. Scroll down on the right and click Search Privacy.
3. Drag the disk (such as Macintosh HD) or folder you want to reindex into the list of locations excluded from Spotlight search. Alternatively, click the Add (+) button and select the disk or folder.

   

4. Wait a few seconds. Then, from the same list, select the disk or folder you just added and click the Remove (-) button to allow Spotlight to reindex it.
5. Repeat this process for any other locations that aren't working properly in Spotlight.
6. Click Done, then exit System Settings.

Reload Spotlight Using Terminal Commands

Newer versions of macOS no longer let you disable and re-enable Spotlight through the settings. However, by running a command with administrator privileges, you can still force quit and restart Spotlight to clear out any bugs that might be causing it to malfunction.

These commands are known to help when Spotlight is not finding what you want or when the Spotlight shortcut Command–Spacebar is not working.

1. Open Finder > Applications > Utilities, then launch Terminal.
2. In the Terminal window, copy and paste the command below. Hit Return. sudo find / -name "*.spotlight"
3. If prompted for permission, grant access to the required apps.

   

If the previous command doesn't resolve the Spotlight issue, try running the command below. It will erase and rebuild the Spotlight index for your entire Mac.

sudo mdutil -E /

Update Your Mac

Spotlight issues can occur after updating to a new macOS version due to system glitches or software conflicts, but more often, they happen when your Mac is running an outdated version. If you are experiencing problems with Spotlight and haven't updated your Mac yet, check for updates and install the latest version. This may help keep your system running smoothly and bring Spotlight back to track.

1. Open Apple Menu > System Settings > General > Software Update.
2. Click Update Now if an update is available.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the update.
4. After updating, test Spotlight to see if it is working as expected.

Conclusion

The methods in this article should resolve the most common Spotlight issues. For minor problems, like missing search results or slow indexing, a simple restart and index rebuild are usually enough. BuhoCleaner makes rebuilding the index much easier by automating the process and rebuilding the entire index with one click.

If you encounter more serious issues of Mac Spotlight not working, for example, nothing happens when you press the Spotlight shortcut Command+Space or click the Spotlight icon, you may need to run Terminal commands or update your macOS.