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Spotlight Indexing

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Shell commands to control Spotlight indexing on volumes.

  • To only turn off indexing on a volume:
    sudo mdutil -i off /Volume/drivename/
  • To Turn off indexing and remove indices on a volume:
    sudo mdutil -E -i off /Volumes/drivename/
  • To only turn on indexing on a volume:
    sudo mdutil -i on /Volumes/drivename/
  • To turn on indexing and rebuild indices on a volume:
    sudo mdutil -E -i on /Volumes/drivename/
  • To only force rebuilding of indices on a volume:
    sudo mdutil -E /Volumes/drivename