mdutil - manage Spotlight metadata stores in macOS — by SS64.com

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Reference for mdutil, the command-line way to check Spotlight indexing and force a rebuild. mdutil -s shows status, -i toggles indexing, and sudo mdutil -E / erases and rebuilds the index of the root volume.

Quick steps

mdutil -s /
sudo mdutil -E /

Paraphrased from the source. Menus can differ by version, so check the original for full details.

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Source: mdutil - manage Spotlight metadata stores in macOS by SS64.com. Licence: Link only (©).

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: 2026-11-02
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

spotlightmdutilreindexmacos

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