Work with folders and files in iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive appears in the Finder sidebar, where you can select it to see its contents. It contains folders created automatically for the apps that support iCloud Drive, such as Preview, TextEdit, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. It can also contain folders you create and files you save or move into iCloud Drive or its folders.
iCloud Drive also contains your Desktop and Documents folders, if you turned on Desktop & Documents Folders in iCloud settings.
Tip: When iCloud Drive is turned on, your folders and files may appear with status indicators next to their names in Finder windows. See Check your iCloud Drive file and folder status.
Add files to folders
Each app folder can contain additional folders, but can only contain files the app can open. For example, the Preview folder can contain PDFs and different kinds of image files but not a movie or a music file.
On your Mac, click
in the Dock to open a Finder window.Click iCloud Drive in the sidebar, then drag files into the folders in iCloud Drive.
Tip: You can use iCloud Drive when you save or open a file. Just select iCloud Drive in the Save dialog or Open dialog that appears after you choose File > Save or File > Open.
Download items stored only in iCloud Drive to your Mac
In some cases, items may be stored in iCloud Drive but may not yet be downloaded to your Mac.
On your Mac, click
in the Dock to open a Finder window, then click iCloud Drive in the sidebar.Control-click the items that you want to download (indicated by
).Choose Download Now.
After the items are on your Mac, you can work with them without an internet connection.
If you no longer want the download on your Mac, Control-click the item, then choose Remove Download.
Keep items downloaded on your Mac
If you turned on Optimize Mac Storage, older documents are stored in iCloud when space is needed. However, you can choose to keep certain files or folders downloaded on your Mac no matter what.
On your Mac, click
in the Dock to open a Finder window, then click iCloud Drive in the sidebar.Control-click the items, then choose Keep Downloaded.
appears next to the item’s name.
If you no longer want to keep an item downloaded, Control-click it, then choose Keep Downloaded (so the checkmark disappears).
Move items to your Mac and remove them from iCloud Drive
On your Mac, click
in the Dock to open a Finder window, then click iCloud Drive in the sidebar.Drag items from iCloud Drive to another folder on the desktop or in the Finder sidebar, such as Recents or Downloads.
The items are copied to your Mac and removed from iCloud Drive on all your devices set up for iCloud. If you change your mind, you can drag items back to iCloud Drive.
Tip: You can quickly view the sync status of iCloud Drive on your Mac. Hold the pointer over iCloud Drive in the Finder sidebar, then click the status or information icon.
You can also use iCloud Drive on the web at iCloud.com.
To set up iCloud Drive on the web, an iPhone, an iPad, or a Windows computer, see Set up iCloud Drive on all your devices in the iCloud User Guide.