Where apps hide your files

Finding your DEVONthink databases

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

DEVONthink does not keep everything in one fixed place. Each database is a single package in the folder where it was created, and the Global Inbox lives separately in Application Support, in a folder whose name changed with DEVONthink 4.

Where the databases are

~/Databases/                                     where new databases go unless you choose otherwise
~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink/        DEVONthink 4: Global Inbox and sync data
~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink 3/      DEVONthink 3: Global Inbox, templates, smart rules

DEVONthink keeps each database where it was created. Its support FAQ recommends a folder in your home directory such as ~/Databases, and never a cloud-synced folder. A DEVONtechnologies staff member confirmed on the official forum in 2026 that the Databases folder appears in your home folder once you have launched version 3 or 4, and that you will not find databases in iCloud Drive. If you picked another folder when creating one, or carried databases over from an old version, they can be anywhere.

Each database is a single item in Finder:

• .dtBase2: an ordinary database, which is a package. Finder's Show Package Contents lets you look inside, but never edit, add or remove anything there.
• .dtSparse: an encrypted database, stored as an encrypted sparse disk image, as DEVONthink's developer describes it on the forum.

DEVONthink is not installed on the Mac used for this guide, so these paths come from DEVONtechnologies' own pages and staff answers on its forum rather than a local check. To see which Application Support folder your Mac has, run:

ls ~/Library/Application\ Support | grep -i devonthink

Finding a database you have lost track of

With the database open, choose File > Database Properties. DEVONthink's developers point users there to check where each open database is stored.

If DEVONthink cannot open it, search by extension. In Terminal, these read-only commands ask Spotlight for every database file:

mdfind -name .dtBase2
mdfind -name .dtSparse

In Finder's or Spotlight's own search field, DEVONtechnologies suggests kind:database dtBase2. Both rely on Spotlight, so they miss a database on a drive or in a folder Spotlight does not index.

The Global Inbox

The Global Inbox is a database of its own and does not live in ~/Databases. In DEVONthink 3 it is:

~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink 3/Inbox.dtBase2

DEVONthink 4's upgrade guide says the Global Inbox (Inbox.dtBase2) and the folder of sync data (Cloudy) are moved to ~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink, with aliases left at the old location. Older generations used folders named DEVONthink Pro 2 or DEVONthink Pro 3. Each database's own inbox, by contrast, is stored inside that database's file. If you only ever back up ~/Databases, anything still sitting in the Global Inbox is not covered.

What else to keep

DEVONtechnologies' own list of what to back up names three places for DEVONthink 3, and the same pattern applies to version 4 with its folder name:

Path	Why keep it
~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink 3 (version 4: DEVONthink)	Global Inbox, templates, favourites, smart rules.
~/Library/Application Scripts/com.devon-technologies.think3	Your own scripts, if you wrote any.
~/Databases	The databases, or the folder you chose instead.

The Application Scripts folder is named after the app's bundle identifier, and that changes between generations. List what your Mac has with ls ~/Library/Application\ Scripts | grep -i devon rather than guessing.

DEVONthink 3 could also write Spotlight metadata files to ~/Library/Caches/Metadata/DEVONthink when a database had Spotlight indexing switched on. That is a cache for search, not a copy of your documents, and it comes back if you delete it while indexing is on.

Backups: what DEVONthink does and does not do

DEVONtechnologies' support page says plainly that DEVONthink has no built-in file backup. Its advice is Time Machine to a local drive plus an online backup service that keeps older versions.

What it does have:

• Internal backups. Each database keeps internal backups of its own index inside the package. They help DEVONthink recover from a damaged index, but they disappear with the database file, so they are no protection against losing a disk or a Mac.
• Database archives. In DEVONthink 4, File > Export > Database Archive saves a compressed copy of the open database to a place you choose. DEVONthink's developers recommend it on the forum before risky operations, and the resulting .zip is safe to keep on another drive or a cloud service.

To copy a database by hand, quit DEVONthink first. A database copied while it is open can be inconsistent.

Moving to a new Mac

1. Quit DEVONthink and let any sync finish.
2. Copy your databases (the ~/Databases folder, or wherever yours sit) and the Application Support folder for your version to the same places on the new Mac.
3. Install DEVONthink and open each database from its File menu, or double-click it in Finder.

Do not keep a database in iCloud Drive, Dropbox or any other synced folder. DEVONtechnologies recommends against it because a sync tool can copy a half-written database. To share databases between devices, use DEVONthink's own sync, which is what the Cloudy folder supports.

Why Spotlight and Finder miss the files

The Global Inbox and the Application Support folder are inside ~/Library, so Spotlight and Finder searches leave them out. The databases are packages, which Finder treats as single files: a search for one of your documents does not open the package to look inside.

Finding the files again later

The extensions make this easy to search by name. Typing dtBase2 in Everywhere lists every database package on the Mac, including copies on a drive you have since unplugged, and typing Inbox.dtBase2 jumps straight to the Global Inbox in ~/Library. Databases in your home folder and ~/Library are covered from the start; external drives need Full Disk Access. It matches names only, so it cannot search the documents stored inside a database.

Common questions

Where does DEVONthink store its databases on a Mac?

Wherever you created each one. New databases go in ~/Databases unless you choose otherwise, and DEVONtechnologies recommends a folder in your home directory rather than a cloud-synced one. Each is a .dtBase2 package, or .dtSparse if encrypted.

Where is the DEVONthink Global Inbox?

In DEVONthink 4, ~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink/Inbox.dtBase2. In DEVONthink 3 it was ~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink 3/Inbox.dtBase2, and the version 4 upgrade moves it, leaving an alias behind.

Does DEVONthink back up my databases automatically?

It keeps internal backups of each database's index inside the database, but it has no built-in file backup. Use Time Machine or another backup tool, and File > Export > Database Archive for a copy you can store elsewhere.

How do I find a DEVONthink database I cannot locate?

With it open, choose File > Database Properties to see where it is stored. Otherwise run mdfind -name .dtBase2 in Terminal to list database files Spotlight knows about.