Where apps hide your files

AnyDesk's hidden folder

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

AnyDesk stores its configuration, connection log, chat logs and session recordings in a hidden folder in your home directory. You can open it, read the connection log and change where recordings go.

The locations

If you run AnyDesk without installing its service, which is how the Mac used for this guide has it, everything sits in one hidden folder:

~/.anydesk

Session recordings go to a subfolder of it by default, according to AnyDesk's documentation:

~/.anydesk/AnyDesk

On the Mac used for this guide there is also a shortcut (symbolic link) at ~/Movies/AnyDesk pointing to that folder, so recordings appear under Movies too. Both were empty because no session had been recorded.

The .anydesk folder starts with a dot, so Finder hides it. Press ⇧⌘G in Finder, paste ~/.anydesk and press Return, or run:

open ~/.anydesk

What is inside ~/.anydesk

Item	What it is
anydesk.trace	The main log, written by the app. About 400 KB here.
connection_trace.txt	AnyDesk's log of incoming connection requests: when, from whom, and whether each was accepted.
service.conf	Stores the device's AnyDesk ID and any aliases, per AnyDesk's backup guide.
system.conf, user.conf	Further configuration files. AnyDesk does not document their contents separately; the folder as a whole holds your settings and recent session history.
chat/	Saved chat logs.
incoming/	Present on this Mac and empty. AnyDesk does not document its purpose.
thumbnails/, msg_thumbnails/, global_cache/	Preview images and caches.
AnyDesk/	Where recordings are written by default.

Treat the .conf files as private: they identify your device and hold your settings, so do not paste them into a forum post or attach them to a ticket. If support asks for logs, send the trace files, not the configuration.

Installed or not: the paths differ

AnyDesk's documentation gives separate macOS paths for the two ways of running it:

	Not installed	Installed
Configuration	~/.anydesk/	/etc/anydesk/
Main log	~/.anydesk/anydesk.trace	/var/log/anydesk.trace

Custom clients built from the AnyDesk portal use a prefixed name instead, such as ~/.anydesk_ad_<prefix>/ or /etc/anydesk_ad_<prefix>/. Neither /etc/anydesk nor /var/log/anydesk.trace exists on the Mac used here, which runs the not-installed kind. connection_trace.txt always sits next to the configuration files.

Where recordings are saved

AnyDesk's settings have a Recording section. Its Path setting offers Default or Custom, with a Browse button for choosing a folder such as an external drive. The same section has Automatically record incoming sessions and Automatically record outgoing sessions, so check those before you wonder why a folder is filling up.

Recordings use AnyDesk's own .anydesk format and play only in AnyDesk, not in QuickTime. Open the player from the Session Recordings entry in AnyDesk's menu. AnyDesk's documentation says each file name starts with the session direction followed by the names and IDs of both devices, in the form incoming <other name> (<other ID>)-<your name> (<your ID>).anydesk.

If a recording you expected is missing, check that recording was switched on before the session began.

Chat logs

AnyDesk's Privacy settings have a Chat Log option with three choices: Default, Disabled and Custom. With Default, chats are saved in ~/.anydesk/chat, one log per remote device, with later sessions with the same device added to the same file. If the folder is empty, either you never chatted or the option is set to Disabled. A session's chat also offers Open Chat Log.

Files you transferred

AnyDesk's file manager inside a session lets you choose where files go on each side. AnyDesk's download status also offers Open download folder, which is the quickest way back to a file you just received. If you cannot remember where a download went, check Downloads first, then search by the file's name.

Opening the logs from the app

Go to AnyDesk's settings, then About AnyDesk. Its Support section has Open AnyDesk log and Open Connection Trace, which open anydesk.trace and connection_trace.txt, and Send Support Information, which starts an email to AnyDesk with the trace files attached.

Clearing space and resetting

Everything in .anydesk is small apart from recordings and the trace file. To free space, delete old recordings from the recording folder in Finder, not the whole .anydesk folder.

AnyDesk's documentation warns that deleting the configuration folder removes the device's AnyDesk ID and alias for good, unless you backed the folder up first. AnyDesk then generates a new ID, and the settings stored there are gone. Quit AnyDesk first, and treat that as a last resort.

Why Spotlight does not show it

A dot-folder in your home directory is left out of Finder and Spotlight searches, so searching for "anydesk" returns the app and not these files.

Finding the files again

Everywhere indexes hidden folders, so typing anydesk.trace or connection_trace reaches the logs in ~/.anydesk straight away. Recordings are easy to pick out too: type incoming or outgoing, since AnyDesk starts every recording's name that way. It matches file names only, not their contents. ⌘↵ reveals the result in Finder.

Common questions

Where is the AnyDesk config file on a Mac?

In ~/.anydesk if AnyDesk is not installed as a service, or /etc/anydesk if it is. The files are service.conf, system.conf and user.conf; do not share them.

Where are AnyDesk session recordings saved on a Mac?

By default in ~/.anydesk/AnyDesk, as .anydesk files that play only in AnyDesk. You can change the folder under Path in the Recording section of AnyDesk's settings.

Where is the AnyDesk log file on macOS?

~/.anydesk/anydesk.trace when AnyDesk is not installed, or /var/log/anydesk.trace when it is installed. Settings, About AnyDesk, Support also has an Open AnyDesk log button.

How do I see who connected to my Mac with AnyDesk?

Open connection_trace.txt next to AnyDesk's configuration files, in ~/.anydesk here. It logs each incoming request with the time, the requester and whether it was accepted.