Finder slow? Here are 7 ways to fix it

Is your Mac Finder slow or becoming unresponsive? There could be a few reasons why, from insufficient disk space to corrupt permissions, so let's troubleshoot Finder back to health.

Quick Recap

Here are top fixes to try (one by one):

📌 Relaunch Finder

📌 Reduce space usage — make sure you have 10-15% of your Mac's storage free

📌 Run maintenance tasks (especially, free up memory) 

📌 Reset Finder as a last resort

Why is Finder slow on Mac?

Here are the main factors that may cause the Finder to slow down:

• Running out of space (less than 10% free)
• Too many open Finder windows/tabs consuming memory and CPU
• Corrupt Finder preferences file                                   
• iCloud Drive/Google Drive/Dropbox (or any other provider) syncing in the background
• Cluttered Desktop
• Outdated macOS
• Spotlight reindexing

Now, that you know what causes the issue, let's proceed with more detailed fixes.

How to fix Finder slow

1. Restart Finder

Finder could be operating unknowingly in the background, so it's always wise to complete a restart, aka Relaunch.

How to Force Relaunch Finder:

1. Select the Apple icon, top left on your MacBook.

2. Choose Force Quit and locate Finder.

3. Select Relaunch and use your Finder again to see if the problem persists.

Tip: Next time your Finder gets slow, click on Finder > Window in the top menu. From there, click Merge All Windows to combine all open tabs into one. Now you can close them all down and save your Finder some precious memory.

2. Check your storage

Running low on disk space can cause various performance issues, like Mac Finder running slow. Take a quick look and clean up your Mac if you're running low on space to improve your system performance.

How to check your disk space:

1. Go to System Settings > General > Storage.

2. Wait for the info to get an overview of your storage space.

If your storage is approaching full, you can click an i next to each category below and remove unneeded items.

Besides, see our easy guide on how to free up space. Also, you can check some tips on how to reclaim disk space from Apple.

3. Pause syncing temporarily

If your Mac is syncing to iCloud Drive (or any other cloud storage), it may slow the Finder down. So, it is a good idea to disable syncing temporarily. Here's how to do it for iCloud: 

1. Go to System Settings > Apple Account > iCloud. 
2. Click Drive. 
3. Toggle Off Sync this Mac.

4. Disable a few features

To reduce the strain on the Finder, you can try turning off some of its features: 

• Disable Preview: View > Hide Preview (generating previews for large files eats up CPU)
• Disable Show icon preview: View Options > deselect "Show icon preview" (also uses a lot of CPU)
• Remove network/cloud locations from sidebar (Finder > Settings > Sidebar): having iCloud or network drives in sidebar triggers constant background polling

Finally, reduce Desktop items — having too many files on Desktop slow Finder because it renders each icon. A quick way to do it is to right-click anywhere on the Desktop and choose Use Stacks if you do not want to remove any items.

5. Quit CPU- and memory-intensive apps

Not directly related to the Finder, but it can reduce the pressure on your Mac. You can use a built-in tool to do it — Activity Monitor.

Just open it from Applications > Utilities and check out the CPU/Memory tabs. Find top consumers, select them, and click X in the toolbar to quit them. 

Important: do not quit processes unless you are absolutely sure what they do. Quit unused apps instead — it is a much safer option.

You can also check if the Finder is consuming a lot of CPU/Memory. If it is, relaunch either via Activity Monitor or using the Force Quit menu.

6. Run maintenance on your Mac

If it's been a while since you ran some essential maintenance, and issues like a slow Finder could indicate that it's time for action. 

You can use a tool that’s trusted by millions of users in over 150 countries. It’s called CleanMyMac, and it has a handful of controls that address popular Mac issues, like slow Finder.

For example, there’s a tool to free up RAM memory. It might help you unfreeze your Finder. It is the Menu App, and it lives in the menu bar. Just click Memory > Free Up. You can test this app for 7 days without any limitations — get your free trial here.

Also, run maintenance tasks and see if it makes your Mac snappier in general:

1. Open CleanMyMac, then select Performance from the left sidebar.

2. Click Scan > View All Tasks.

3. Choose Maintenance Tasks from the list (make sure Reindex Spotlight is selected) and click Run.

As you see, in the same window, you can quickly run different maintenance tasks, like Repair Disk Permissions, free up purgeable space, or Flush DNS Cache. All of them are useful items that can improve performance and solve application bugs. 

Tip: You can reindex Spotlight manually. Go to System Settings > Spotlight > Search Privacy > add your Macintosh HD, then remove it immediately. macOS will re-index in the background. 

7. Reset Finder’s related files 

If the above tips haven't helped your slow Finder, the last step is to reset Finder's related files that could have become corrupt. Do this easily and safely with CleanMyMac. By the way, this app is notarized by Apple, meaning it’s malware-free and safe to use.

But before you do that, we’ll need to allow CleanMyMac to reset your Finder. This takes one extra preparation step.

If you already have CleanMyMac on your Mac, launch it.

• Click CleanMyMac in the upper menu. Choose Settings.

• Click the Ignore list > Uninstaller.

• Now, deselect the checkbox next to “Ignore system applications.”

Okay, finally, we are ready to reset your Finder.

How to use CleanMyMac to reset Finder's related files:

1. Open CleanMyMac and from the left sidebar, select Applications.
2. Click Scan > Manage My Applications.
3. Choose Uninstaller and find Finder in the list of apps.
4. In the small dropdown next to Finder select all items in the list except Binaries.
5. Press Remove.

This way, you can reset any misbehaving app, not only the Finder.

The described method only resets Finder’s settings to their default state; it doesn’t affect your user data. This should fix potential issues related to slowness. 

If you are not in the mood for using third-party tools, you can delete the Finder's preferences file manually. Here's what to do:

1. Open Finder, press Command + Shift + G, and paste this path followed by Return: ~/Library/Preferences/
2. Find com.apple.finder.plist and move it to Trash.
3. macOS will re-create the file as the Finder relaunches.

Important: Removing this file resets Finder view preferences (sidebar, toolbar customizations) but does not affect files or personal data.

How to prevent Finder from getting slow

You now know how to fix it if Finder is slow, but there are a few things you can do to prevent it in the first place: 

• Keep your MacBook clutter-free — have around 15% of the storage free
• Have fewer items on the Desktop or use stacks
• Close unused Finder tabs and windows
• Make sure macOS is up-to-date

There you have it. You now know how to fix it if Finder is slow. You can repeat the same steps for any macOS version — they are virtually universal. Depending on your preferences, you can choose either built-in tools or a third-party Mac cleaner like CleanMyMac. Built-in features will help you with fixing the glitch, but CleanMyMac automates the process and lets you run some extra maintenance.