mdutil - manage the metadata stores used by Spotlight

the command line utility to manage macOS Spotlight search. see also:

• tmutil
• asimov

check spotlight index status

check for all devices:

mdutil -avs

check specific device:

mdutil -s -v /

find excluded files by time machine

sudo mdfind "com_apple_backup_excludeItem = 'com.apple.backupd'"