~/Library/Metadata/SpotlightKnowledgeEvents using a lot of disk space

The title says it all. I'm running a 2018 MacMini on macOS Sequoia 15.2 with a 500GB drive, and this folder is consuming 150GB. The folder structure is then index.V2/journals/, followed by a 10 or 11, and then two folders: cs_default and cs_priority. The cs_default folders are filled with literally thousands of files starting with the title skg_events, and ending with extensions .toc or .journal. The modification dates start at Sept. 17, 2024, which I think is roughly when I first installed Sequoia.

I've tried a few things - stopping/starting Spotlight (but have not yet tried reindexing) and restarting in SafeMode.

EtreCheck report attached - yes, I have a lot of *stuff* on my system that affects

EtreCheck Report

performance, but I'm really trying to figure out how to reclaim this disk space if possible. I appreciate your help!

Mac mini (2018)

Posted on Dec 26, 2024 6:57 PM

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Mac Jim ID

Level 9

60,662 points

Posted on Dec 27, 2024 7:28 AM

I have both folders you are referring to and SpotlightKnowledgeEvents is sitting at 2.3 GB and CoreSpotlight is just shy of 1GB. I would suggest to exclude the drives you do not want to index and then reindex spotlight. Not every drive needs indexing depending on your use case.

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

The combination of the additional drives to index along with the disk related apps creating more files to index is going to add to the Spotlight index. I would take a closer look at those apps as the poor write speed you are experiencing is due to those apps constantly writing files that require spotlight to index them, increasing your data graph.

It will take some troubleshooting to see if those apps are contributing to the increased index size.

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65 replies

XRoom

Level 1

4 points

Apr 2, 2025 12:21 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

Yesterday I installed Sequoia 15.4 (24E248) (Intel MAC), and in this version the folder /Users/xxxxxxxx/Library/Metadata/SpotlightKnowledgeEvents has disappeared.

The SpotlightKnowledgeEvents folder only exists within the CoreSpotlight folder.

I will follow it in case any of these folders grow in the same way as the old folder.

XRoom

Level 1

4 points

Apr 2, 2025 10:01 AM in response to esf2141

The problem is not the size of a file, but the number of files, and their total size, that are created in the "/Users/xxxxxxxx/Library/Metadata/SpotlightKnowledgeEvents/index.V2/journals/11/cs_default" folder (Intel).

I don't know if the problem can be reproduced in any other folder.

I will follow it

Apr 3, 2025 2:26 PM in response to ericmurphysf

I would concur. I updated to macOS Sequoia 15.4 2 days ago. MacMini 2018 Intel.

The folder has moved to within the CoreSpotlight folder (Users/username/Library/Metadata/CoreSpotlight/SpotlightKnowledgeEvents), and mine has grown from 5GB to over 25GB in the past 24 hours: 16.4 GB in journals, and 8.9 GB in events.

Apr 4, 2025 3:04 PM in response to Stephen Epstein

After about 30 hours, not only did I not note any reduction in the size of spotlight metadata, but also in roughly 30 hours that metadata increased in size to over 50 GB. Before the macOS 15.4 update, that would have taken the better part of a week under similar conditions.

XRoom

Level 1

4 points

May 12, 2025 2:56 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

Since the "~/Library/Metadata/SpotlightKnowledgeEvents" directory was moved to "~/Library/Metadata/CoreSpotlight/SpotlightKnowledgeEvents", Spotlight searches are extremely slow, showing results mostly of files.

I do a lot of searching to locate files on disk that contain certain content.

I keep periodically deleting the contents of "~/Library/Metadata/CoreSpotlight/SpotlightKnowledgeEvents/index.V2/journals/12/cs_default", as it continues to grow although perhaps not in the same way as before.

Has anyone else noticed slow searches?

(MacBook Pro 2018-Intel with Sequoia 15.4.1)

dialabrain

Level 10

135,935 points

Dec 27, 2024 6:08 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

Sorry, Just noticed you did say you tried Safe Mode. Personally, I wouldn't touch anything in those folders without knowing exactly what the consequences are. Which I don't.

dialabrain

Level 10

135,935 points

Dec 27, 2024 6:19 AM in response to dialabrain

I just double checked and my SpotlightKnowledgeEvents folder is 80MBs, not 80GBs. I still wouldn't delete anything there without knowing what's needed and what isn't.

dialabrain

Level 10

135,935 points

Dec 27, 2024 7:26 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

No. I don't have the folder at your original path.

dialabrain

Level 10

135,935 points

Dec 27, 2024 7:32 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

I guess I got ripped off. 🤔

dialabrain

Level 10

135,935 points

Dec 27, 2024 7:56 AM in response to dialabrain

Checked my M1 MacBook Air. Doesn't have that folder either.

dialabrain

Level 10

135,935 points

Dec 27, 2024 7:59 AM in response to dialabrain

Eureka. Turns out, I do have it in my iMac Pro. So must be an Intel vs Apple Silicon reason. FWIW, the folder that I do have is 1.51GBs.

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,144 points

Dec 27, 2024 1:00 PM in response to Stephen Epstein

Mine is on the order of 100's of MB.

If you search for it on the Internet, some people are having the issue you have.

Jan 24, 2025 11:00 AM in response to XRoom

I only have an Intel MacMini (2018). Can anyone confirm that this problem is limited to Intel Macs? Maybe we're on to something with a Sequoia bug that only affects Intel Macs, and not Apple Silicon.

XRoom

Level 1

4 points

Jan 24, 2025 11:08 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

I have an Intel MacBook Pro (2018).

southtom

Level 1

12 points

Feb 3, 2025 6:14 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

I have an Intel-based iMac running Sequoia 15.2. My Spotlight KnowledgeEvents folder is 103GB, most of which is in the cs_default folder. Hence, my interest here.

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~/Library/Metadata/SpotlightKnowledgeEvents using a lot of disk space