Using Spotlight on all Mac, iCloud and OneDrive files and folders at same time

Question

Using Spotlight on all Mac, iCloud and OneDrive files and folders at same time

Is there some way to have Spotlight search through all files and folders, regardless of location, or do you need to do separate searches for each location?

When I search, I'd like to find matches in these three "places"

1) Mac SSD

2) iCloud

3) OneDrive

I think the Mac and iCloud files can be found, but stuff on OneDrive seems "hidden" from Spotlight.

Note: OneDrive is "selected" in Spotlight system settings.

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 26.0

Posted on Oct 27, 2025 12:23 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9

55,905 points

Oct 30, 2025 9:10 AM in response to LuigiBenetton

Next step is to rebuild your Spotlight index.

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

I just picked a file on OneDrive that was not stored locally, pasted the name into Spotlight and it was the top hit. Secondary-click and Show in Finder shows that the file is on OneDrive and stored in the cloud.

So...on my Mac, at least, Spotlight is indexing and showing results from OneDrive including non-local files. If rebuilding the index doesn't work, Spotlight can be 'nuked' and reset with Terminal commands, but try the GUI method first. It is possible to add the OneDrive folder to the Privacy list, then remove it to have just that reindexed.

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Answer 2

Oct 27, 2025 1:03 PM in response to LuigiBenetton

The files on OneDrive must be synced and downloaded to your computer, if they have Cloud icons next to them, then they are not local and not searchable. There is a setting for OneDrive to keep your files downloaded.

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Answer 3

Oct 30, 2025 8:49 AM in response to neuroanatomist

Thanks for this reply, but this does not seem to be the issue.

That said, the only "setting" I could find to keep files on my Mac is the one at the bottom of this dialog. But it does not work. I know this because the Mac has to download files I just created before I can use them. Is there another setting for OneDrive somewhere else?

The OneDrive menubar drop list tells me my files are downloaded, (but that doesn't seem to be the case)

The icons next to OneDrive folders and files look like this:

Thanks in advance for any other clues you might suggest.

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,138 points

Oct 30, 2025 8:54 AM in response to LuigiBenetton

I don’t think this is your issue, but just to set expectations.

In order to search for content, the files must be downloaded, but for iCloud at least, searching for file name should still find files that are only in the cloud with a placeholder file on the Mac.

I actually haven’t tried searching for content for non-downloaded iCloud files in Tahoe. This is just how it worked in the past.

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Answer 5

Oct 30, 2025 12:54 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thanks for this. I've not had issues with iCloud-based files either in the past or with Tahoe (that I know of, but it's still early days). It's OneDrive that is proving "hidden" from Spotlight, even though I want to keep a copy of all files on my Mac. (That's the benefit of a one TB SSD.)

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Answer 6

Oct 30, 2025 1:26 PM in response to LuigiBenetton

LuigiBenetton wrote:

It's OneDrive that is proving "hidden" from Spotlight, even though I want to keep a copy of all files on my Mac. (That's the benefit of a one TB SSD.)

Note that I have not tried to keep all my OneDrive files on my Mac (though with a 2 TB drive, there's plenty of space), and that Spotlight is finding my OneDrive files that aren't stored locally.

Having said that, I have definitely found Spotlight to be something of a train wreck with Tahoe.

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