I can't get rid of process named com.apple.podcasts.SpotlightIndexExtension. It uses 100% CPU all the time.
Tried lots of things - nothing helped. Reboot, safe mode, system and podcast settings etc etc - no result.
If someone have solved this - please respond and share the remedy.
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.7
1. Kill the running process (temporary)
ps aux | grep SpotlightIndexExtension
kill -9 <PID>
2. Disable Podcast indexing in Spotlight
If you just want to stop it from constantly running, tell Spotlight not to index Podcasts:
sudo mdutil -i off /System/Volumes/Data/Users/$(whoami)/Library/Group\ Containers/*.group.com.apple.podcasts
You can also exclude Podcasts completely in System Settings → Siri & Spotlight → Search Results, then uncheck Podcasts.
3. Workaround: Restrict Spotlight scope
Add Podcasts’ data folder to Spotlight’s Privacy tab:
~/Library/Group Containers/*.group.com.apple.podcasts
This stops indexing there, so the extension has little/no work to do and won’t spin up often.
1. Kill the running process (temporary)
ps aux | grep SpotlightIndexExtension
kill -9 <PID>
2. Disable Podcast indexing in Spotlight
If you just want to stop it from constantly running, tell Spotlight not to index Podcasts:
sudo mdutil -i off /System/Volumes/Data/Users/$(whoami)/Library/Group\ Containers/*.group.com.apple.podcasts
You can also exclude Podcasts completely in System Settings → Siri & Spotlight → Search Results, then uncheck Podcasts.
3. Workaround: Restrict Spotlight scope
Add Podcasts’ data folder to Spotlight’s Privacy tab:
~/Library/Group Containers/*.group.com.apple.podcasts
This stops indexing there, so the extension has little/no work to do and won’t spin up often.
Cozzzac, thank you a lot.
Currently I have fixed the issue by deleting some folders related to the infamous process. It helped.
If the problem recurs, I will use your solution. and report about results.
I can't get rid of process com.apple.podcasts.SpotlightIndexExtension. Uses 100% CPU all the time