External drives · Drive formats
What format should my external drive be for Storage Studio?
Short answer: APFS is best and Mac OS Extended (HFS+) also works. exFAT is allowed with warnings, FAT32 isn't suitable, and NTFS is read-only on a Mac. Storage Studio never reformats a drive — use Disk Utility.
APFS is the best choice; Mac OS Extended (HFS+) also works. Both are Mac formats that keep the file details and shortcuts Storage Studio relies on.
How Storage Studio treats other formats:
- APFS / Mac OS Extended — looks good.
- exFAT — usable with warnings; it works, but shortcuts and permissions on it are more fragile.
- FAT32 (MS-DOS) — not suitable.
- Other non-Mac formats — usable with warnings at best; NTFS drives are read-only on a Mac, so nothing can be moved onto them.
If your drive is in another format, back up what's on it and erase it as APFS in Disk Utility — Storage Studio never reformats a drive for you.