Can I use Spotlight to search NTFS formatted drives?

Spotlight is an integrated search tool in macOS systems. When a volume is indexed by macOS, any search within it is faster.

By default, indexing an NTFS drive uses system resources—potentially slowing down the system. Indexing can often lead to a high CPU usage—We recommend enabling Spotlight search on a drive only when you really need it, and keeping it disabled otherwise.

In order to enable index/search for an NTFS drive, follow these two steps:

1. Make sure your drive isn’t excluded from Spotlight search. Go to System Preferences -> Spotlight -> Privacy. If your drive is on the list, remove it using the “-” button.
2. Launch Terminal (Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal), and execute the command:

mdutil -i on /Volumes/MYDISK 

where MYDISK is the name of the NTFS volume (For example /Volumes/Tuxera).

Tip: You can always check the current status with the following Terminal command:

mdutil -s /Volumes/MYDISK

To disable Spotlight on a specific drive, you can add it to the Privacy tab in Spotlight selection in System preferences.