Spotlight Bug in macOS Sequoia is Wrecking SSDs – Disable It Now!
If you’re running macOS Sequoia, you might want to disable Spotlight immediately. The bug appears to be causing Spotlight to write absurd amounts of data—up to 26TB per night—to the disk. This is a serious issue that could drastically shorten the lifespan of your SSD.
This alarming behavior was first reported by users on the macOS Beta subreddit (source), with some noticing inexplicably high disk writes without any obvious cause. The culprit? Spotlight’s indexing system running out of control.
How to Disable Spotlight (For Now)
Until Apple issues a fix, I strongly recommend turning off Spotlight indexing to prevent unnecessary wear on your SSD. You can do this by running the following Terminal commands:
sudo mdutil -a -i off # Disable Spotlight
sudo mdutil -aE # Delete existing indexYes, it’s annoying to lose Spotlight search temporarily, but it’s a small price to pay to avoid SSD damage.
Alternative: Use Raycast
If you rely on Spotlight for quick app launching and file searching, I highly recommend switching to Raycast. It’s a powerful and lightweight alternative that doesn’t rely on excessive disk indexing. Plus, it offers way more functionality, including AI-powered commands and custom workflows.
How to Re-enable Spotlight Once Fixed
Hopefully, Apple will address this bug in an upcoming beta. Once it’s confirmed fixed, you can safely re-enable Spotlight using:
sudo mdutil -a -i onUntil then, stay safe and keep an eye on your disk writes!