​​ ​

The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.


You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site. 


We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.


Photo Library Keyword Search Not Functioning

Hi everyone,


The keyword search function in my photo library always can't work properly from time to time. It seems like the keywords are not being indexed correctly — searches return incomplete or no results at all. I tried to use the repair tool already yesterday but till now still can't work.


  • Is there a way to manually trigger a reindex of keywords in Photos?
  • How long does the reindexing process typically take after repairing the library?
  • How to ensure keywords are functioning properly in photo library?


I’m on macOS Sequoia 15.5, and my library contains approximately 52,000+ photos/videos.


Appreciate any help or suggestions!

MacBook Pro (M3, 2023)

Posted on Aug 6, 2025 11:12 PM

5 replies

Aug 7, 2025 1:34 AM in response to joe5650

The search for keywords has changed in macOS 15 Sequoia. There used to be a separate search result keywords, but this is no longer shown. We are just getting the results for a text rule.

When I want to find photos by keywords, I am using a smart album with the rule "Keyword is ...". This will show all photos with the keyword assigned and not a mixture of photos showing the text or the keywords.


Aug 7, 2025 8:41 AM in response to léonie

léonie wrote:The search for keywords has changed in macOS 15 Sequoia. …

I use Smart Albums so much that I had completely missed that using keywords in the search field is totally broken! I just tried it. I have a keyword "HorseShow" for, well, pictures at horse shows. When I search for HorseShow, I get those, but also Rodeos and horse races, which have their own keywords. At first it looks like it grabbed anything with a horse in it, including statues and "Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace" But I don't see pictures of us riding on the beach or at National Parks. Searching for "Horse" did get those. So weird.

Aug 7, 2025 2:45 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

It is weird. When I search for the keyword "bird" I get thousands of results, including photos with the keyword bird, for the category "birdwatching", but also pictures taken at the bird cage walk in London, or photos with the text "bird" shown in the photo, for example on signs in a Park. There is no separate search result for keywords.


This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Photo Library Keyword Search Not Functioning

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.