Baloo file index and extraction problems

The Baloo file indexer is the KDE neon process that creates a database for use in file search. Usually it works just fine but sometimes after a new install using an old home folder it starts briefly locking the computer every minute or so as it uses all the resources. This is very annoying.

Top is the simplest way to see what processes are using all the resources. This can be started by opening up Konsole and then typing,

top

If it turns that it is Baloo (or baloo_file_extr) that is causing the problems the next step is to see what the status of Baloo is. This can be done by entering,

balooctl status
Baloo File Indexer is running
Indexer state: Indexing file content
Indexed 202836 / 203909 files
Current size of index is 5.98 GiB

As you can see from mine the indexer still hasn’t finished indexing although as the install happened a week ago there appears to be some problem. A possible solution might be to delete the index and let Baloo rebuild it by disabling Baloo with,

balooctl disable

But the problem with that is that the index will have to be rebuilt so if you are after a quick fix it is probably something to do when you have some time to leave the computer to it.

You could also use the command,

balooctl stop

to temporarily stop the indexing process or you can edit the Baloo config file directly in the ~/.config/ directory. It is called baloofilerc.

My recommendation would be that if you keep on having problems with the index, disable it,delete it and then re-enable the the Baloo indexer when you have some time to let the computer sit overnight. The opposite commands to the ones above will work to start it. eg;

balooctl start

or,

balooctl enable

You might also find that you cannot restart Baloo after stopping it as dbus already has another instance. The easiest way to fix this is to restart.

You can find more ideas, KDE neon, studies, thoughts, travels and projects @ Mason Bee
https://masonbee.nz/category/all-posts/