Summary of the hidden folders and files you’re most likely to encounter at the top level of a volume, and at the top level of your Home folder.
Spotlight
New batch file mode can add (e.g.) copyright metadata to hundreds or thousands of files. Handles unusual characters properly. Can also remove extended attributes.
Adds keywords, author, copyright and other info to any file on your Mac. Runs in El Capitan, Sierra, and High Sierra.
Want to make local Spotlight searches more effective? Add keywords to their metadata, such as Finder Comments. But there are some snags.
This tool now has an overhauled interface, making it much easier to use. Currently the only way of viewing and editing xattrs without using the command line.
Explains how Time Machine knows what to back up, why it performs deep event scans, and how that system is different from HFS+ journaling.
A free tool to force full Gatekeeper checks without having to download an app, inspect, add, and remove xattrs from files and folders.
Time Machine backups are but one of 70-80 background services which are run by macOS dispatching systems. Here’s a list of some of the others.
Can you search documents on your iCloud Drive using Spotlight? Probably, but it doesn’t seem to work using normal metadata indexes.
When you keep documents in iCloud, are they backed up in Time Machine, searched in Spotlight, and kept securely?
The Eclectic Light Company 