Where apps hide your files

GOG Galaxy: install folders and offline installers

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

GOG Galaxy installs games into a folder you choose, so the exact answer for your Mac is in its settings. Here is where that setting is, where Galaxy keeps its own data, and how to move games and keep offline installers.

Where your games are: Galaxy's own setting

GOG does not publish a fixed default install path for the Mac, so read it from Galaxy itself. GOG's support article gives the route:

1. Open GOG Galaxy.
2. Click the cogwheel icon in the top-left corner and choose Settings.
3. Switch to the Installing, updating tab.
4. Read Games installation folder: that is the default folder for new installs.

The same tab holds two more folders: Temporary game update folder, where downloads go while a game installs or updates, and Other downloads folder, for the offline installers and bonus content you download through Galaxy.

You can also choose a folder per game. GOG's install steps: click the game, click Install, pick the directory you want, and press Continue. The dialog normally starts at your current default folder. A game you installed somewhere else stays where you put it, so check the game's own entry if it is not in the default folder.

Galaxy keeps its own data, not your games, in a shared folder that GOG's support articles name:

/Users/Shared/GOG.COM/Galaxy

What is in Galaxy's own folder

GOG's reinstall instructions for the Mac mention two items in that folder: a Storage folder and a config.json file. The app itself is GOG GALAXY.app in /Applications. To see the names without opening anything:

ls -la /Users/Shared/GOG.COM/Galaxy

Do not open, copy or post the contents of Storage or config.json. GOG says that removing them (as part of a full reinstall) makes Galaxy forget where your games are installed, your custom executables, sidebar bookmarks and the logins for other platforms you connected; your library itself is kept on GOG's side. Only do that when GOG support asks you to.

Where a game's own files are

A GOG game on a Mac is normally an app bundle (a .app), which Finder treats as one file. Control-click it and choose Show Package Contents to see the files inside; do not edit anything there. A game's saves are usually not inside the game folder, and where they go is up to the game. Many games use ~/Library/Application Support/<game or studio> or Documents. The post on Mac game save locations explains how to find them for a game not covered here.

Move games or change the folder

Changing Games installation folder affects new installs only. To move a game you already have:

1. Quit the game and Galaxy.
2. In Finder, copy the game to the new location. Keep the original until the copy works.
3. Open Galaxy, click the cogwheel icon, and choose Add games & friends, then Scan folders for GOG Games, so Galaxy finds the game where it now is.

GOG gives that scan as the way to bring back games that vanish from Galaxy's installed list, and as the step after reinstalling Galaxy. If the scan does not pick up a moved game, uninstall it from Galaxy (right-click the game, then Manage installation > Uninstall) and install it again into the new folder, after copying any saves you want to keep.

If installs or updates fail for lack of space, the Temporary game update folder setting is the one to point at a drive with room.

Offline installers

Galaxy is optional. GOG is a DRM-free store, and its support pages describe downloading games straight from your browser: sign in at gog.com, open your Library, find the game and click Download Offline Backup Game Installers, then pick the installer for your system. In a browser these land in your browser's download folder, normally ~/Downloads; through Galaxy they go to the Other downloads folder. They are the files to keep on a backup drive.

GOG's support pages also note that GOG GALAXY 2.1 and later runs only on macOS Sonoma (14) or later on Apple silicon Macs. On an older or Intel Mac, GOG points to offline installers, or to the GOG GALAXY 2.0 installer it keeps available for now without further updates.

Space and what to leave alone

Games are the big items. To see what they take, point du at the folder your Games installation folder setting shows, for example:

du -sh /path/from/galaxy/settings/*

To free space, uninstall from Galaxy so it can update its own records, rather than deleting a game folder behind its back. Leave /Users/Shared/GOG.COM/Galaxy alone.

Why a normal search misses these

/Users/Shared is outside your home folder, and Spotlight and Finder searches leave out ~/Library, where many games keep their saves. A game's files carry the developer's names, not the title you see in Galaxy.

Finding it again

Type the game's name into Everywhere, or GOG.COM, to see each matching app bundle and Galaxy's shared folder in one list, including copies on an external drive that is unplugged right now. ⌘↵ reveals the match in Finder. /Users/Shared and /Applications are covered without extra permissions, while external drives and anything under Documents need Full Disk Access. Everywhere searches names only, so it cannot tell you which folder Galaxy treats as its default; the setting above does that.

Common questions

Where does GOG Galaxy install games on Mac?

In the folder shown under Settings, Installing, updating, Games installation folder (open Settings from the cogwheel icon at the top left). GOG does not publish a fixed Mac default, and you can pick another folder per game when you click Install.

How do I change the GOG Galaxy install folder on Mac?

Change Games installation folder in Settings, Installing, updating. That affects new installs; for a game you already moved, use Add games & friends, then Scan folders for GOG Games, from the cogwheel menu.

Can I keep GOG games without Galaxy?

Yes. In your Library on gog.com, choose the game and click Download Offline Backup Game Installers. Browser downloads land in your browser's download folder.

Where does GOG Galaxy keep its own data on Mac?

In /Users/Shared/GOG.COM/Galaxy, which holds a Storage folder and config.json. Leave them alone: removing them makes Galaxy forget where your games are installed.