Corespotlightd Using Significant CPU In 11.2.2 (20D80)

Hello!

I am wondering if anyone else is experiencing a significant CPU drain from Spotlight (specifically corespotlightd) in macOS 11.2.2.

Since updating to macOS 11.2.2 any time that I access spotlight using Command + Space Bar I immediately experience a system wide lag. Viewing this in Activity Monitor I see a %CPU spike of corespotlightd in the realm of 200-400%. that last for anywhere from 5 to 15 seconds.

I have sent this in through Feedback Assistant, but no other reports seem to have been linked to the radar.

I have attempted a few different fixes as well:

  • Terminal killall corespotlightd resolves the issue momentarily, but does not fix long term

  • Restarting computer does nothing to solve

  • Re-indexing spotlight does not solve

  • I have also disabled more advanced search functions (Bookmarks and History, Contacts, Events and Reminders, Fonts, Mail & Messages, Music, Siri Suggestions, and Movies are all disabled) - This did not fix the issue.

  • I have also disabled search for external hard drives which also did not solve the issue.

Open to any other suggestions for fixes, or if anyone else has a similar issue.

Mac mini, 2018 (2020 release), 3.2 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7, 32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4. External GPU Radeon RX 570 4 GB.
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OneInfiniteLoop
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  • See my reply below

    —
    mrjasonm
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[UPDATE]

So after significant troubleshooting including:

  • Reindex via terminal

  • PRAM/NVRAM reset

  • SMC reset

  • Hardware test

  • Confirming that the issue occurs in safe boot

  • Reinstall macOS Big Sur via Recovery Mode

I finally gave up and fixed with the following:

  • Boot into Recovery Mode

  • Wipe the SSD via Disk Utility

  • Reinstall macOS Big Sur through Recovery Mode

  • Confirm the issue doesn't occur on a clean install (it didn't - issue was fixed)

  • Restore ONLY apps and documents with Migration Assistant

Issue now resolved.
Posted by
OneInfiniteLoop
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  • (deleted, posted as answer for better formatting)

    —
    coinspiranted

  • Although I'm thankful for your post about how you fixed it, I consider that being completely defeated, rather than fixing it. I couldn't possibly handle the disruption of removing the vast majority of apps and settings.

    —
    Positronika
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I am not an expert, but I think that any command that starts "sudo rm -rf" should be treated with extreme respect/caution. That is

"sudo" = superuser do

"rm" = delete

"-r" = recursively (in the directory)

"-f" = without warning

So perhaps google "sudo rm -rf" before typing it in the terminal.

Posted by
sam_nead
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