Find out how to add an iCloud Drive shortcut to your Mac desktop and Dock for faster access to your online files, folders, and documents.
If you frequently use iCloud Drive, having fast access to it on your Mac can be a big help. You can certainly open your iCloud Drive from Finder or from iCloud.com in a web browser, but if you want to access it with a click, there’s a better way.
Note that the steps below are updated for macOS Tahoe, but they also work on previous macOS versions.
2 ways to add the iCloud Drive shortcut to your Mac’s desktop
Both these methods involve creating an alias of your iCloud Drive folder or app and then adding it to the desktop. Clicking one of these desktop shortcuts will instantly open the iCloud Drive folder in Finder.
Method 1: Make an alias for your iCloud Drive folder
1) Open Finder and click Go > Library from the top menu bar.
2) Scroll through it and find the iCloud Drive app.
3) Then, right-click on iCloud Drive and select Make Alias.
4) You’ll now have an iCloud Drive Alias folder in your Mac’s Library.
5) Drag it to your desktop to add the iCloud Drive shortcut there.
Clicking the iCloud Drive alias will open your iCloud Drive folder in Finder. You can also rename the desktop shortcut to remove the word ‘alias’ from there.
Method 2: Make an alias for your iCloud Drive app
This next method is slightly longer than the previous one. But it adds an iCloud icon to the desktop instead of an iCloud folder icon. Additionally, be aware of this in case the above method stops working after a macOS update.
1) Open Finder on Mac, click Go > Go to Folder from the top menu bar, and enter this address.
/System/Library/CoreServices
2) Scroll through this folder and look for Finder.
3) Then, right-click over Finder and select Show Package Contents.
4) Now, open the Contents folder and then go inside the Applications folder. You’ll see the iCloud Drive app here.
5) Right-click over iCloud Drive and select Make Alias.
You’ll now see an iCloud Drive app shortcut on your Mac’s desktop. Clicking it will open your iCloud Drive folder.
Add iCloud Drive shortcut to your Mac’s Dock
Follow one of the above methods to add an iCloud Drive folder alias or app alias icon to your Mac’s desktop. Then drag it to your Dock to add it there.
Note that you can drag and drop the iCloud Drive app icon along with your other apps on the Dock, but the iCloud Drive folder icon must be placed to the right of the Dock partition in the Trash section.
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