Search results in Unity are always empty [duplicate]

None of these fixes worked for me. But after more searching:

rm ~/.cache/software-center -R

worked like a charm. I did need to run:

unity --reset &

afterwards though, for the changes to take effect within dash, but the software center just started working straightaway.

You should ensure that you have these 2 packages installed:

• For 12.10 and older:

  • unity-place-applications
  • unity-place-files

• For newer versions:

  • unity-lens-applications
  • unity-lens-files

Then logout/login and you will get back you the 2 lenses and the search will search applications and files.

In my case none of the solutions above worked.

The solution I found:

rm -rf ~/.local/share/zeitgeist

Then close your session and login again, and dash worked again.