Spotlight doesn't find some apps on Mac os sequoia 15.1

A week ago I updated my MacBook Air M1 to macOS 15.1. Mostly everything has been pretty solid so far except there's this bug lately with Spotlight search where it cannot find apps and programs I have downloaded from the internet or the App Store unless I have recently opened them. It can easily find pre-installed system apps like Preview and Mail though. Searching for files and folders seems to be the same.

For example, I have Firefox (from the web) and CotEditor (from the App Store) installed but searching for those won't show them in the top results like you would expect. Instead I get generic safari web search suggestions. I have to manually open them from the launchpad or the finder and then it will show them. And if I turn off the computer and the next day turn it on again it may 'forget' that these apps exist.

Even if I literally open the /Applications directory in the Finder and search for these apps it won't show them, even though they are right there!

Example of a failed attempt:

Example of expected behavior:

This is annoying because on Sonoma I didn't have that issue and could search and instantly open any app even if I rarely use it.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. (for the record, if it makes any difference, I do not have apple intelligence turned on. ) Thanks.

MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

Posted on Nov 7, 2024 3:28 AM

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Top-ranking reply

SnoWake

Level 1

34 points

Posted on Nov 25, 2024 5:31 PM

Even after attempting each resolution suggested in this thread: ensuring that "Applications" are enabled in Spotlight search (they were and still are), rebuilding the index, etc - there are still many (most!) apps that Spotlight Search won't find.

Time to unlearn years of muscle memory: Is this some passive/aggressive attempt to train me to use Launchpad??

Any 'official' response from Apple on this? As much as I love community support - this is a major breaking change for me - and I'm actually consider downgrading to see if I can restore the functionality?? :O

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53 replies

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Dec 24, 2024 12:40 AM in response to giulianoaiello

Update: not working again, just a few days after.

wti

Level 1

14 points

Jan 22, 2025 2:13 AM in response to EdimarMartins

I tried many fixes but finally this one fixed it, thanks a lot [MacBook Air M2, Sequoia 15.2].

stol

Level 1

4 points

Feb 4, 2025 1:03 PM in response to questions_asker_0564

@EdimarMartins's simple solution fixed this for me.

Search results started included Applications almost immediately. Thanks!

jgshurts

Level 1

8 points

Apr 4, 2025 9:22 AM in response to EdimarMartins

After starting Terminal from Launchpad, of course, because Spotlight can't find it. :D

Dec 1, 2024 12:21 PM in response to elchinabilov

unfortunately this does not help my case. I have always had application checked and toggled and it still does not show applications properly. I also used command to rebuild index in terminal and reboot mac. It works. Overnight, it stop working again. this is frustrating.

BluBass

Level 1

14 points

Dec 15, 2024 6:06 PM in response to questions_asker_0564

I have the same issue. It seems that you can make the issue go away temporarily using some of the workarounds described (either using the mdutil command, or adding and removing folders from spotlight privacy).

For me, the issue re-surfaces as soon as I reboot my Mac. After a reboot, searching for apps that I could previously find via spotlight no longer appear. I can make this issue happen on command with a reboot and a search for one of my more frequently used apps - Adobe premiere pro. The issue seems to be localized to the Applications folder - as if MacOS deletes that index with every reboot.

Just for the record, I am working on 2023 Mac Studio that I have only owned since September of this year with a completely fresh install.

This seems to be a bug with Sequoia, as I have used spotlight to find and launch my apps as a matter of habit for the last 6-7 years on previous Macs - I have not had to rebuild the spotlight index after every reboot.

BluBass

Level 1

14 points

Jan 20, 2025 6:33 PM in response to questions_asker_0564

Update - The search issue came back (Fix lasted about three weeks). Ran the Carlotan recipe again to see how long it lasts. This is definitely a bug that Apple should address as anything we do here seems to be a temporary work-around.

hlovatt

Level 1

8 points

Mar 9, 2025 7:33 PM in response to questions_asker_0564

None of the suggestions work for me :(.

But, I'm having trouble with one app only, Anaconda-Navigator, and I think the problem is that this app has a link in Applications (to its real location) where the rest of the apps are actually in Applications.

Anyone else seen similar?

Mar 12, 2025 4:32 PM in response to questions_asker_0564

I'm having the same issue frequently, I was using Sequoia 15.2 and just updated to 15.3.2 hoping that the bug is fixed in the new update, but it stills happening. I've tried deleting the spotlights folders in finder and it seems to work but when I restart the Mac the bug comes back, it's really annoying, I expect Apple to solve this asap.