How do I fix Finder Calculating Size Stuck in macOS Tahoe 26.2?

Three approaches in order of safety: (1) Restart Finder and Clear Cache; (2) Force Metadata Update. Full Terminal commands and System Settings paths are inside each section.

Is this fix confirmed for macOS Tahoe 26.2?

Yes — verified on macOS Tahoe 26.2. Article is updated when Apple ships a point release that changes the symptom or fix.

How to Fix Finder Calculating Size Stuck in macOS Tahoe 26.2

Symptom: You open "Get Info" on a folder in macOS Tahoe, and it says "Calculating size..." indefinitely, or the Finder sidebar icons are slow to load.

TL;DR fix

Start with Fix 1: Restart Finder and Clear Cache. If the issue persists after that, try Fix 2: Force Metadata Update. Full Terminal commands and step-by-step instructions are in each section below.

Why this happens

The Tahoe metadata worker (mds) can get stuck on symbolic links or large developer folders (like node_modules), preventing the Finder from completing the disk query.

Recommended Troubleshooting Tool

Before proceeding with manual fixes, we recommend using CleanMyMac X. Quickly identify high CPU apps and optimize system memory with one click.

Fix 1: Restart Finder and Clear Cache

Open Terminal.
Run:

killall Finder

rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Fix 2: Force Metadata Update

In Terminal, tell the system to re-scan the folder:

mdimport -d1 /path/to/folder

Recommended Tool: DaisyDisk

If you need to know what's actually taking up space:

- Get DaisyDisk to bypass the slow Finder calculation and get a visual map of your disk usage in seconds.

Tested and documented by the MacDebug team — about MacDebug. See also Fix macOS "Finder" High CPU Usage, Finder Slow or Lagging on macOS Tahoe 26.2, or browse all guides on macdebug.