Where apps hide your files

Kindle downloads on disk

Updated 2026-07-31 · 3 min read

Kindle books download to your Mac, but they are not files in any useful sense.

The location

The current Kindle app (Mac App Store era) keeps downloads in its container:

~/Library/Containers/com.amazon.Lassen/Data/Library/eBooks/

Older Kindle Classic versions used:

~/Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content/

The exact path varies by app version; searching your Library for .azw or Kindle folders locates whichever applies:

find ~/Library -iname "*.azw*" -o -iname "*kindle*" -maxdepth 6 2>/dev/null

What the files are

.azw/.azw3/.kfx files named by Amazon's IDs, wrapped in DRM tied to your account and device. They are not openable in other reader apps, not transferable, and the filenames tell you nothing about which book is which.

Practically: the files exist to let the app work offline, and that is all they are for.

What you can actually do

• Read offline — download in the app; the container copy is the mechanism
• Free space — remove downloads from within the app (right-click → Remove Download),

which keeps them in your Amazon library for re-download

• Personal documents — PDFs and DRM-free files you sent via Send-to-Kindle remain yours;

keep your originals rather than relying on the Kindle copies

For books you own outright

DRM-free EPUBs are better kept in your own folders and read in Books or a reader of your choosing — files you can search, back up, and open in a decade. The Kindle container is Amazon's cache, not your library.

Common questions

Can I open Kindle .azw files in another app?

Not the DRM-protected ones — they are tied to your Amazon account and readable only in Kindle apps.

How do I free space used by Kindle downloads?

Remove downloads from within the app; books stay in your Amazon library for re-downloading.