Where apps hide your files

Draw Things models folder and external drive setting

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

Draw Things stores its models inside its own sandbox container, not in Documents. Here is the path, what sits next to the model files, and how to point the app at an external drive.

The location

~/Library/Containers/com.liuliu.draw-things/Data/Documents/Models

That is the default Models folder for the Draw Things Mac app. It is the Documents folder inside the app's sandbox container, not your own ~/Documents. Draw Things' own repository gives this path when it explains that its command-line tool uses "the same model directory used by the sandboxed Draw Things app", and the app's documentation site points Mac users to the same container.

The Library folder is hidden. In Finder choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G), paste the path and press Return. From Terminal, to open it or list what is in it:

open ~/Library/Containers/com.liuliu.draw-things/Data/Documents/Models
ls -lh ~/Library/Containers/com.liuliu.draw-things/Data/Documents/Models

Draw Things is not installed on the Mac used for this guide. If the folder does not exist on yours, check the container's name (this lists names only):

ls ~/Library/Containers | grep -i draw

What is in the Models folder

The folder holds the model files themselves, plus JSON files that act as the app's register of models:

Item	What it is
.ckpt files	Models, LoRAs and other components you downloaded or imported, converted to Draw Things' own format and names
JSON files such as custom.json	Descriptions of models you imported yourself: names, file names, trigger words and the settings the app needs

A comment on Draw Things' GitHub issues from January 2026 explains why the JSON files matter: the model information the app needs is not stored in the .ckpt file, so a model file without its JSON entry may not appear, or may not load correctly. Treat the two as one unit. The file names depend on the model and the app version, so list the folder to see what yours holds.

Next to Models, the container's Documents folder also holds SQLite files. Draw Things' documentation says a new one is created each time you start a new project and that they hold your project history, so they are your work, not a cache.

Change the location to an external drive

Models are large, so many people keep them off the internal disk. Draw Things has a setting for this inside the app, so you do not need to touch the container. Its documentation says that clicking Manage in the model menu opens a window listing models to download or delete, and that in this window you can select an external folder for your models. The GitHub comment above calls the setting External Model Folder and places it in the Checkpoint model selector.

A cautious way to use it:

1. Use a Mac-formatted drive (APFS or Mac OS Extended) and leave it connected while Draw Things runs. Draw Things' documentation does not name a format; this is the safe choice for any app's data.
2. Copy the .ckpt files you want to move to a folder on that drive. Copy rather than move, so the originals stay until you have checked the result.
3. In Draw Things, open the model menu, choose Manage, and set the external folder to that drive folder.
4. Check that the models appear and that one generates an image.
5. Only then delete the internal copies, from the Manage window where possible.

According to that GitHub comment, the setting makes the app treat the external files as if they were in the internal folder. Only the .ckpt files belong in the external folder; the JSON files must stay in the internal Models folder. The same thread reports that after an update the app stopped listing models on an external drive until the setting was pointed at the folder again. That is a user report, not documentation, but it is the first thing to check if models vanish.

The command-line tool is a separate route: it takes a --models-dir option or a DRAWTHINGS_MODELS_DIR environment variable. That is for the tool, not the Mac app.

Editing custom.json

Draw Things' documentation describes opening custom.json to change the names and details of models you imported, and says to back up the original file first. The safe order:

1. Quit Draw Things.
2. Copy the file: cp ~/Library/Containers/com.liuliu.draw-things/Data/Documents/Models/custom.json ~/custom.json.backup
3. Edit it in a text editor. Each entry sits inside the file's outer square brackets, with a comma between entries, and the file must stay valid JSON.
4. Start Draw Things again and check that your models still appear.

To restore, quit the app and copy the backup over the file. For adding a new model, use the app's Import model button in the Manage window rather than writing an entry by hand.

Space, and what is safe to remove

Check what is big before deleting anything:

du -sh ~/Library/Containers/com.liuliu.draw-things/Data/Documents/*

Delete models from the Manage window rather than in Finder, so the app's JSON register and the files stay in step; a model file deleted by hand can leave an entry for a model that no longer exists. The older section of the documentation says each model has two or more files, which is another reason to let the app do it. Do not clear the Documents folder as a whole: the SQLite files there are your projects.

Backing up or moving to a new Mac

A backup means the model files and the JSON files together, plus the SQLite project files if you want your history. If your models are on an external drive, copy that folder and the internal Models folder's JSON files, then point the new Mac's app at the copy with the external folder setting.

Why a normal search misses these

The container sits inside ~/Library, which Finder and Spotlight searches leave out, and Draw Things renames downloaded models, so the names on disk are not the ones you remember.

Finding the models again

Typing .ckpt into Everywhere lists every model file on the Mac with its folder, so you can see which sit in the container and which are on an external drive, and typing custom.json finds the register. ~/Library/Containers is protected by macOS, so these appear once Everywhere has Full Disk Access, which also covers external drives. ⌘↵ reveals a result in Finder. It matches names only.

Common questions

Where does Draw Things store models on a Mac?

In ~/Library/Containers/com.liuliu.draw-things/Data/Documents/Models by default. That is inside the app's sandbox container, not your own Documents folder.

How do I move Draw Things models to an external drive?

Open the model menu, choose Manage and select an external folder. Copy the .ckpt files there first, leave the JSON files in the internal Models folder, and keep the originals until a model generates correctly.

Why are my Draw Things models missing after an update?

A user report on the Draw Things GitHub says the external folder setting had to be pointed at the folder again after an update. Check Manage, set it to the folder holding your .ckpt files, and make sure the JSON files are still in the internal Models folder.

What is custom.json in Draw Things?

A JSON file in the Models folder that describes models you imported yourself. Quit the app and back it up before editing it.