Where apps hide your files
The Mac keeps its recent documents, applications and servers in small files in your Library folder, with one more per app for its Open Recent menu. You can clear them from menus or settings, and you can find the files themselves.
~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/Inside that folder, on the Mac used for this guide (macOS Sequoia 15.6):
com.apple.LSSharedFileList.RecentDocuments.sfl3
com.apple.LSSharedFileList.RecentApplications.sfl3
com.apple.LSSharedFileList.RecentServers.sfl3
com.apple.LSSharedFileList.ApplicationRecentDocuments/The first three are the system-wide lists behind Apple menu > Recent Items: documents, applications and servers. The ApplicationRecentDocuments folder holds one .sfl3 file per app, named after its bundle identifier in lower case, for example com.apple.preview.sfl3 for Preview and com.apple.textedit.sfl3 for TextEdit. On the Mac used for this guide it held more than 70 files, because an app's file stays after you stop using the app.
Open the folder from Finder with Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G), or from Terminal:
open ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist| Where you see it | Where it is stored |
|---|---|
| Apple menu > Recent Items (applications, documents, servers) | The three system-wide .sfl3 files above. |
| File > Open Recent inside an app | Usually that app's file in ApplicationRecentDocuments/; some apps keep their own list instead. |
| Recent and suggested apps in the Dock | The Dock's preference file: keys recent-apps and show-recents in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist. |
| Go > Recent Folders in Finder | A key named FXRecentFolders in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist. |
| Recents in the Finder sidebar | Not a list file: Finder builds it from the files you have opened recently. |
Many cross-platform apps (office suites, browsers, code editors) keep their own recent-files lists in their own settings, so clearing the system lists leaves those untouched.
None of these delete your actual files; they only empty lists of shortcuts.
The number of items in the Apple menu's list is set by a pop-up menu labelled Recent documents, applications, and servers, and one of its choices is None. Where that pop-up lives depends on your macOS version:
| macOS | Where the setting is |
|---|---|
| Sonoma 14 and Sequoia 15 | System Settings > Control Center, in the Menu Bar Only section |
| Tahoe 26 and later | System Settings > Menu Bar |
The Sonoma and Sequoia location comes from Apple's Mac User Guide for those versions and matches the Control Center settings pane's own resource files on the Sequoia Mac used for this guide, which index the setting under the menu bar. The Tahoe location is from Apple's Mac User Guide for Tahoe and was not checked locally. If you cannot find it, type "recent documents" into the search field in System Settings.
Three other lists get mistaken for it. Finder's Recents view shows files you have recently opened or saved, and clearing the Apple menu does not empty it. The Dock's recent apps section comes from the Dock's own preference file. And an app's own start screen, such as a code editor's recent projects, is stored by that app in its own folder.
If a file keeps showing up somewhere, work out which of these is showing it before you clear anything. Using the wrong clear command does nothing, and it is easy to conclude the Mac is ignoring you.
An .sfl3 file is a binary property list of bookmarks to your documents, so converting or printing one would reveal file names and paths. Look at names, sizes and dates only:
ls -la ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/com.apple.LSSharedFileList.ApplicationRecentDocumentsThe modified dates are useful on their own: they show which apps you opened documents in most recently.
To make one app forget its list, use its Clear Menu command. Moving its .sfl3 file out of the folder is sometimes suggested instead, but it was not tested on the Mac used for this guide, and macOS may rewrite the file while you are logged in, so use the menu first.
Before lending a Mac or recording your screen, clearing the Apple menu list and the Open Recent menus of the apps you used removes the most visible trail of document names, which often reveal client or project names. If you are selling or giving away a Mac, erase it instead: System Settings > General > Transfer or Reset holds the erase option.
The files are tiny. On the Mac used for this guide the system-wide lists range from about 0.4 KB to 10 KB, so they are never worth deleting to save space.
Spotlight and Finder searches leave out ~/Library/Application Support, and the files are named after bundle identifiers rather than app names.
Typing sfl3 in Everywhere lists all of them at once, the system lists beside the per-app ones, which is quicker than drilling into the subfolder. Typing an app's bundle identifier, such as com.apple.preview, narrows it to that app's list. This part of ~/Library is covered without extra setup. It matches names only, so it cannot show the document paths stored inside.
In ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/. The system-wide lists are the RecentDocuments, RecentApplications and RecentServers .sfl3 files, and each app has its own file in the ApplicationRecentDocuments subfolder.
Choose Apple menu > Recent Items > Clear Menu. Inside an app, use File > Open Recent > Clear Menu. Neither deletes your documents.
Set Recent documents, applications, and servers to None. On Sonoma and Sequoia it is in System Settings > Control Center under Menu Bar Only; on Tahoe it is in System Settings > Menu Bar.
Turn off Show suggested and recent apps in Dock in System Settings > Desktop & Dock. It is stored in the Dock's preference file, not in the Recent Items lists.
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