Spotlightknowledged macOS High CPU

What is spotlightknowledged on Mac?

Spotlightknowledged is a background process in macOS that works alongside Spotlight and Siri to improve how your Mac gathers and displays contextual search results. From our experts’ observations, it’s part of the Core Spotlight framework that analyzes and indexes data such as documents, messages, photos, and app metadata to make searches faster and more relevant.

When something goes wrong, like a corrupted index or continuous re-indexing, it can lead to spotlightknowledged macOS high CPU usage, which slows down your device and drains battery life.

You can test your Mac performance to locate the process in Activity Monitor by opening Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor, then searching for spotlightknowledged in the CPU tab. If it’s consistently using more than 50–60% of your processor for extended periods, your Mac may need optimization or a cleanup to restore balance.

Why spotlightknowledged causes high CPU usage?

Spotlightknowledged may cause macOS to show MacBook Spotlight using significant energy when it scans or reindexes files. The process reads large volumes of metadata to update Spotlight’s search database, which can temporarily raise CPU load. This usually happens after system updates, disk changes, or when indexing external drives.

A note from our experts: 

 

From our experience, when spotlightknowledged causes high CPU load or your MacBook shows the MacBook Spotlight using significant energy warning, redundant background processes are often the reason.

 

Instead of quitting them manually, which can risk interrupting essential system tasks, our team suggests using MacKeeper, developed by Clario Tech, which offers the Memory Cleaner feature. It safely identifies memory-draining services like spotlightknowledged and clears them without affecting your system stability.

 

Here’s how to do it:

1. Download MacKeeper from our official website and install it on your Mac.
2. Open the app and choose Memory Cleaner from the left sidebar.
3. Click Open to review current memory usage and see which processes consume the most RAM.
4. Select Clean Memory to close unneeded background services and free up resources instantly.
5. Keep MacKeeper running in the background to automatically maintain optimal memory balance.

How to fix spotlightknowledged high CPU usage on Mac?

You can fix spotlightknowledged macOS high CPU usage by checking which processes are overloading the system, rebuilding the Spotlight index, and clearing unnecessary background tasks. From our tests, these steps help stabilize CPU performance, reduce fan noise, and prevent overheating without affecting normal search functionality.

1. Check system activity and confirm the CPU spike

When your Mac slows down or fans get loud, you need to check how to see how much CPU is being used on the Mac to verify that spotlightknowledged is responsible.

Try the following:

1. Open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities.
2. Click the CPU tab to display live processor usage.
3. Sort by % CPU and locate spotlightknowledged at the top.
4. If it constantly exceeds 60% for several minutes, close unnecessary apps and keep your Mac plugged in while Spotlight completes indexing.

2. Rebuild the Spotlight index to stop mds_stores Mac high memory issues

If both spotlightknowledged and mds_stores Mac high memory occur, the Spotlight index may be corrupted. Rebuilding it forces macOS to start fresh and resolve continuous CPU load.

Here’s how:

1. Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities.
2. Type sudo mdutil -E / and press Return.
3. Enter your admin password to confirm the command.
4. Keep your Mac plugged in while Spotlight rebuilds its database.

3. Review startup and background items to reduce hidden load

After rebuilding, it’s important to learn how to see what is running on your Mac and stop redundant background tasks that restart automatically.

Follow these steps:

1. Open System Settings, then go to General > Login Items & Extensions.
2. Remove unnecessary apps that start every time you log in.
3. Revisit Activity Monitor to confirm reduced CPU activity.
4. Run MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner to close leftover system processes safely and keep CPU usage balanced.

Conclusion

Spotlightknowledged macOS typically uses more CPU when indexing files, rebuilding search data, or scanning new drives. Occasional spikes are normal, but a persistent load means it’s time to optimize your system and clear redundant background processes.

With Memory Cleaner, MacKeeper offers performance monitoring that helps you track demanding processes like spotlightknowledged, stabilize CPU usage, and maintain smooth macOS performance without affecting system search.