How to Fix “Recents” Folder Empty on Mac: Complete Guide

The “Recents” folder in Mac Finder is a useful feature that instantly gives you easy access to all recently opened, modified, or added files on your device. Still, a lot of clients grapple with this issue having to see it full of recent files although there aren’t. In this guide, a complete tutorial on how to solve this problem entirely and take advantage of the “Recents” folder in the right way.

Understanding the “Recents” Folder on Mac

The “Recents” folder is a Smart Folder that is available in macOS and it allows you to create custom search queries which in turn will show the files or folders that you have interacted with recently. With this system, files are not physically stored in a folder but references to them are created based on what has been recently accomplished. Mostly, this folder is intended to direct your attention to the files you have recently worked with, including documents, images, PDFs, and others.

Common Causes of an Empty “Recents” Folder

The respective situation of an empty “Recents” folder can be the result of the following reasons:

• Recent System Updates: The Spotlight indexing process that is automatically performed after macOS updates will clear the “Recents” folder temporarily until reindexing is completed.
• Spotlight Indexing Issues: If Spotlight indexing is not executed properly, the “Recents” folder will not display any files.
• Finder Process Issues: Smart folders can lead to problems with the Finder itself thus causing display problems.
• No Recently Opened Files: Even if it is unlikely, it still might happen if you haven’t opened any files or changed any files in a while.

How to Fix an Empty “Recents” Folder on Mac

1. Restart Your Mac

The simplest way to fix the “Recents” folder is to restart your MacBook. You will need to reboot your computer. The program that makes the list will tell you how many empty items there are. If you do not see the items, the list is empty. This step tells Finder to reindex again, which should make the list of files again. All it takes is, to follow these steps:

• Click on the Apple menu () in the top-left corner.
• Select Restart.
• Your Mac will probably restart properly and then Finish the start-up process to the end of the process.
• Now locate the “Recent” folder dial in Finder and open it.

After restarting, the “Recents” folder should fill with files again. In case the folder continues to have no files in, the following steps are also to be pursued.

2. Restart Finder

If you do not want to restart your entire computer, because it is already open and you have many applications running, ALSO there is a shortcut for restarting Finder alone. Here are the steps to go:

• Press Option + Command + Esc on your keyboard.
• From the list, select Finder and click Relaunch.
• Once relaunched successfully, check the “Recents” folder again.

Finder restart can be a solution for the issue. Bring up the recent file display by using the restart command.

3. Rebuild Spotlight Index

Usually, negative comments about the “Recents” folder are caused by problems with the indexing of the folder. Sometimes their parent application hides the recent files. Re-building the spotlight index is a magic bullet to kill the multicast and unicasting issues but you need to navigate as follows:

• Set up and go to the system settings on the traffic light and spot the Siri & Spotlight icon.
• Click Spotlight Privacy.
• Add your Mac hard drive to the List by clicking the [+] button.
• After the privacy settings are added, you can remove the privacy settings by clicking the Delete (-) button under the hard drive you just added.

This action will make Spotlight index all the data again which usually is a time-taking process. Do not worry, the software will do the indexing operation one more time, and in the end, the list will be returned to its normal format. (If the “Recents” folder is functioning correctly, it means the reindexing was done.)

4. Change the Search Criteria of the “Recents” Folder

If the problem continues, you can change the search criteria for “Recents” with your hands:

• Go to the Recents folder,
• Press the Action button which is expressed in the three dots and then Show Search Criteria;
• Set the criteria to include all files by using: (kMDItemLastUsedDate = “*”).
• Now, you have the updated criteria, and you have to refresh the folder.

This change will eliminate the causes of the search parameters that make it impossible for files to show up.

5. Check for macOS Software Updates

Ensuring that the macOS is always up to date is one of the primary steps of addressing system bugs and ensuring that the system runs smoothly:

• Choose the Apple logo and then Sign in the Window.
• Pick Software Update.
• Press the Update Now button and after that, follow the prompts if you see on the screen that updates are ready for installation.

Patches released by the system provider can nearly fix all common bugs, including those about Finder or Spotlight.

6. Clear Finder Preferences

Corrupt Finders‘ preferences can also cause the empty “Recents” folder. Reinstalling them is quick, and it does the trick:

• Start Finder.
• Click on Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar.
• Type ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist and remove the file.
• After that, reboot your Mac which will generate a new template file.

This process will not cause the data to be lost, but it can reset Finder’s settings, thus it can be a problem solver in case of any appearance issues.

Conclusion

Resolving a blank “Recents” folder issue on your Mac may take a combination of strategies, from basic turn-offs & to alternate search options. Having a highly indexed spotlight will be the basics to make your smart folders work the way they should and the other factor is keeping your macOS up-to-date. This action will enable you to reinstate unimpeded movement to the latest files and enable Finder to be a lightweight tool.

FAQs About the Empty “Recents” Folder Issue