{"id":"mac-storage-basics.what-are-hidden-folders-on-external-drives","url":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/what-are-hidden-folders-on-external-drives","category":{"id":"mac-storage-basics","title":"Mac storage basics"},"subcategory":{"id":"disks-formats","title":"Disks, APFS and formats"},"question":"What are .Spotlight-V100, .fseventsd and .Trashes on my external drive?","alt_questions":["spotlight-v100 folder external drive","fseventsd folder","trashes folder usb","hidden mac folders on drive","delete spotlight folder external drive"],"short_answer":"Spotlight's index (.Spotlight-V100), the file-change log (.fseventsd) and the drive's Trash (.Trashes). They're usually small; leave them, and empty the Trash with the drive connected.","answer_markdown":"They're folders macOS creates on drives it uses:\n\n- **.Spotlight-V100** — the drive's Spotlight search index.\n- **.fseventsd** — a log of file changes used by Time Machine and other apps.\n- **.Trashes** — the drive's own Trash.\n\nThey're normally small. Leave them alone; to get rid of .Trashes contents, empty the Trash with the drive connected, and to stop indexing a drive, add it to Spotlight's Privacy list.","answer_html":"

They're folders macOS creates on drives it uses:

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They're normally small. Leave them alone; to get rid of .Trashes contents, empty the Trash with the drive connected, and to stop indexing a drive, add it to Spotlight's Privacy list.

","answer_text":"They're folders macOS creates on drives it uses:\n\n- .Spotlight-V100 — the drive's Spotlight search index.\n- .fseventsd — a log of file changes used by Time Machine and other apps.\n- .Trashes — the drive's own Trash.\n\nThey're normally small. Leave them alone; to get rid of .Trashes contents, empty the Trash with the drive connected, and to stop indexing a drive, add it to Spotlight's Privacy list.","tags":["hidden files","external drive","spotlight"],"related":[{"id":"mac-storage-basics.what-are-ds-store-and-dot-underscore-files","question":"What are .DS_Store and ._ files on my drives?","url":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/what-are-ds-store-and-dot-underscore-files"},{"id":"mac-storage-basics.does-the-trash-take-up-space","question":"Do files in the Trash still take up space?","url":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/does-the-trash-take-up-space"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"What are .Spotlight-V100, .fseventsd and .Trashes on my external drive? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Spotlight's index (.Spotlight-V100), the file-change log (.fseventsd) and the drive's Trash (.Trashes). They're usually small; leave them, and empty the Trash with the drive connected.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Mac storage basics","path":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/"},{"name":"What are .Spotlight-V100, .fseventsd and .Trashes on my external drive?","path":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/what-are-hidden-folders-on-external-drives"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/mac-storage-basics/what-are-hidden-folders-on-external-drives","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What are .Spotlight-V100, .fseventsd and .Trashes on my external drive?","alternateName":["spotlight-v100 folder external drive","fseventsd folder","trashes folder usb","hidden mac folders on drive","delete spotlight folder external drive"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"They're folders macOS creates on drives it uses:\n\n- .Spotlight-V100 — the drive's Spotlight search index.\n- .fseventsd — a log of file changes used by Time Machine and other apps.\n- .Trashes — the drive's own Trash.\n\nThey're normally small. Leave them alone; to get rid of .Trashes contents, empty the Trash with the drive connected, and to stop indexing a drive, add it to Spotlight's Privacy list.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/mac-storage-basics/what-are-hidden-folders-on-external-drives"}}]},"fragment":"
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Mac storage basics · Disks, APFS and formats

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What are .Spotlight-V100, .fseventsd and .Trashes on my external drive?

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Short answer: Spotlight's index (.Spotlight-V100), the file-change log (.fseventsd) and the drive's Trash (.Trashes). They're usually small; leave them, and empty the Trash with the drive connected.

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They're folders macOS creates on drives it uses:

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  • .Spotlight-V100 — the drive's Spotlight search index.
  • .fseventsd — a log of file changes used by Time Machine and other apps.
  • .Trashes — the drive's own Trash.
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They're normally small. Leave them alone; to get rid of .Trashes contents, empty the Trash with the drive connected, and to stop indexing a drive, add it to Spotlight's Privacy list.

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