Where apps hide your files

Epic Games installs on a Mac

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

The Epic Games Launcher keeps installed games and its own data in different places, and neither is your Applications folder. Here is where they usually are, where the logs and cache live, and how to move a game.

The locations

/Users/Shared/Epic Games/
~/Library/Application Support/Epic/EpicGamesLauncher/Data

The first is the usual home for games on a Mac, one folder per game (for example /Users/Shared/Epic Games/<GameName>). Epic's own Unreal Engine installer guide for macOS puts the engine in the same /Users/Shared/Epic Games folder, and users on Epic's Unreal Engine forums report launcher installs there too. Epic does not publish a games default for the Mac, though, so treat it as the usual place rather than a promise. The second holds the launcher's data, including the manifests that record what is installed; that path comes from an Unreal Engine forum post, corrected to the home Library rather than the system-wide /Library. The launcher is not installed on the Mac used for this guide, so neither path was checked locally.

The surest answer is the folder you picked: the launcher asks where to put each game when you install it.

To open a folder in Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G) and paste the path. From Terminal:

open "/Users/Shared/Epic Games"
open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Epic/EpicGamesLauncher/Data

If either says the folder does not exist, ask the Mac what is there:

ls /Users/Shared
find ~/Library -maxdepth 3 -iname "*epic*" 2>/dev/null

Both commands only list. The second shows every Epic-named item up to three levels inside your Library, which covers the data, log and cache folders below.

Why games are in /Users/Shared

/Users/Shared is a folder every account on the Mac can read and write, so a game installed there sits outside any one person's home folder. It also means you will not find the game in Applications or in your own Documents folder, which is where most people look first.

What the launcher keeps for itself

Place	What it is
/Applications/Epic Games Launcher.app	The launcher itself; Epic's support articles open it from this path.
~/Library/Application Support/Epic/EpicGamesLauncher/Data	Launcher data, including install manifests (per the Unreal Engine forum).
~/Library/Logs/Unreal Engine/EpicGamesLauncher	The launcher's logs, per Epic's support article on gathering launcher logs.
~/Library/Caches/com.epicgames.EpicGamesLauncher	The launcher's cache, with the webcache folder that Epic's cache-clearing steps remove.

Note the space in Unreal Engine: Epic's article opens the log folder with open ~/Library/Logs/"Unreal Engine"/EpicGamesLauncher.

The manifests are small files that tell the launcher which games are installed, which version, and where. That is the likely reason a game folder you move by hand stops showing as installed: the launcher still expects it at the old path.

Moving a game to another drive

The simplest route is to choose the drive when you install, and keep it connected while you play.

For a game that is already installed, Epic's help article on moving an installed game describes this method:

1. Copy the game's folder somewhere safe as a backup.
2. Uninstall the game from your Library in the launcher.
3. Start installing it again and choose the new location.
4. Once a few per cent has downloaded, open the three-dot menu next to the game and cancel the install.
5. Copy your backed-up folder into the new location, replacing files if asked.
6. Resume the install. The launcher checks the files, and once they verify the game is ready.

That avoids downloading everything again. Dragging the folder in Finder without these steps leaves the launcher pointing at the old place.

Saves and cloud

Game saves are not always kept in the install folder. Many Epic games sync saves to your account with cloud saves, and Epic's help has an article on checking whether a game supports them; others write to their own folder under ~/Library. For a game-by-game answer, see the related post on Mac game save locations. Uninstalling can remove a game's local files, so check before you uninstall.

Freeing space

Games are large. Find the biggest folders with:

du -sh "/Users/Shared/Epic Games"/* 2>/dev/null | sort -h

That prints sizes without changing anything. Uninstall from inside the launcher rather than moving a folder to the Trash, so the launcher's records are updated too. Clearing the cache is Epic's own fix for display problems: quit the launcher, then move the webcache folder in ~/Library/Caches/com.epicgames.EpicGamesLauncher to the Trash. It saves little space.

Why Spotlight and Finder miss it

A game folder holds thousands of assets with generic names, and the launcher's data sits inside ~/Library, which Spotlight and Finder searches leave out. Searching for the game's title often finds only the launcher.

Finding the folders again

Typing EpicGamesLauncher into Everywhere lists the launcher's data, log and cache folders together, and typing a game's name lists its folder in /Users/Shared/Epic Games; ⌘↵ reveals one in Finder. A game installed on an external drive is covered once Everywhere has Full Disk Access. It matches names only, so it cannot say which manifest belongs to which game.

Common questions

Where does the Epic Games Launcher install games on a Mac?

Usually in /Users/Shared/Epic Games/<GameName>, the folder Epic also uses for Unreal Engine on the Mac. Epic does not publish a Mac default for games, so check the location you chose when installing.

Where are Epic Games manifests on a Mac?

In ~/Library/Application Support/Epic/EpicGamesLauncher/Data, according to an Unreal Engine forum post. They sit in your home Library, not the system-wide /Library.

Can I move an Epic game to an external drive on a Mac?

Choose the drive when you install. For a game already installed, Epic's help describes backing up the folder, reinstalling to the new location, cancelling early, copying the backup in and letting the launcher verify it.

Where are Epic Games Launcher logs on a Mac?

Epic's support article gives ~/Library/Logs/Unreal Engine/EpicGamesLauncher. In Terminal, open ~/Library/Logs/"Unreal Engine"/EpicGamesLauncher opens it.