Why is my Spotlight search returning zero results on MacBook Air?

All of a sudden yesterday my search function stopped working. I can't do a global search with the spotlight icon at the top of my screen (MacBook Air - Sequoia 15.4.1) anymore. It won't bring up ANY of the files, in any of my folders, or anywhere else. Both "this Mac" and "recents" bring zero results. In addition, when I open an individual folder, it will not show me results even when I type in the exact title I am actually LOOKING AT.


I have looked at reindexing, but when I go to look I have found all the "things" are already checked, and I don't have anything in the privacy section. I have made zero changes to my computer for over a week. I am not connected to iCloud. I haven't changed any settings, of any kind.


I have backups, and when I connect my backup drives, I am able to search them.


I am just a basic user, I don't have the chops to do any kind of complicated stuff here, but the usual suggestions here aren't working and I don't understand what is going on.




[Re-Titled by Moderator]



Posted on May 3, 2025 12:44 PM

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May 5, 2025 4:31 AM in response to Chaosraines

If you are looking for a file, then use the reserved Spotlight keywords to give it a fighting chance. This will find a 4-page PDF document whose filename contains the case-insensitive string "zardoz" and created after (>) May 1:

kind:pdf pages:4 name:zardoz created:>05/01/2025


Apple has an article about how to narrow your search results in Spotlight.

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Why is my Spotlight search returning zero results on MacBook Air?

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