Simulator not showing in Spotlight search - Big Sur

user_15040209 0
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Hopefully a straight forward one here, but my Simulator app (Xcode IOS Simulator) is not being found through Spotlight search on Mac. I recently upgraded to Big Sur and I am currently using 11.1.

Just wondering if anyone is having the same problem. I am able to access Simulator through other methods but it just doesn't seem to be indexed in the Spotlight search. Cheers

ios-simulator macos ios
3 Answers

The following worked for me on Big Sur 11.5.2:

  1. Locate and obtain the absolute path to your Xcode.app. For me it was /Applications/Xcode.app/
  2. Since Simulator comes with Xcode, with your terminal, execute ls /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Applications to ensure you see Simulator.app
  3. What we need to do now is to get Spotlight to index the applications directory in Step-2
    • Open finder via your terminal open /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer, you should see an "Applications" directory
    • Open System Preferences >> Spotlight, then select "Privacy Tab"
    • Following the steps from Apple's Support
      • Drag the said "Applications" directory into "Privacy Tab" GUI
      • Remove the said "Applications" directory from the same GUI
      • Quit System Preference
  4. Give it a moment then re-launch Spotlight and search for "Simulator"... I hope it shows up for you
user_73876690

Also having this issue. I came up with a half-workaround so that it shows up in launchpad at least.

Open the Simulator using Xcode and then when it shows up in the dock, right-click it, hover over Options, and then click Show in Finder. You'll see the app in a new finder window. Right-click it and select Make Alias. Drag and drop this into your applications folder. Now when you open the launchpad, you can search for it there. (5 finger pinch to launch the launchpad)

user_148405840

In addion to Jonalogy's answer, you can import a specific app from command line.

mdimport /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Applications/Simulator.app
user_69184980
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