where do zoom recordings go on mac?
zoom recordings go to the zoom folder inside your documents folder on a mac by default, which zoom gives as /users/[username]/documents/zoom. that holds for computer recordings; cloud recordings are stored in the zoom cloud, and zoom says hosts view them in the zoom web portal.
this guide follows zoom's support articles on finding, managing and starting recordings, recording file formats and saving chat, plus apple's icloud drive article dated september 14, 2026, all read on october 30, 2026.
download remynd for mac to search text you saw in a focused window, by app and date.
where does each kind of zoom recording end up?
it depends on whether you chose a computer or a cloud recording. this table follows zoom's finding recordings article.
| recording type | where it goes | who can use it, per zoom |
|---|---|---|
| computer recording | the zoom recording folder, by default documents/zoom | free and paid zoom accounts, on the desktop app |
| cloud recording | the zoom cloud, viewed in the web portal | paid accounts: pro, business or enterprise; hosts and co-hosts can start one |
| chat saved locally with save chat | your local recording location | participants on the desktop app, when the chat setting allows saving chats |
zoom adds that the zoom mobile app does not support computer recording. depending on other products your account has, zoom says you may also find recordings in zoom hub or zoom video management channels.
how do you find or change the zoom recording folder?
the zoom recording folder is set in the desktop app's recording settings. zoom's managing computer recordings article gives these steps:
- open and sign in to the zoom desktop app.
- choose your profile picture, top right, then settings.
- open the recording tab.
- find storage location, below local recording storage. the path shown is where your computer recordings are saved.
- click open to see the folder, or change to pick a new default. zoom's saving chat article says the change button is only available on windows.
zoom's saving chat article words the mac step differently: it says the change button is only available on windows, and on macos you click the folder path under computer recording, then pick choose a new location.
zoom's starting a computer recording article warns against some locations. setting the default to a folder that syncs to the cloud, such as dropbox, google drive or one drive, or to an external drive or network storage, may cause issues with saving and converting, it says, and it strongly recommends a local drive.
how do you open the zoom folder from finder?
apple's finder has two shortcuts for this. apple's mac keyboard shortcuts article says that in the finder, shift command o opens the documents folder and shift command g opens a go to folder window.
apple's go to folder guide says a tilde (~) stands for your home folder. our tip: in the go to folder window on your apple mac, type ~/documents/zoom, if you kept zoom's default.
what is inside the folder?
zoom says it creates a folder on your device when a recorded session ends. its chat article says the default is your documents folder, then zoom, then a folder with the meeting name, date and time.
zoom's file formats article lists the default names. leaving out a windows-only playlist file and the cloud-only caption and transcript files, they are:
- video[random number].mp4 for audio and video.
- audio[random number].m4a for audio only.
- chat.txt for saved in-meeting chat.
- audio[name][random number].m4a per participant, if you record separate audio tracks.
zoom gives a rough storage guide too: screen sharing uses about 20mb per hour and video about 200mb an hour. zoom calls that an approximation, since resolution and content type can affect the storage used.
why can't you find a zoom recording?
zoom's articles point to a few causes:
- it went to the cloud. zoom suggests making sure the meeting was not recorded to the cloud instead of your computer.
- it never started. zoom says there is also the chance that the manual recording did not start.
- it was deleted. zoom says deleted computer recordings can be recovered from your computer's trash, and cloud recordings from the web portal's trash within 30 days, after which they are permanently deleted within 24 hours.
- it has not converted yet. zoom's starting article says zoom converts a computer recording after the meeting ends, and an interrupted conversion, for example by closing your laptop, could leave files corrupted and non-recoverable, and that you can try a manual convert.
to confirm a path, open recordings & transcripts in the zoom web portal, then the computer recordings tab. zoom says it lists each file path, but notes the list may not show all of your computer recordings, since removing an item there does not remove the files.
does icloud drive change where zoom recordings go?
it can change where the documents folder lives. apple's desktop and documents article says that when you turn on desktop & documents folders, your documents folder is stored in icloud drive.
in our read, that puts the default documents/zoom folder inside a cloud syncing folder, close to the kind zoom warns about, although zoom's examples do not name icloud drive. if recordings fail to save or convert, a local folder outside documents, and so outside apple's icloud drive sync when that setting is on, is one thing to try.
for deleted files in general, see how to recover deleted files on mac.
how many people struggle to find information at work?
many workers say searching for information takes too much of their day, by one large survey. microsoft's work trend index, published may 9, 2023, surveyed 31,000 full-time employed or self-employed people in 31 markets.
62% of microsoft's respondents said they struggle with spending too much of their workday searching for information, and 86% were looking for ai to help find the information and answers they need. in our view, a missing recording file 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.
in our view, it fits a different gap: text you read in a focused window but never saved.
press control space, search in plain language, refine by app, date or source, and jump to the moment, 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.
for the wider question, see find something you saw on your screen.
limits of this guide
this guide covers where zoom puts recordings, not everything around them.
- it follows zoom's articles as read in october 2026; we did not test older zoom app versions.
- zoom's articles word the mac change step differently; we report both.
- we did not test zoom with icloud drive; the icloud point above is our read of apple's and zoom's articles.
- it does not cover whether you may record a meeting. for computer recordings, zoom says the host must record or grant a participant the ability to record.
- zoom says computer recordings do not support audio transcription; that and other cloud-only features are outside this guide.
download remynd for mac to search text you saw in a focused window, by app and date.