Fix Guide: Spotlight Search Completely Broken on macOS Tahoe
Symptom: You press Command + Space, and nothing happens. Or, you type a search term, and Spotlight only shows results from the first letter, or shows no files at all.
Why this happens
macOS Tahoe 26.x has a known regression in the metadata indexing engine. It often "hangs" when attempting to index specific large files or cloud-backed folders (like iCloud Drive or Dropbox), causing the entire Spotlight UI (`mds` and `Spotlight` processes) to stop responding.
Fix 1: Force a Metadata Reset (Free)
You can force macOS to delete its current search index and start fresh.
**Open Terminal**
Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
**Turn Off Indexing**
Type: `sudo mdutil -i off /`
Enter your Mac password when prompted.
**Erase the Old Index**
Type: `sudo mdutil -E /`
**Restart Indexing**
Type: `sudo mdutil -i on /`
**Monitor Progress**
Click the Spotlight icon. You should see a "Indexing..." progress bar. Wait until it completes (can take 1-4 hours).
Fix 2: The "Privacy Tab" Trick (Free)
If Terminal commands don't work, you can use the System Settings UI to "kick" the indexer.
**Open System Settings**
Go to **Siri & Spotlight** > **Spotlight Privacy...**
**Add Your Drive**
Drag your "Macintosh HD" into the list.
Wait 1 minute.
**Remove Your Drive**
Highlight "Macintosh HD" and click the minus (-) button.
This force-triggers a re-index of the entire drive.
Fix 3: The Professional Maintenance Path
When indexing hangs because of deep system corruption.
If your index keeps breaking even after a reset, you likely have corrupted system logs or "dead" caches that the native indexer is getting stuck on.
Recommended Tool: CleanMyMac X
- **Reindex Spotlight:** CleanMyMac X has a one-click "Maintenance" script specifically for Reindexing Spotlight. It handles the Terminal commands safely in the background and clears out the temporary system caches that often cause the indexer to hang.
- **System Junk Removal:** Clearing the system logs first ensures that Spotlight isn't trying to index billions of lines of error reports.
[Link: Fix Spotlight Search with CleanMyMac X]
Alternative: Alfred 5
If you are tired of Spotlight's native bugs, Alfred is the industry standard for Mac search. It uses its own fast indexing method and is significantly more reliable than macOS's built-in search.
[Link: Upgrade your search with Alfred]