Most Mac users instinctively save their active projects, downloaded files, and essential work into either the Desktop or the Documents folder. However, if you travel with a MacBook but use an iMac at the office, manually transferring those files via USB drives or email is inefficient. By enabling the Desktop and Documents sync feature in macOS, you can instruct your Mac to automatically mirror these two critical folders directly to iCloud Drive, ensuring your files are accessible from any iPhone, iPad, or secondary Mac you own.
Prerequisites for iCloud Syncing
Before enabling this feature, you must ensure you have enough iCloud storage space. Apple provides only 5GB of free iCloud storage, which is rarely enough to hold a typical Mac’s Documents and Desktop folders. You will likely need to upgrade to a paid iCloud+ storage tier (50GB, 200GB, or 2TB). Additionally, ensure your Mac is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network, as the initial upload can consume significant bandwidth.
Enabling Desktop and Documents Sync
To turn on the automated synchronization, follow these steps on your primary Mac:
- Click the Apple Logo () in the top-left corner of the screen and select System Settings….
- Click on your name / Apple ID at the very top of the left-hand sidebar.
- Click on iCloud in the right-hand pane.
- Click on iCloud Drive.
- Look for the toggle switch labeled Desktop & Documents Folders and turn it On.
- Click Done.
Monitoring the Upload Process
Once activated, macOS will immediately begin uploading the contents of both folders to Apple’s servers. Depending on the size of your files and your internet upload speed, this could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.
To monitor the progress, open a Finder window. In the left-hand sidebar, under the “iCloud” section, you will see a small pie-chart icon next to iCloud Drive indicating the upload progress. You can continue using your Mac normally while this happens in the background.
Accessing Your Synced Files on Other Devices
Once the initial upload is complete, your workflow becomes completely device-agnostic.
- On a second Mac: Sign in with the same Apple ID and enable the same setting. The Desktop and Documents folders on the second Mac will merge with the iCloud versions, creating a unified workspace.
- On an iPhone or iPad: Open the built-in Files app, tap on iCloud Drive, and you will see dedicated folders named “Desktop” and “Documents” containing all your Mac’s files.
- On a Windows PC: Log into iCloud.com via a web browser, click on iCloud Drive, and download the files you need.
If you ever decide to turn this feature off, macOS will leave the files in iCloud Drive and create new, empty Desktop and Documents folders on your local Mac. You will need to manually drag the files from iCloud Drive back to your local folders if you wish to keep them purely local.