Where apps hide your files

Where Spark Desktop and Spark Classic store data

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

Spark for Mac is two apps with two data folders: Spark Desktop and the older Spark Classic. Here is the path for each, what Readdle says Spark keeps on the Mac, and what a reset does.

The location depends on which Spark you run

Spark for Mac exists as two different apps, and each keeps its data in a different place. Readdle's own clean-install guides give these folders:

Which Spark	Folder
Spark Desktop, downloaded from the website	~/Library/Application Support/Spark Desktop
Spark Desktop, from the Mac App Store	~/Library/Containers/com.readdle.SparkDesktop.appstore (Finder shows it as Spark Desktop)
Spark Desktop beta	the same name with (Beta) added, Spark Desktop (Beta)
The earlier native Mac app (Readdle calls it Spark Classic)	~/Library/Group Containers/3L68KQB4HG.group.com.readdle.smartemail
Beta of that earlier app	~/Library/Group Containers/3L68KQB4HG.group.com.readdle.beta.Spark-Mac

To tell which you have, open the app menu next to the Apple menu: in Spark Desktop it is called Spark Desktop and holds About Spark Desktop, per Readdle. Spark Desktop, also called Spark 3, is the newer app that Readdle's blog says was built from scratch for Mac and Windows. Spark 2 and the Classic name belong to the older native Mac app, still listed on the Mac App Store as Spark Classic.

Spark is not installed on the Mac used for this guide, so these folders come from Readdle's pages. Readdle names the App Store folder as Finder shows it, "Spark Desktop"; in Terminal, app containers carry the app's bundle identifier, which the App Store listing gives as com.readdle.SparkDesktop.appstore (Spark Classic's is com.readdle.smartemail-Mac). To list what exists on your Mac:

ls ~/Library/Containers ~/Library/Group\ Containers | grep -i -E "spark|readdle"

It only prints folder names and changes nothing.

Open the right folder

In Finder, hold ⌥ and open the Go menu, then choose Library. This is Readdle's own instruction. Or choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G) and paste a path from the table. From Terminal:

open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Spark\ Desktop

Quit Spark first if you plan to do more than look.

What counts as "mail data"

Most of your mail is not on the Mac. Readdle's storage article says Spark does not back up or store emails locally: they stay on your provider's IMAP, Exchange or Microsoft Graph server. Spark caches emails and attachments from the past month while on Wi-Fi so you can read them offline, but those cached emails cannot be saved or opened as separate files. Mail tied to Send Later and Teams features is kept, encrypted, on Readdle's servers. Readdle's clean-install article says that removing the Spark folder does not delete your added accounts, snoozes, reminders, send-laters, templates or shared emails, which Spark keeps in its own account, and that it does reset notification settings, appearance settings and connected services. Neither article says which folder holds that cache. So:

• Attachments you save go where you choose in the save dialog, usually Downloads. Search there first.
• Attachments you only open live in Spark's cache, which Readdle says cannot be kept as files. Save a copy of anything you want to keep.
• A data-recovery vendor's blog says Spark Classic's cached mail and downloaded attachments are under ~/Library/Containers/com.readdle.smartemail-Mac/Data/Library/. Readdle's documentation does not confirm it, so treat it as a place to look, not a fact.

To see what an installed Spark keeps, list folder names and sizes only (never open the files, which are your mail):

du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Spark\ Desktop

Clean install: the supported reset

When Spark misbehaves, Readdle's fix is a clean install, which clears the data Spark keeps on the Mac:

1. Quit Spark.
2. Hold ⌥, open Go > Library, and find the folder for your version in the table.
3. Right-click (or Control-click) that folder and choose Move to Trash, as Readdle says. Do not use rm.
4. Start Spark, sign in and reconnect your accounts.

Readdle's pages say this clears the preferences and login information saved on the device. For Spark Classic, the guide says it removes all accounts added to Spark, so you must add them back. For Spark Desktop the article says your accounts, snoozes, reminders, send-laters, templates and shared emails are not deleted. Before you do it, note your signatures, shortcuts and notification choices: a third-party write-up reports that shortcuts and signatures were reset on the Classic route.

If you want a safety net, copy the folder somewhere else before you trash it. Readdle does not describe restoring from such a copy, so treat it as a last resort.

Moving to a new Mac or from Classic to Desktop

There is no need to copy Spark's folders between Macs, and Readdle documents no such route. Install Spark on the new Mac and sign in with your Email for Sync (Spark account); Readdle says your added accounts and settings then sync, and your mail comes down from the provider. Readdle publishes no guide for importing Spark Classic's local files into Spark Desktop. At Spark Desktop's launch, Readdle's blog said it did not yet have every Spark 2 feature and that Spark 2 would stay on the Mac App Store, so check that the features you rely on exist before switching.

Why a normal search misses it

Finder and Spotlight searches leave out ~/Library, and group containers and app containers are protected by macOS on top of that. Neither folder appears in a search for "Spark".

Finding Spark's folders again

Type spark or readdle into Everywhere to list every Spark-related folder, so you can see whether an old Classic folder is still sitting beside the Desktop one. Containers and group containers are protected folders, so Everywhere finds them once it has Full Disk Access; Application Support is covered without it. A file you saved from an email is found by the name it had in the message, and since only file names are searched, text inside an email is not.

Common questions

Where does Spark store its data on a Mac?

Spark Desktop from the website uses ~/Library/Application Support/Spark Desktop; the App Store version uses its container in ~/Library/Containers, shown in Finder as Spark Desktop. Spark Classic uses ~/Library/Group Containers/3L68KQB4HG.group.com.readdle.smartemail.

What is the difference between Spark Desktop and Spark Classic?

Spark Desktop (Spark 3) is a newer app built from scratch for Mac and Windows. Spark Classic is the older native Mac app, also called Spark 2, and the two keep local data in different folders.

Where are Spark attachments saved on a Mac?

Attachments you save go to the folder you choose, usually Downloads. Readdle says Spark caches the past month of emails and attachments for offline reading, but that cache cannot be kept as files and Readdle does not say which folder holds it.

How do I reset Spark on a Mac without losing my accounts?

Quit Spark and move its Spark Desktop folder to the Trash, then sign in again. Readdle's article says Spark Desktop keeps your accounts, snoozes and templates, though notification and appearance settings reset.