Is it safe to delete Spotlight index?
The index Spotlight keeps for each disk so it can find files, and what's inside them, quickly.
Managed by macOS
macOS manages it. It's never moved to the Trash.
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What it is
Spotlight keeps its index in a hidden .Spotlight-V100 folder at the top of each disk it searches, and updates it as files change. It's normally a small part of the disk, but some people have seen it grow to well over 100 GB when indexing goes wrong. Rebuilding the index in System Settings replaces it with a fresh one.
If it's removed
Spotlight searches are incomplete until indexing finishes, which can take a while on a large disk.
What to do instead
To rebuild the index, open System Settings > Spotlight and click Search Privacy. Add the disk to the list, wait a few seconds, select it again and click the remove button. Spotlight then indexes the disk again.
The free analyzer finds it and explains it, with these steps. The app doesn't remove it for you.
Sources
- support.apple.com/en-us/102321
- eclecticlight.co/2024/11/19/when-and-how-to-rebuild-spotlight-indexes
- discussions.apple.com/thread/256284468
Last checked on 26 Sep 2026. Every entry is written and checked by hand; the app and the command-line tool use the same words.