Where apps hide your files
The Sims 4 keeps mods, saves and your Library in one visible folder inside Documents. Here is the path, what each part is, and why mods sometimes do not load.
~/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/ModsThat is the Mods folder for The Sims 4 on a Mac. The same The Sims 4 folder holds everything else you create or save:
~/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/It is in your Documents folder, so it is not hidden. In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G), paste the path and press Return. From Terminal:
open ~/Documents/Electronic\ Arts/The\ Sims\ 4EA's help article on installing mods sends you to the same place: open the Electronic Arts folder, then The Sims 4 folder. Helpers on EA's forums stress that the path must be exactly your home folder > Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4; a copy anywhere else is ignored, and the game makes a fresh folder in the right place.
| Item | What it holds |
|---|---|
Mods | Custom content and script mods you install, plus a Resource.cfg file |
Saves | Your save slots |
Tray | Households, lots and rooms saved to your Library, and items downloaded from the Gallery |
Options.ini | Your game settings |
localthumbcache.package | A thumbnail cache that EA forum guides tell you to delete, with the game closed, after removing mods |
| other folders | Screenshots, recorded videos and similar, depending on what you have used |
The names can vary slightly between game updates, so list the folder to see what yours holds. The three that matter most are Mods, Saves and Tray.
Putting files in Mods is not enough. EA's help article says to open Game Options, select Other, and make sure Enable Custom Content and Mods is checked, then relaunch the game. Script mods need a second box on the same tab, which EA forum posts and community guides call Script Mods Allowed.
Check again after every game update. EA's help explains that The Sims 4 disables mods when it updates, and says to switch them back on through Game Options > Other > Enable Custom Content and Mods once you have checked the game works and your mods support the new version.
Script mods (files ending in .ts4script) change how the game behaves. Custom content (.package files) adds clothes, hair, objects and similar items. Both go in Mods.
Unzip downloads first: EA's article says a .zip or .rar has to be unzipped before it goes in. Then put the .package and .ts4script files inside Mods. Community guides give a depth rule: script mods are read only directly in Mods or one folder down, while .package files can sit a few folders deeper. Creators often say how their files should be placed, so follow that.
Leave Resource.cfg where it is; it tells the game where inside Mods to look. If it goes missing, The Sims Resource's guide says starting the game normally recreates it.
When mods break the game, EA's help suggests taking every mod out of Mods and adding them back in batches, launching the game after each batch until the problem returns. On a Mac the easy way is to quit the game, drag the contents of Mods into a folder on your Desktop, and move them back a batch at a time.
Your save slots are in Saves. Each save is a numbered file, and the game may keep older copies beside it. You cannot tell from the file name which household it holds, so load and manage saves from the game's own menu.
The Tray folder holds your Library: households, lots and rooms you have saved, plus those you downloaded from the Gallery. Each item is stored as several files, so copy them all if you move one by hand. To share a creation with other players, upload it to the Gallery from the game.
If the folder does not exist, the game has not run yet on this account. Start the game once and quit; it creates the folder. EA's help also says you can create a Mods folder yourself if there is none.
A "READ FIRST" thread on EA's Mac forum links vanished saves, mods and Library items to iCloud. If iCloud Drive syncs your Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage is on, files in Documents can be removed from the Mac when space runs low, and the game then cannot find them. In System Settings, click your name, then iCloud, and look at the iCloud Drive options. Keep enough free space, or download the folder back before you play.
Copy the whole The Sims 4 folder. That carries your saves, Library, mods and settings together. On the new Mac, install the game, start it once so the folder exists, quit, and copy your folders in. Restore Saves and Tray first and add Mods afterwards, since mods are the part most likely to break after an update.
Time Machine includes Documents, so the folder is covered unless you excluded it. If Documents syncs to iCloud, make sure the files are actually on the Mac before you rely on a copy.
Documents is searchable, but a .package file is named by its creator, not after the item you remember, and save files have numbered names. Mods that were downloaded and never moved out of Downloads are easy to lose track of too.
Mod creators usually put their name or the item's name in the file name, so typing that into Everywhere finds the file in whatever sub-folder you buried it, or still sitting in Downloads. Typing .ts4script lists every script mod, and typing Resource.cfg jumps to that file. Documents and Downloads are protected folders, so Everywhere finds these once it has Full Disk Access; it matches names only, not what is inside a package.
At ~/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Mods. Saves and Tray are next to it in the same The Sims 4 folder.
In ~/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves. Households and lots saved to your Library are in the Tray folder beside it.
Check Game Options > Other: EA's help says to tick Enable Custom Content and Mods, and script mods need Script Mods Allowed as well. The game also switches mods off after updates, and script mods more than one folder deep are not read.
It is created the first time the game runs, so start the game once. If Documents syncs to iCloud Drive with Optimize Mac Storage on, files can be removed from the Mac, which EA forum threads link to missing folders.
Everywhere keeps track of every file on your Mac — including the folders Spotlight hides and drives you have unplugged. Free for a day, then $19 once.
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