What follow is related to macOS 14 Sonoma and may or may not relate to macOS 15 Sequoia
https://eclecticlight.co/2024/02/07/why-is-my-mac-working-so-hard-after-startup-whats-cgpdfservice/
Fixing problems
Although killing CGPDFService processes in Activity Monitor might be a satisfying way of trying to address sustained high levels of CPU %, that’s unlikely to fix any underlying problem. There are two main approaches for tackling this if the high CPU is unacceptable:
- Remove PDF Documents from the Search results list in Siri & Spotlightsettings.
- Add the volume or folder containing the PDFs to the list that Spotlight ignores, through the Spotlight Privacy… button in those settings.
These both have the disadvantage of removing those files from Spotlight search. One solution for dealing with one or a few PDF documents that always choke CGPDFService processes is to isolate them in a folder that is excluded using the Spotlight Privacy list.
Why?
This change in Sonoma hasn’t been reported or explained by Apple, and doesn’t appear to be related to any known change in Sonoma’s features. It’s possible that this is the first step in preparation for more sophisticated methods of extracting text from PDFs, which might in the future include the use of Live Text OCR. However, there’s no indication that’s used at present. If you’re unaware of the additional complications incurred by that, my earlier account provides an outline, and Apple’s more detailed account of how it works in Sonoma should confirm that.
