How to change the download location on Mac (Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge)

There is no single switch to change the download location on a Mac. macOS gives every account a Downloads folder, and then each app decides for itself whether to use it — so Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge each have their own setting, and Mail has another. Below is where each one lives, how to make a browser ask you every time instead, and the couple of places (AirDrop, mostly) where you can't change it at all.

Change the download location on Mac, browser by browser

Browser	Where the setting lives	Ask every time?
Safari	Safari → Settings → General → File download location	Ask for each download
Chrome	Chrome → Settings → Downloads → Location → Change	Ask where to save each file before downloading
Firefox	Firefox → Settings → General → Files and Applications → Save files to	Always ask you where to save files
Edge	Edge → Settings → Downloads → Location → Change	Ask where to save each file before downloading

Each browser only changes where new downloads go. Nothing already in Downloads moves, so if you're relocating for good, drag the old files over yourself.

Safari

Open Safari and choose Safari → Settings (⌘,).
Click General.
Open the File download location pop-up and choose Other… to pick a folder, or Ask for each download to be prompted.

Two neighbours in the same pane are worth a look. Remove download list items decides when finished downloads drop off Safari's list — after one day by default — and only clears the list, never the files. And per site, Settings → Websites → Downloads lets you set a site to Ask, Allow or Deny, with a default for every other site at the bottom (When visiting other websites, which starts at Ask). Leaving the default on Ask and allowing only the sites you trust is the sensible setting.

One caution from Apple's own help: if you move a file after Safari downloaded it, Safari can no longer find it from its downloads list (⌥⌘L). The file is fine; the list just points at the old spot.

Chrome

Choose Chrome → Settings (⌘,), then Downloads in the sidebar.
Next to Location, click Change and pick a folder.
To choose per file, turn on Ask where to save each file before downloading.

Firefox

Choose Firefox → Settings (⌘,) and stay on General.
Scroll to Files and Applications.
Next to Save files to, click Choose… and pick a folder — or select Always ask you where to save files.

If Firefox keeps asking (or keeps not asking) when you didn't expect it, check What should Firefox do with other files? in the same section. The "open or save" question and the "where to save" question are two separate settings, and they're easy to mix up.

Edge

Choose Microsoft Edge → Settings, then Downloads (or paste edge://settings/downloads into the address bar).
Next to Location, click Change.
Turn on Ask where to save each file before downloading if you want a prompt.

Other Chromium-based browsers, such as Brave, follow the same pattern: a Downloads section in Settings with a Location and an "ask" toggle.

Should you pick "ask every time"?

It sounds tidy — every file filed as it arrives — and for a week it is. Then you're clicking through a save sheet for every invoice, every screenshot someone sent you, every installer. Most people who turn it on quietly turn it off again.

A better split: keep a fixed location for the everyday stuff, and when a file clearly belongs somewhere specific, right-click the link and use Download Linked File As… (Safari) or Save Link As… (Chrome, Firefox, Edge). That asks once, for that file, and leaves the default alone.

If you do keep the prompt, the save sheet is faster than it looks:

⇧⌘G opens a "Go to folder" box — type ~/Projects/client and press Return.
Drag a folder from Finder onto the save sheet to jump straight there.
Add your common destinations to Finder's sidebar (drag them under Favorites). The sidebar appears in every save sheet, so they're one click away in every app.
Press ⌘↑ and ⌘↓ to move up a level or into the selected folder, without touching the mouse.

Downloading to an external drive or iCloud Drive

Any folder works, including one on an external SSD or in iCloud Drive. Two things to know first:

An external drive has to be connected. Point the browser at a drive that isn't mounted and the download can fail or land somewhere you didn't expect. If the drive comes and goes — a laptop that docks — keep the default on the internal disk and move files over when you need to.
iCloud Drive syncs everything. Point Chrome at an iCloud folder and every 4 GB disk image you grab starts uploading. Fine on a fast connection; a bad idea on a tethered phone.

The apps that don't use your browser setting

Mail. Attachments you save go to Downloads by default, but Mail has its own setting: Mail → Settings → General → Downloads folder. The Remove unedited downloads option just under it is something else — it cleans up Mail's own temporary copies, not your saved files.

AirDrop. Files received by AirDrop always go to Downloads, and there's no setting for it. If that's the folder you're trying to keep tidy, the answer is to sort it after the fact rather than redirect it.

Screenshots. They don't go to Downloads at all — they go to the Desktop by default. Press ⇧⌘5, click Options, and pick a folder under Save to. Our Mac screenshot shortcuts guide covers the rest.

Or keep Downloads and sort it automatically

If the real goal is "stop everything piling up in one folder", changing the location just moves the pile. Keep downloading to Downloads and have macOS file things as they land: since macOS 26 the Shortcuts app can run an automation the moment a file appears in a folder. We wrote up the whole build, plus Folder Actions and Hazel, in how to auto-sort your Downloads folder.

Frequently asked questions

Can I move the Downloads folder itself? Not in any supported way. It's a system folder in your home folder, and macOS doesn't offer a setting to relocate it. Change the location in each app instead — that's what the settings above are for.

Why do my downloads still go to the old folder? Each browser keeps its own setting, so changing Safari's does nothing for Chrome. Check the browser you actually downloaded with, and quit and reopen it if the change doesn't seem to stick.

I changed the location. Where did my old downloads go? Nowhere — they're still in Downloads. The setting only affects new downloads.

How do I see recent downloads quickly? In Safari, ⌥⌘L opens the downloads list. In Finder, Go → Downloads (⌥⌘L in Finder too) opens the folder; set its view to sort by Date Added and the newest file is always on top.