ReMyndhow to find the path of a file on mac
to find the path of a file on mac, open a finder window and choose view > show path bar. apple says the location and the folders that contain your file then appear near the bottom of the window, and you can control-click a folder there to copy its pathname.
this guide follows apple's mac user guide for macos 27 and google's drive help, as of october 2026, read on october 29, 2026.
download remynd for mac to search the text of files you had open in focus, by app and date.
what are the ways to see a file's location on a mac?
apple's mac user guide gives four routes, and google adds one for drive files. each suits a slightly different job.
| what you want | where to go | what the guide says |
|---|---|---|
| see the folders a file sits in | view > show path bar in a finder window | shows the location and nested folders near the bottom of the window |
| copy a folder's path | control-click the folder in the path bar | copy as pathname |
| open a folder from a path | go > go to folder, or shift command g | opens the folder whose pathname you enter |
| see details about one item | file > get info, or command i | opens an information window for the item |
| find streamed google drive files | finder sidebar, under locations | ~/library/cloudstorage by default, per google, with file provider |
how do you show the path bar in finder?
turn the path bar on from the view menu. apple's file information guide gives these steps:
- open a finder window, for example from the finder icon in the dock.
- choose view > show path bar. or press the option key to see the path bar for a moment.
apple says the location and nested folders that contain your file or folder then show near the bottom of the finder window. click a folder in the path bar to see its subfolders.
how do you copy a path on a mac?
copy it from the path bar. apple's guide says to control-click the folder you want in the path bar and pick copy "folder" as pathname from the menu that opens. apple describes this for folders in the path bar; we did not find a current apple page that documents the same step for a single file, so we make no claim about it.
you can paste that pathname into go to folder, which apple says accepts a pathname you copied.
how do you go to a folder by its path?
use go to folder in the finder. apple's go to folder guide gives the steps:
- in the finder, choose go > go to folder. apple's keyboard shortcuts list gives shift command g for the same window.
- start typing the pathname, for example ~/pictures/. matching folders appear as you type.
- press tab to accept a suggestion, or use the up and down arrows to move through suggested and recent pathnames.
- double-click the folder you want.
apple adds a few rules for typing a path:
- a slash at the start means the top level of your computer's folder structure.
- a slash at the end means a path to a folder, not a file.
- a tilde means your home folder, where most personal folders such as documents and pictures live.
- you can type any part of the pathname, and apple says suggestions ignore small typing errors.
how do you see more about a file with get info?
select the file, then open get info. apple's file information guide says to select the item in a finder window or on the desktop, then choose file > get info, or press command i, and an information window opens for the item. to see several items, hold control and choose file > get summary info, which apple says opens a separate window for each item.
where are google drive files on a mac?
it depends on how drive for desktop streams them. google's drive for desktop on macos help says that on macos 12.1 and up, streaming uses apple's file provider technology. with file provider, google says your files show in the finder sidebar under locations, and advanced users can find them in ~/library/cloudstorage by default, a location you can't change. google says the legacy streaming method shows files under favorites, at /volumes/googledrive by default.
to check which one you have, google says to open drive for desktop settings and look under google drive streaming location for a note that the folder location is controlled by macos.
if you can't find the file at all, our guide to spotlight not finding files on mac covers search, and where do downloads go on mac covers files you downloaded.
how much time goes into searching for information?
a lot, according to microsoft's 2023 work trend index, published may 9, 2023. it surveyed 31,000 people in 31 markets, and 62% said they spend too much time searching for information in their workday. 86% wanted ai to help them find the information and answers they need. in our view, hunting for where a file was saved is one small version of that search.
where does remynd fit?
remynd records your screen on a mac, runs ocr locally with apple vision, and keeps the searchable index on your mac. text comes from the focused window only, and video covers windows you have not excluded.
it does not search your folders or show file paths. what it can do is help you find a file you had open by what it said.
press control space, search in plain language, refine by app, date or source, and jump to the moment the file was open, provided remynd was running then and the window was not excluded. private browser windows are excluded by default, and you can exclude apps and sites. it needs macos 14 or later on an apple silicon mac, and it is free to download.
in our view, it helps most when you remember what a file said but not where it lives. if you are not sure where you saw something, see find something you saw on your screen.
limits of this guide
this guide covers the finder and one cloud folder, so a few things sit outside it.
- it follows apple's and google's guides as published in october 2026; menu names can differ on older versions.
- it covers the finder. terminal and third-party file managers show paths their own way, which we did not check.
- apple's guide documents copy as pathname for folders in the path bar; other ways to copy a file's path are outside this guide.
download remynd for mac to search the text you had open, by app and date.