If you’re using KDE on Linux with a large home directory, you might notice high disk IO, CPU usage, or unexpected swap activity. In many cases, Baloo File Indexer is the cause—especially during initial indexing. Here’s a quick guide to check, control, and optimize Baloo for a smooth KDE experience:
1. Check Baloo Status and Progress
balooctl status
Shows current state, total files indexed, and files pending for indexing.
Example output:
Indexer state: Indexing file content
Total files indexed: 178,275
Files waiting for content indexing: 355
2. Temporarily Disable Baloo
If you want to immediately stop resource consumption:
balooctl disable
To enable again:
balooctl enable
3. Exclude Unnecessary Folders from Indexing
Recommended! Only index what you really need:
- Go to System Settings → Search → File Search
Add folders you wish to exclude (e.g.,Downloads, big backup folders, development projects).
Or edit (advanced):
nano ~/.config/baloofilerc
Add lines like:
[General]
excludeFolders[$e]=/home/youruser/Downloads /home/youruser/projects /home/youruser/big_backup
Restart Baloo for changes to take effect:
balooctl disable
balooctl enable
4. Monitor Disk Usage by Baloo
Get the actual index size:
du -sh ~/.local/share/baloo
Several GB is typical with 100k+ files. If it’s too much, use exclusion above.
5. Key Points
- Initial indexing: Heavy IO/CPU, will finish after the first complete pass.
- Post-indexing: Resource usage drops dramatically, only new/modified files are scanned.
- Disabling: Safe, and can be toggled anytime. Your files remain untouched.
- Rebooting during indexing: Safe, progress resumes automatically.
- Clean up everything (if needed):
balooctl purge balooctl enable
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