iCloud and cloud storage

Getting Google Drive back into Finder

Updated 2026-10-30 · 4 min read

When Drive for desktop is installed but Finder shows no Google Drive, the cause is usually a sidebar setting, an un-approved File Provider, or a signed-out app. Check them in this order.

Check these three things first

1. Is the app running and signed in? Look for the Google Drive icon in the menu bar. If it's missing, open Google Drive from Applications and sign in. Without an account, no Drive folder exists.
2. Look in the sidebar under Locations. With File Provider (Google's streaming method on macOS 12.1 and later), Google says your files are in the Finder sidebar under Locations. Under the older streaming method they were under Favorites.
3. Click Enable. Google says File Provider needs your explicit approval: open Finder, click Google Drive under Locations, then click Enable at the top right. Without it, streaming doesn't work.

If Drive is in none of those places, continue below.

Where Drive really is

With File Provider, Google's help says the files are in ~/Library/CloudStorage and that you can't change that location. Check from Terminal (names only):

ls ~/Library/CloudStorage

A signed-in account shows a folder whose name starts with GoogleDrive- followed by the account's email address, with My Drive inside it. If that folder exists but the sidebar entry doesn't, it's a sidebar problem. If it doesn't exist, Drive isn't running or isn't signed in; with Drive installed but signed out, CloudStorage simply has no GoogleDrive folder.

Turn the sidebar entry back on

Two switches can hide it. In Finder, open Finder > Settings > Sidebar and make sure Cloud Storage is ticked under Locations; that one box covers Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and the rest. Then check Drive itself: click its menu bar icon, the gear, then Preferences, and the gear at the top right of that window opens its settings. Look there for an option worded Show Google Drive in Locations in Finder (setups on the older streaming method say Favorites instead).

Check the extension

Drive streams through a macOS File Provider extension (it registers as com.google.drivefs.fpext). If that extension is switched off, Drive can't show up in Finder. On macOS 15 the switches live in System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions, under Extensions, in the File Providers category; other versions put them elsewhere, so search System Settings for Extensions if you don't see that pane. Make sure Google Drive is on.

If Drive reports a File Provider initialization error at startup, Google calls it a macOS error and gives two steps: update macOS to the latest version, then restart the Mac.

Quit and reopen Drive

After an update or sleep, the mount can go stale:

1. Choose the Drive menu bar icon, then the gear, then Quit Google Drive.
2. Wait a few seconds, reopen it from Applications.
3. If the sidebar doesn't update, relaunch Finder: press ⌥⌘Esc, select Finder and click Relaunch. Or restart the Mac.

Streaming or mirroring

Drive for desktop syncs by streaming or mirroring. Streaming keeps files in the cloud and shows them in Finder; mirroring stores copies locally. Google's help also shows how to tell whether streaming runs on File Provider: in Drive's settings, under “Google Drive streaming location”, the note “Folder location is controlled by macOS” means it does. With mirroring, a folder you never chose to sync won't be on the Mac at all. See Google Drive's cache location for where cached copies go, and what the CloudStorage folder is.

Drive folders that are missing, not Drive itself

If Drive appears but a particular folder doesn't, the cause is different. Items shared with you may not appear in My Drive unless you add them to it. Shared drives sit beside My Drive, not inside it. Folders backed up from other computers get their own entry too (Drive's app calls them Other computers). Open the account folder in ~/Library/CloudStorage and look at the names beside My Drive before assuming files vanished. If a folder looks empty, open it once with Drive running, since streamed folders may take a moment to list on a slow connection.

Finding a Drive file by name

A missing sidebar link doesn't stop a name search. In Everywhere, path:GoogleDrive invoice lists files with invoice in the name anywhere in your Google Drive folder, and ⌘↵ reveals the one you pick in Finder, sidebar entry or not. It covers ~/Library/CloudStorage only after you give it Full Disk Access. More options in searching Dropbox and Google Drive.

Common questions

Why is Google Drive not showing in Finder on my Mac?

Drive for desktop may be signed out, the Cloud Storage item may be unticked in Finder's sidebar settings, or you haven't clicked Enable for File Provider. Check Locations in the Finder sidebar first.

Where is the Google Drive folder on a Mac?

With File Provider it is under ~/Library/CloudStorage, in a folder named GoogleDrive- followed by your account's email address, with My Drive inside. It also shows in the Finder sidebar under Locations.

How do I add Google Drive to the Finder sidebar?

Tick Cloud Storage under Locations in Finder > Settings > Sidebar. In Drive for desktop's settings, also turn on the option worded Show Google Drive in Locations in Finder.

Do I need to restart to fix Google Drive in Finder?

Often. Quit and reopen Drive for desktop first. If Drive reports a File Provider error at startup, update macOS and restart the Mac, as Google advises.