macOS processes › Spotlight and search
What is corespotlightd on Mac?
corespotlightd indexes content from inside apps, such as emails, notes, messages and app data, so it shows up in Spotlight. Apps hand that content to it through Apple's Core Spotlight framework.
What it does
mds indexes files. corespotlightd handles the other half: items apps donate, like a Mail message, a note or a record inside a third-party app. Mail, for example, runs its own Spotlight index extension that sends messages to corespotlightd. This content is indexed separately from your files, in your user Library.
Why it gets busy
- Mail downloading or re-indexing a large mailbox, for example after you add an account.
- Messages or Notes syncing a long history from iCloud.
- A third-party app re-indexing all its content after an update.
- A macOS update that prompts apps to resubmit their content.
Why is corespotlightd using so much CPU?
corespotlightd is busy when apps hand Spotlight lots of content, most often Mail, Messages or Notes after a sync or a new account. Let it finish, and update any third-party app that keeps triggering it.
Is it safe to quit?
macOS restarts it, and apps send their content again, so nothing is gained.
How to calm it down
- Let it finish after adding a mail account or syncing Messages. Large histories can take hours.
- Quit an app you suspect, like Mail, and watch whether corespotlightd calms down.
- Update third-party apps that keep re-indexing. Repeated re-indexing is often an app bug.
In SystemWatch
SystemWatch's History shows whether corespotlightd's busy stretch started when you opened Mail or another app, which tells you whose content is being indexed.
