Simulator not showing in Spotlight search - Big Sur

Question

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

Answer 1

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