Finding specific things

Finding Applications and Utilities on your Mac

Updated 2026-10-30 · 3 min read

Applications is a menu bar click away, and Utilities sits inside it. Here is what each real folder holds, why Finder shows Apple's apps in one place, and how to pin them again.

Where to find them

The Applications folder is at the top level of your startup disk: Macintosh HD > Applications. The quick way in is Go > Applications in Finder's menu bar, or ⇧⌘A. Utilities is a folder inside it, and Go > Utilities or ⇧⌘U jumps straight there. Terminal, Disk Utility, Activity Monitor and Migration Assistant are in Utilities.

From Terminal, the same two places open with:

open /Applications
open /Applications/Utilities

To keep it one click away, tick Applications in Finder > Settings > Sidebar, or drag the Applications folder onto the right-hand end of the Dock, near the Trash.

Why there seem to be two Applications folders

There are three real locations, and Finder presents the first two as one.

Location	What's in it
/Applications	Apps you install, including App Store apps
/System/Applications and /System/Applications/Utilities	Apple's own apps: Calculator, Calendar, Terminal, Disk Utility and the like
~/Applications	Apps installed for one user only, if that folder exists

Apple's built-in apps live on the sealed, read-only system volume, so they can't be changed or removed by accident. On the Mac used for this guide (macOS 15.6), ls /System/Applications lists Calculator and Calendar, and ls /Applications/Utilities doesn't list Terminal at all, yet a Finder window on Applications shows Calculator and its Utilities folder shows Terminal. Finder merges the two sets for you; Terminal's ls shows only what is really stored in each folder.

Safari is a third case. /Applications/Safari.app is a link to a copy under /System/Cryptexes/App/System/Applications/, part of a separate system component Apple can update on its own schedule. You open it like any other app.

Don't try to add or edit anything under /System. macOS protects it, and everything useful in there already shows up in Applications.

What's in Utilities

On macOS 15.6, Apple's Utilities folder holds 18 apps, among them Activity Monitor, AirPort Utility, Audio MIDI Setup, Console, Digital Color Meter, Disk Utility, Migration Assistant, Screenshot, Script Editor, System Information and Terminal. The list changes between macOS versions, so a Mac on another release may show a few more or fewer. Some third-party installers add their own items to /Applications/Utilities as well, and those sit alongside Apple's in the same Finder window.

Your own Applications folder

~/Applications is an Applications folder inside your home folder. macOS doesn't need you to have one, and many Macs don't. Apps kept there are for your account only, which some people use on a shared Mac so other accounts don't see them. If the folder is missing, nothing is wrong.

Bringing the shortcuts back

If Applications has gone from the sidebar, open Finder > Settings > Sidebar and tick it. Apple's guide says that pane is where you select or deselect sidebar items.

For the Dock, Apple lists ⌃⇧⌘T as the shortcut that adds the selected Finder item to the Dock. Open a Finder window on Macintosh HD, click Applications once so it's highlighted, and press it. Dragging the folder to the Dock works too.

Launchpad used to be the other front door to your apps. If it's gone after an update, see what happened to Launchpad in macOS 26 for what replaces it.

When an app is not in the folder

Apple's guide says to install an app you didn't get from the App Store by dragging it into the Applications folder. An app still sitting in Downloads or on a mounted disk image hasn't been installed. For App Store purchases, where the App Store puts downloads explains the rest. If an app is installed but Spotlight won't open it, Spotlight not finding apps covers that.

One list instead of three folders

Everywhere's Apps button narrows results to applications wherever they're stored, so Apple's system apps, /Applications and ~/Applications come up together. Typing app:disk does the same for a single name and finds Disk Utility; press ↵ to open it. The folder line under each result tells you which of the three locations the app really lives in.

Common questions

Where is the Applications folder on a Mac?

Open Finder and choose Go > Applications, or press Shift-Command-A. It is the Applications folder at the top level of Macintosh HD.

Where is the Utilities folder on a Mac?

It sits inside Applications. Choose Go > Utilities in Finder or press Shift-Command-U. Terminal, Disk Utility and Activity Monitor are in it.

Why can't I see Terminal in /Applications/Utilities in Terminal?

Apple's own apps are stored in /System/Applications and /System/Applications/Utilities. Finder shows them inside Applications and Utilities, but ls /Applications/Utilities lists only the apps really stored there.

How do I put the Applications folder back in the Dock?

Select the Applications folder in Finder and press Control-Shift-Command-T, or drag it to the right-hand end of the Dock. For the sidebar, tick Applications in Finder > Settings > Sidebar.