Spotlight not finding my apps

Hey there carolynayamamoto,

Great job already trying a restart, along with rebuilding Spotlight with those steps. We also see you have the latest macOS 12.6 version, so we can also rule that out as a possible cause. Let's continue ruling out some other possible causes, along with better understanding what's happening:

1. We recommend making sure that all apps are up to date: How to manually update apps on your Apple device
2. Regarding the results from searching for apps using Spotlight, what results do you see when you try?
3. When did this first start?
4. If you try this in a new test user, what occurs? To test for this in a new user, check out the steps under 'Add a user' here: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac

Cheers.

Hello carolynayamamoto,

Let's test this issue in safe mode. Safe mode (sometimes called safe boot) is a way to start up your Mac so that it performs certain checks on the software: Start up your Mac in safe mode

"Start up your Mac in safe mode

Starting up your Mac in safe mode can help you identify whether issues you’re experiencing are caused by software that loads as your Mac starts up

Before you begin

To start up your Mac in safe mode, you need to know what type of Mac you have.

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac.
2. Look at the information in the Overview pane to determine what type of Mac you have:

• If you see an item labeled Chip, followed by the name of the chip, you have a Mac with Apple silicon.
• If you see an item labeled Processor, followed by the name of an Intel processor, you have an Intel-based Mac.

1. Use the corresponding set of instructions below to start up your Mac in safe mode.

Start up your Mac with Apple silicon in safe mode

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down.
2. Wait for your Mac to shut down completely. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black and any lights (including in the Touch Bar) are off.
3. Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears.
4. Select a volume.
5. Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
6. The computer restarts automatically. When the login window appears, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Start up your Intel-based Mac in safe mode

1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key until you see the login window.
2. Log in to your Mac.
3. You might be asked to log in again.
4. On either the first or second login window, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Verify your Mac started up in safe mode

If you’re unsure whether your Mac started up in safe mode, you can use the System Information app to check the mode.

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac.
2. Click System Report.
3. In the System Information app, select Software in the sidebar.
4. In the System Software Overview, look at the value listed next to the item labeled Boot Mode.

• Safe: The Mac is using safe mode.
• Normal: The Mac is not using safe mode.

For more information about using safe mode, see the Apple Support article How to use safe mode on your Mac.Start up your Mac in safe mode

Starting up your Mac in safe mode can help you identify whether issues you’re experiencing are caused by software that loads as your Mac starts up.

Before you begin

To start up your Mac in safe mode, you need to know what type of Mac you have.

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac.
2. Look at the information in the Overview pane to determine what type of Mac you have:

• If you see an item labeled Chip, followed by the name of the chip, you have a Mac with Apple silicon.
• If you see an item labeled Processor, followed by the name of an Intel processor, you have an Intel-based Mac.

1. Use the corresponding set of instructions below to start up your Mac in safe mode.

Start up your Mac with Apple silicon in safe mode

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down.
2. Wait for your Mac to shut down completely. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black and any lights (including in the Touch Bar) are off.
3. Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears.
4. Select a volume.
5. Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
6. The computer restarts automatically. When the login window appears, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Start up your Intel-based Mac in safe mode

1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key until you see the login window.
2. Log in to your Mac.
3. You might be asked to log in again.
4. On either the first or second login window, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Verify your Mac started up in safe mode

If you’re unsure whether your Mac started up in safe mode, you can use the System Information app to check the mode.

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac.
2. Click System Report.
3. In the System Information app, select Software in the sidebar.
4. In the System Software Overview, look at the value listed next to the item labeled Boot Mode.

• Safe: The Mac is using safe mode.
• Normal: The Mac is not using safe mode.

For more information about using safe mode, see the Apple Support article How to use safe mode on your Mac."

We hope this helps.

Cheers!

Any Third Party Applications that will interfere with the normal operation of the OS, is an invitation for disaster and comprising the Operating System

Certain Applications maybe available on the Apple Apps Store - this only means the Developer is prepared to pay Apple a portion on each sale. What the Application may do to the computer is up to the User to check this out before purchase

Any of the below should be removed as per Developers Instructions

This will include CleanMyMac

Unfortune I am on Cellphone and links do not come through by do a search on front page of these Forums on the offending application name and read the first 600 postings

Read some of the posting and arrive at your own conclusions.

Oh dear....

Old Toad was right on when he asked about "cleaners"...

Cleanmymac is utter garbage and may well be the cause of this.

It is often know here by other names, like brickmymac or hosemymac, and with good reason.

Never ever install this. Never install any antivirus either. Their sole purpose is to separate unsuspecting users from their money.

Effective defenses against malware and other threats

And there is a lot to be said about vpn applications, too:

Public VPN are anything but private

First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This user tip describes what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community.  

There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   

Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.

There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  

Also, unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer, school or bank's servers, they are useless from a privacy standpoint.  Read these two articles: Public VPN's are anything but private and Former Malware Distributor Kape Technologies Now Owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, Zenmate, and a Collection of VPN “Review” Websites. 

That being said CleanMyMac is considered akin to malware my most experienced users in these forums. Uninstall it according to the develop's instructions. You can check to see if you've removed all of the supporting files by downloading and running the shareware app Find Any File to search for any files with the application's or the developer's name in the file name.  For CMM software you'd do the following search(es): 

1 - Name contains cleanmymac

2 - Name contains macpaw

Any files that are found can be dragged from the search results window to the Desktop or Trash bin in the Dock for deletion.

FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages.  

Are Applications Enabled as in image below

Are Applications CHECKED in System Preferences->Spotlight?

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

You are welcome and thank you too.

Though, on balance and to fair about this,

This was a Team Effort of ALL who contributed