{"id":"icloud.what-is-desktop-and-documents-folders-in-icloud","url":"/faq/icloud/what-is-desktop-and-documents-folders-in-icloud","category":{"id":"icloud","title":"iCloud & iCloud Photos"},"subcategory":{"id":"desktop-and-documents","title":"Desktop & Documents in iCloud"},"question":"What does the Desktop & Documents Folders option in iCloud Drive do?","alt_questions":["iCloud Desktop and Documents explained","Should I sync Desktop and Documents to iCloud?","What happens when I turn on Desktop & Documents in iCloud?","Desktop and Documents Folders setting Mac","Are my Desktop files in iCloud?"],"short_answer":"It moves your Desktop and Documents folders into iCloud Drive so they sync across devices. They stay in the usual places in Finder but become iCloud files that can go online-only and count against your iCloud storage.","answer_markdown":"It moves your Desktop and Documents folders into iCloud Drive, so they sync to your other devices and iCloud.com. They still appear in the usual places in Finder, but they're now iCloud files — which means they can become online-only and count against your iCloud storage.\n\nYou'll find it in **System Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Drive** (wording varies a little between macOS versions).\n\nStorage Studio notices when this is on. It lists **iCloud · Desktop** and **iCloud · Documents** separately in **Optimize Cloud Storage**, and its automatic rules leave those folders alone so it never disturbs iCloud's syncing. See [freeing space when Documents is in iCloud](/faq/icloud/my-documents-folder-is-in-icloud-how-do-i-free-space).","answer_html":"

It moves your Desktop and Documents folders into iCloud Drive, so they sync to your other devices and iCloud.com. They still appear in the usual places in Finder, but they're now iCloud files — which means they can become online-only and count against your iCloud storage.

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You'll find it in System Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Drive (wording varies a little between macOS versions).

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Storage Studio notices when this is on. It lists iCloud · Desktop and iCloud · Documents separately in Optimize Cloud Storage, and its automatic rules leave those folders alone so it never disturbs iCloud's syncing. See freeing space when Documents is in iCloud.

","answer_text":"It moves your Desktop and Documents folders into iCloud Drive, so they sync to your other devices and iCloud.com. They still appear in the usual places in Finder, but they're now iCloud files — which means they can become online-only and count against your iCloud storage.\n\nYou'll find it in System Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Drive (wording varies a little between macOS versions).\n\nStorage Studio notices when this is on. It lists iCloud · Desktop and iCloud · Documents separately in Optimize Cloud Storage, and its automatic rules leave those folders alone so it never disturbs iCloud's syncing. See freeing space when Documents is in iCloud.","tags":["desktop and documents","icloud drive","settings"],"related":[{"id":"icloud.my-documents-folder-is-in-icloud-how-do-i-free-space","question":"My Documents folder syncs to iCloud — how do I free up the space it uses?","url":"/faq/icloud/my-documents-folder-is-in-icloud-how-do-i-free-space"},{"id":"icloud.what-happens-if-i-turn-off-desktop-and-documents-in-icloud","question":"What happens to my files if I turn off Desktop & Documents in iCloud?","url":"/faq/icloud/what-happens-if-i-turn-off-desktop-and-documents-in-icloud"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"What does the Desktop & Documents Folders option in iCloud Drive do? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"It moves your Desktop and Documents folders into iCloud Drive so they sync across devices. They stay in the usual places in Finder but become iCloud files that can go online-only and count against your iCloud storage.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"iCloud & iCloud Photos","path":"/faq/icloud/"},{"name":"What does the Desktop & Documents Folders option in iCloud Drive do?","path":"/faq/icloud/what-is-desktop-and-documents-folders-in-icloud"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/icloud/what-is-desktop-and-documents-folders-in-icloud","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does the Desktop & Documents Folders option in iCloud Drive do?","alternateName":["iCloud Desktop and Documents explained","Should I sync Desktop and Documents to iCloud?","What happens when I turn on Desktop & Documents in iCloud?","Desktop and Documents Folders setting Mac","Are my Desktop files in iCloud?"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It moves your Desktop and Documents folders into iCloud Drive, so they sync to your other devices and iCloud.com. They still appear in the usual places in Finder, but they're now iCloud files — which means they can become online-only and count against your iCloud storage.\n\nYou'll find it in System Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Drive (wording varies a little between macOS versions).\n\nStorage Studio notices when this is on. It lists iCloud · Desktop and iCloud · Documents separately in Optimize Cloud Storage, and its automatic rules leave those folders alone so it never disturbs iCloud's syncing. See freeing space when Documents is in iCloud.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/icloud/what-is-desktop-and-documents-folders-in-icloud"}}]},"fragment":"
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iCloud & iCloud Photos · Desktop & Documents in iCloud

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What does the Desktop & Documents Folders option in iCloud Drive do?

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Short answer: It moves your Desktop and Documents folders into iCloud Drive so they sync across devices. They stay in the usual places in Finder but become iCloud files that can go online-only and count against your iCloud storage.

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It moves your Desktop and Documents folders into iCloud Drive, so they sync to your other devices and iCloud.com. They still appear in the usual places in Finder, but they're now iCloud files — which means they can become online-only and count against your iCloud storage.

\n

You'll find it in System Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Drive (wording varies a little between macOS versions).

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Storage Studio notices when this is on. It lists iCloud · Desktop and iCloud · Documents separately in Optimize Cloud Storage, and its automatic rules leave those folders alone so it never disturbs iCloud's syncing. See freeing space when Documents is in iCloud.

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Last reviewed

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