fileproviderd

It is indexing or syncing many files: after signing in to a cloud service, after moving a big folder into it, or while it reconciles changes made on another computer. Folders that change all the time, such as build output inside a synced folder, keep it busy indefinitely.

Occasionally a single file gets stuck, and fileproviderd retries it over and over. The provider's own menu bar item or app usually shows which file is not syncing.

Keep constantly changing folders, such as node_modules, build output and caches, outside synced folders. Let a first sync finish on a good connection. If one provider is stuck, quit and reopen its app, or pause and resume syncing from its menu bar item.

To free space from files you do not need offline, Control-click them in Finder and choose Remove Download for iCloud Drive, or your provider's own option, such as making a file online-only. fileproviderd keeps them listed and downloads them again when you open them.

fileproviderd serves every provider at once, so it helps to find which one is doing the work.

1. Open Activity Monitor, click the CPU tab and type fileprovider in the search field. You will see fileproviderd, and each provider's own extension process next to it, such as com.apple.CloudDocs.iCloudDriveFileProvider for iCloud Drive.
2. Compare % CPU between fileproviderd and the extensions. The extension that is busy alongside it is the provider with work to do.
3. Click the Disk tab and look at Bytes Written. A figure that keeps growing means files are downloading to the Mac.
4. In Finder, open the provider's folder from the sidebar: under Locations for most providers, or under iCloud for iCloud Drive. Progress and error icons next to files show what is still moving.
5. For fileproviderd's own messages, open Terminal and run log stream --predicate 'process == "fileproviderd"'. Errors that name the same file again and again point at the stuck item. Press Control-C to stop.

Normal: busy after you sign in to a provider or move files in, and briefly when you open a file that has to download. Quiet the rest of the time.

Worth looking into: busy for days, or the same file never finishes. The usual causes:

• A folder with a huge number of small files inside cloud storage.
• A file with a name or path the provider cannot store, such as a very long path.
• A file that is open and changing in another app, so it never settles long enough to upload.
• Cloud storage that is full, so uploads are refused and retried.
• A provider app that is out of date after a macOS update.

With Optimize Mac Storage turned on in System Settings → your name → iCloud, macOS frees space when the disk runs low. Apple says iCloud Drive keeps recently opened files on the Mac and makes the oldest ones available on demand. fileproviderd removes the local copy, and Finder keeps listing the file with a cloud icon.

Other providers have similar settings in their own apps. Open such a file and fileproviderd downloads it again, which needs a connection. If you need a folder while offline, open its files once beforehand, or choose your provider's option to keep it on the Mac.