Find your downloads on a Mac

Why it happens

Your Mac keeps one Downloads folder inside your home folder, and browsers save to it unless someone changed their settings. Files don't appear on the desktop by themselves, so it can look as if they vanished. They're almost always sitting in Downloads.

How to fix it

1. Click the Finder icon at the left end of the Dock, the blue smiling face, so a Finder window opens.

2. Press Option-Command-L, or choose Go in the menu bar and then Downloads. You can also click Downloads in the sidebar on the left.

   Finder›Go›Downloads

3. To put your newest file first, choose View in the menu bar, then Sort By, then Date Added. The file you just downloaded moves to the top.

4. Double-click the file to open it, or drag it to the Desktop or another folder to keep it somewhere easier to find.

Still not fixed?

1. If Downloads is missing from the Finder sidebar, open Finder's Settings, click Sidebar, and tick Downloads.

   Finder›Settings…›Sidebar

2. If the file isn't in Downloads, Safari may be saving somewhere else. Open Safari, choose Safari > Settings, click General, and check File download location. Other browsers have a similar choice in their own settings.

3. Search for it. Press Command-Space, type part of the file name, and Spotlight lists any match. Open it from there, or note the folder it's in.

4. If you opened a file recently but can't recall where it went, click Recents in the Finder sidebar, or press Shift-Command-F.

   Finder›Go›Recents

5. If the Downloads folder itself has disappeared from your home folder, or Finder shows an error when you open it, contact Apple Support so they can help you put it back safely.