Spotlight in Finder window isn't finding files in the current folder

I was able to solve this in my M1 Max too.

As I suspected, it required going into Recovery.

0) Make sure you have a BACKUP!

1) Shutdown

2) Start in Recovery: press and hold the power button until you see a screen with your drive, and a button labeled "Options"; click "Options".

3) From the Utilities menu, select Terminal

4) Type the following command EXACTLY - you've been warned! A mistake could end in lost data!

Don't do this without a BACKUP!

rm -R /Volumes/Data/.Spotlight-V100

5) Quit Terminal and restart your mac normally.

If Spotlight in the Finder window is not finding files in the current folder, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:

1. Check Spotlight settings: First, verify that Spotlight is set to search within the current folder. Open a Finder window and navigate to the folder where you want to search. Click on the Spotlight icon (magnifying glass) in the top-right corner of the Finder window. In the Spotlight search bar that appears, click on "Show All" to reveal the search options. Make sure "In This Mac" is selected, indicating that it will search within the current folder.
2. Rebuild Spotlight index: If the issue persists, it might be helpful to rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac. This process can resolve any indexing errors and ensure that files are properly searchable. Here's how to do it:
3. a. Go to "System Preferences" from the Apple menu ().
4. b. Click on "Spotlight."
5. c. Switch to the "Privacy" tab.
6. d. Drag the folder(s) or disk(s) where you're experiencing the issue into the Privacy list.
7. e. Click the "-" button to remove them from the list.
8. f. Close the Spotlight preferences window.
9. g. Wait for a few minutes to let Spotlight re-index the selected folder(s) or disk(s).
10. h. Afterward, you can remove them from the Privacy list by selecting them and clicking the "-" button again.
11. i. Spotlight will start indexing the folder(s) or disk(s) again, and you should try searching within the current folder to see if it's working correctly.
12. Check for Spotlight exclusions: It's possible that the current folder or its contents are excluded from Spotlight search. To verify this, go to "System Preferences" > "Spotlight" > "Privacy" tab. Ensure that the folder or disk containing the files you want to search is not listed in the Privacy list. If it is, remove it by selecting it and clicking the "-" button.
13. Reset Spotlight preferences: If none of the above solutions work, you can try resetting Spotlight preferences. Note that this will reset all your Spotlight settings to their default state. Here's how to do it:
14. a. Open the Terminal application (located in Applications > Utilities).
15. b. Enter the following command and press Enter: sudo mdutil -E /
16. c. You will be prompted to enter your administrator password. Type it in (you won't see it as you type) and press Enter.
17. d. Wait for Spotlight to re-index your Mac, which may take some time.
18. e. After the process completes, try searching within the current folder in the Finder window.

If the issue persists after trying these steps, you may want to consider contacting Apple Support for further assistance. They can provide additional troubleshooting guidance specific to your macOS version and configuration.

I had the same issue: neither Finder nor Spotlight were finding any files on my Macintosh HD. I tried the steps you mentioned to re-index but it didn't kick off the indexing process. So I added a step (in italics) to yours, which worked to rebuild the index, which in turn solved the problem:

Rebuild the index by dragging the entire mac HD volume into the 'Prevent search' locations box, hitting 'Done', restarting the Mac, and then going in a removing it again (with the - button).

In Finder Settings > Advanced, have this set:

and try the following to locate a specific plain text file with the case-insensitive name string "foobar" in the filename.

kind:plain name:foobar



This directs Spotlight to cut to the focused chase and not attempt to visit every Spotlight search result category (including inside documents) that are not relevant.

See: Narrow your search results on Mac - Apple Support

This is a known problem affecting a number of people.

I have experienced in both my macs (one intel, one M1 Max).

On my intel mac, I could solve it without restarting, by deleting a Spotlight-v100 folder in Terminal.

sudo rm -r /System/Volumes/Data/.Spotlight-V100

This did not work in my M1 Max.

It will probably have to be done by restarting in Recovery and the process is more delicate. I have not tried that yet, partly because I access that mac remotely most of the time.

Having spent hours with Apple support, and trying every kind of reset they suggested, and paying a local Mac guy, nothing worked until, with great trepidation, I tried jquartel's suggestion. I followed the steps on a Friday, didn't open my laptop again until Sunday, and it wasn't fixed. But, on Monday it was fixed!!!!! So "a long time" is certainly correct.

Thank you thank you thank you,

Cheers, CMY

MacBook Air M1 2020 (new June 7, 2023)

Good that worked for you, though personally, I have not had to resort to that rebuild process.

Just my problem...just the solution. Well done. Thanks.

Thank you for sharing this fix! It was the one thing that finally worked! I've tried all the suggestions but your fix was the strategy that worked!

This worked and was instantaneous (no reindexing involved). Thank you so much for taking the time to post the update.

I did that but Terminal responds with ‘no such file or directory’

Please help,Spotlight only works for a few moments before again not being able to find files (after re-indexing!)

Sorry ignore that I wanted to reply to someone else

This worked for me instantly. THANK YOU!