How to sync the Desktop and Documents folders with iCloud on a Mac

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

With this setting, the two folders most people work in are stored in iCloud and kept the same on every Mac you use. On an iPhone or iPad the files show up in the Files app. It uses your iCloud storage, so the free 5 GB is rarely enough.

Menu names are from recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings.

Step by step

1. Check your iCloud storage

   In System Settings, click your name and iCloud. The bar at the top shows how much is free. Compare it with the size of your Desktop and Documents folders: select a folder in Finder and press Command + I.

   Done

2. Open the Drive settings

   Under iCloud, click Drive (iCloud Drive on older versions).

   Done

3. Switch on Sync this Mac

   This turns on iCloud Drive itself.

   Done

4. Switch on Desktop & Documents Folders

   Click Done. The Mac starts to upload. In Finder, the two folders now appear in the iCloud section of the sidebar, and a cloud symbol next to a file shows its status.

   Done

5. Open the files on other devices

   On an iPhone or iPad, open the Files app, tap Browse, iCloud Drive and then Desktop or Documents. On any computer, sign in at icloud.com and open iCloud Drive.

   Done

6. Repeat on a second Mac

   If you turn the setting on on another Mac, its Desktop and Documents files go into a folder with that Mac's name inside the shared folders. You can then sort them in.

   Done

Good to know

Deleting a file deletes it on all devices. It stays under Recently Deleted for 30 days.

Photos, iMovie and similar libraries in these folders are not synced. Turn off other cloud services that also manage these folders, to avoid conflicts.

If you turn the setting off, the files stay in iCloud Drive, and the Mac gets new, empty Desktop and Documents folders. Copy the files back from iCloud Drive if you want them locally.

iCloud sync is not a backup of old versions. Keep a Time Machine backup as well: how to back up a Mac with Time Machine. To see what fills the Mac: how to check and free up storage on a Mac.

In short: System Settings, your name, iCloud, Drive, Sync this Mac on, Desktop & Documents Folders on, Done.