Spotlight not finding files after macOS update on MacBook Pro

That’s normal after a major macOS upgrade. Spotlight usually needs time to reindex your files. Just leave your Mac plugged in and idle for a while. You can also go to System Settings → Siri & Spotlight → Spotlight Privacy, remove and re-add your drive to force a reindex. It should start finding your desktop and cloud files again after that.

Tyrth wrote:

The pathway you mention

System Settings → Siri & Spotlight → Spotlight Privacy

No longer seems to exist in System Settings since the 26 update. There is no "Siri & Spotlight" grouping in the settings; rather there is a separate "Spotlight" tab. It has no menu option "Spotlight Privacy".

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/348df657-a0d7-43bb-b854-08ca98e16b28

There is only a list of locations to expclude from search

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/b6038b28-68f6-4ee2-804e-c7cc66c1fc68

Yes, it changed slightly in Tahoe. That Privacy box is where you should specify your entire drive, for excluding the entire drive from Search. Then quit Settings. Then reopen Settings and go to that exclude from Search box and REMOVE your drive from that. This forces the computer to reindex all the files on the drive so you can search for them again and find them. The reindexing process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the size of the drive and the speed of your computer.

The pathway you mention

System Settings → Siri & Spotlight → Spotlight Privacy

No longer seems to exist in System Settings since the 26 update. There is no "Siri & Spotlight" grouping in the settings; rather there is a separate "Spotlight" tab. It has no menu option "Spotlight Privacy".

There is only a list of locations to expclude from search

Following