potlightUIService doesn’t show any results after typing — Core Spotlight index works fine

Summary:

Since updating to macOS Tahoe 26.0.1, the small Spotlight panel (invoked via ⌘ + Space) stops showing any results once typing begins.

The Spotlight index itself is fully functional: Finder and the full Spotlight window (⌥⌘Space) immediately return the expected documents.

This issue appears limited to the SpotlightUIService process.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Press ⌘ + Space to open Spotlight.

2. Type any filename or word that exists on the disk (e.g., “Prestations”).

3. Observe that no results appear, even after waiting.

4. Open Finder or press ⌥⌘Space — the same query returns the correct file instantly.

Expected Result:

Spotlight should dynamically display results (documents, folders, apps, etc.) as typing begins.

Actual Result:

- Spotlight panel remains empty, showing “No results.”

- “Recents” and “Suggestions” are displayed correctly → UI works.

- Finder and full Spotlight Search (⌥⌘Space) show the right files immediately.

- Indexing confirmed active with mdutil -s.

- The issue persists after complete Spotlight resets.

Additional Observations:

- corespotlightd and mds processes active and responding normally.

- Index rebuilds succeed:

sudo mdutil -E /

sudo mdutil -E "$HOME"

mdfind -onlyin "$HOME" -name "filename"

→ Returns expected results.

- SpotlightUIService stops querying immediately after the first keystroke.

- Disabling or enabling SIP makes no difference.

- Reproduced after several reboots and Spotlight resets.

Diagnostics Performed:

1. Reset Spotlight index and caches

sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight-V200

sudo rm -rf /private/var/db/CoreSpotlight

sudo mdutil -a -E

2. Reset user caches

rm -rf ~/Library/Metadata/CoreSpotlight

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.Spotlight

rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Spotlight

3. Reset TCC permissions

tccutil reset All com.apple.Spotlight

tccutil reset All com.apple.Siri

4. Reset UI preferences

rm -f ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Spotlight.plist

rm -f ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.spotlightui.plist

5. Restart related daemons

launchctl kickstart -k system/com.apple.metadata.mds

launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.apple.corespotlightd

6. Verified processes

- mds, mds_stores, and corespotlightd are active

- mdfind and Finder search return correct results

- Only SpotlightUIService fails to display them

Logs:

Relevant snippet from Spotlight logs:

log stream --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.corespotlight" OR subsystem == "com.apple.spotlight"' --info --last 60s

→ Shows active indexing, no query or permission errors, but no UI events triggered after typing.

Environment:

Device: MacBook Pro 14" (2023)

Chip: Apple M3 Max

Memory: 128 GB

macOS Version: Tahoe 26.0.1 (Build 26A60)

SIP: Tested both enabled and disabled — no difference

Reproducibility: Always (100%)

Hypothesis:

Likely a SpotlightUIService rendering or query-handling regression introduced in macOS Tahoe 26.0.x.

The Core Spotlight index and daemon responses are correct, but the UI fails to receive or display the results.

Possible root cause: corrupted SpotlightUIService sandbox container, preference issue, or broken interprocess communication with corespotlightd.

Suggested Fix:

- Reinitialize SpotlightUIService preferences and/or cache containers.

- Verify LaunchAgent registration at:

/System/Library/CoreServices/Spotlight.app/Contents/SpotlightUIService

- Re-sync SpotlightUIService with Core Spotlight database.

Workaround:

- Using ⌥⌘Space (the full Spotlight Search window) works correctly.

- Finder search is unaffected and provides accurate results.

Attachments (Recommended):

1. Screenshot of the Spotlight panel showing no results after typing.

2. Output of:

mdutil -s /

mdutil -s "$HOME"

mdfind -onlyin "$HOME" -name "AnyIndexedFile"

log show --last 60s --predicate 'process == "SpotlightUIService"'

3. System log excerpt during search attempt:

log stream --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.spotlight" or subsystem == "com.apple.corespotlight"' --info --last 60s

Notes:

This issue seems to affect macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 specifically.

Spotlight’s index is not the problem — only the UI display layer fails to populate.

A reinstall or update should replace SpotlightUIService with a functional build.