Where apps hide your files

Finding Pixelmator Pro files

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

Pixelmator Pro saves normal PXD documents into the folder you pick, with iCloud Drive as an option, and keeps layer data for JPEGs in sidecar files. This post shows where each lives, how to export presets and how to find the app's own folders.

Where your documents are

Pixelmator Pro does not keep your work in a hidden library. When you save, you choose the folder in the Save dialog, and the file is a normal document. Apple's Pixelmator Pro guide says the default save format is Pixelmator Pro Document, which uses the PXD format. So the answer to "where are my files" is the folder you saved into, or iCloud Drive if you picked it.

To search for them by type, look for the extension:

.pxd

On the first save, the Save dialog's Where pop-up menu includes an iCloud option when iCloud Drive is set up on the Mac. Pixelmator's guide says choosing it puts the file in the Pixelmator folder in iCloud Drive, so it appears on your other devices. Open Finder and click iCloud Drive in the sidebar to look. One user has reported that folder not being created automatically, so if you do not see it, search for the document by name.

To see where an open document lives, Command-click its name in the window's title bar. On standard Mac document windows that shows the folder path as a menu.

Two editions

The one-time purchase Pixelmator Pro is on the Mac App Store, now sold by Apple (version 3.8 at the time of writing). Apple also offers a newer Pixelmator Pro 4 inside its Creator Studio subscription, which press reports say needs macOS Tahoe 26. Apple's online guide follows the newer version. The save, sidecar and preset steps below appear in both Pixelmator's own guide and Apple's.

Sidecar files for JPEG, PNG and other formats

If you edit a JPEG, PNG, TIFF, HEIF or WebP and keep it in that format, Pixelmator Pro can save a sidecar file that holds your layers and non-destructive edits separately, so you can reopen the image and keep editing. You choose where these live:

1. Choose Pixelmator Pro > Settings.
2. Open the Editing tab.
3. Under Save Sidecar Files In, pick iCloud or Pictures.

iCloud suits people who use several devices. Pictures keeps the sidecar folder on your Mac and suits offline work. In the same pane, the Manage Files button opens the sidecar folder, where you can also delete sidecars you no longer need. With an image open, File > Sidecar > Reveal Sidecar File finds the sidecar for that one image. Neither guide gives the folder's full path, which is why those two buttons are the right way in.

If you move a JPEG to another Mac without its sidecar, you keep the flattened picture but lose the editable layers. That is the most common cause of "my layers are gone".

Presets

Pixelmator Pro keeps presets inside the app and exports each kind as its own file type, which is how you get them out. Apple's guide gives the same pattern for each: open the pane, click the More button next to the preset pop-up menu, and choose Export.

Preset kind	File type	Other ways out
Color adjustments	.adjustments	Drag a preset to the desktop or a Finder window.
Effects	.effects	Drag a preset out, or hold ⌥ in the collection menu and choose Export All for the whole library.
Layer styles	.layerstyles	Export a collection from the Style pane.
Brushes, gradients, shapes	.brushes, .gradients, .shapes	Export from the Paint, Gradient and Shape panes.

To import, use the same menu and choose import; for effects, Pixelmator's guide also lets you drag the file onto Pixelmator Pro in the Dock. That is the supported way to back presets up or move them to a new Mac, and it is far safer than copying app folders. If you move from the one-time purchase edition to the Creator Studio one, export your presets from the old app first.

The app's own data folders

Mac App Store apps are sandboxed, so settings and caches live in a container under ~/Library/Containers, named after the app's bundle ID. Apple's App Store data gives the one-time purchase edition's ID as com.pixelmatorteam.pixelmator.x. Pixelmator Pro was not installed on the Mac used for this guide and the Creator Studio edition's ID is not published, so list what exists rather than assuming:

ls ~/Library/Containers | grep -i pixelmator
ls ~/Library/Group\ Containers | grep -i pixelmator
ls ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents | grep -i pixelmator

These print names only. Do not delete anything you find by hand, and do not look for presets inside; the export routes above are the supported path.

Recovering and versions

In the Editing settings, Auto Save and Versions turns on macOS autosave and version history for documents. With it on, Apple's guide page "Restore an earlier document version" is the place to go when a save went wrong. For a document that was never saved, see the recovery guide linked from this site.

Space and cleanup

Large PXD files hold every layer, so a few photos with many layers add up. In Finder, switch a folder to list view and sort by Size, or list every PXD file in Pictures and Documents with its size:

find ~/Pictures ~/Documents -iname "*.pxd" -exec du -sh {} +

That command only reads, and macOS may ask Terminal for permission to see those folders. Move old documents to the Trash in Finder yourself. For sidecars, Manage Files in the Editing settings is the tidy route.

Why Spotlight misses some of it

PXD files in Documents or Pictures show up in ordinary searches, but app containers and anything else inside ~/Library are left out of Spotlight and Finder results.

Finding it again later

Typing .pxd or a project name into Everywhere lists your documents in one go, and Sidecar finds the sidecar folder. Documents, Pictures, iCloud Drive and containers are covered once Everywhere has Full Disk Access, and old PXD files on an unplugged drive stay searchable. Press ⌘↵ to reveal a result in Finder.

Common questions

Where does Pixelmator Pro save files on a Mac?

In the folder you choose in the Save dialog. The default format is PXD, and the Where menu offers iCloud Drive if it is set up.

Where are Pixelmator Pro sidecar files stored?

In a dedicated folder in iCloud or in Pictures, chosen under Pixelmator Pro > Settings > Editing > Save Sidecar Files In. The Manage Files button in that pane opens the folder.

How do I back up Pixelmator Pro presets?

Export them from the app: click the More button next to a preset pop-up menu and choose Export, or drag a preset to Finder. They save as files such as .adjustments, .effects and .layerstyles.

Can I open a Pixelmator Pro PXD file without the app?

PXD is Pixelmator Pro's own format. To share with someone who does not have the app, export a copy as JPEG, PNG or PDF from Pixelmator Pro.