Where apps hide your files

Finding Stream Deck's profiles, backups and plugins

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

Stream Deck's profiles, automatic backups and plugins live in one hidden folder in your user Library. Here is the path, what sits in it, and the app's own way to back up and restore everything.

The location

~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck

That is Stream Deck's user data folder on a Mac. Elgato's help gives it as /Users/<your username>/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck, with profiles, automatic backups and installed plugins in these subfolders:

~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/ProfilesV2
~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/Backup
~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/Plugins

Library is hidden in Finder. Choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G), paste the first path and press Return. From Terminal:

open ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck

Elgato's page naming ProfilesV2 says it is current as of Stream Deck 7.0. The V2 suggests the name could change in a later format, so list the folder if that one is missing:

ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck

What is inside

Folder	What it holds
ProfilesV2	Your profiles: pages of keys and dials, with their actions
Backup	Automatic profile backups, made each time the app updates (Stream Deck 5.3 and later)
Plugins	One folder per installed plugin, each ending in .sdPlugin

Elgato does not document the layout inside ProfilesV2. A user on the Keyboard Maestro forum reports that the profile files there have cryptic names, so expect random-looking names rather than your profile names. Do not rename anything.

Back up all profiles the supported way

Elgato's help describes a full backup from the app:

1. Open Stream Deck and click the cog icon to open its settings.
2. Click the Profiles tab.
3. Click the down arrow at the bottom right of the profile list, hover over Backup All and click Create Backup....
4. Choose where to save it. The file name includes the date and time by default.

The result is a .streamDeckProfilesBackup file. To restore, double-click it and choose Restore. Elgato warns that importing a backup overwrites your existing profiles, so make a fresh backup of the current setup first if you might want it back.

Elgato says to restore the automatic copies in the Backup folder the same way. They are taken when the app updates, not when you edit, so they can be older than you expect.

Export a single profile

To share or keep one profile, Elgato's developer documentation says to open the Profiles tab in the app's preferences, right-click the profile and choose Export. That writes a .streamDeckProfile file you can import on another Mac.

Exports carry key layouts and actions but not the plugins themselves. Elgato says keys whose plugin is missing show a question mark; since Stream Deck 6.9, importing a profile made with 6.9 or later prompts you to install the missing plugins, and clicking a question-mark key offers the download. Elgato's 7.1 release notes add that profiles exported from 7.1 also include files, such as music, configured in an action.

Moving to a new Mac

The supported route is the backup file: make one with Backup All on the old Mac, install Stream Deck on the new one, then double-click the file and restore. Install any plugins it asks for.

Copying the whole com.elgato.StreamDeck folder is a fallback Elgato does not document. If you try it, quit Stream Deck on both Macs first, keep the new Mac's own folder as a spare, and check every profile and plugin action afterwards.

Never post this folder in a chat, forum or bug report. Plugins can store their own settings there, and some may include account details, so a copy can carry more than key layouts. Share an exported profile instead.

Quit the app first

Stream Deck keeps running in the menu bar when its window is closed. Elgato's plugin help says to close it from the menu bar, and that the app must be completely closed before you delete a plugin. Check the icon is gone before you copy or remove anything in the folder.

Plugins

Remove plugins in the app first: in its preferences, open the Plugins tab, right-click the plugin and choose Uninstall. Only when that fails does Elgato describe removing one by hand: quit Stream Deck, press ⇧⌘G in Finder, go to ~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/Plugins/, and delete that plugin's folder. Move it to the Trash in Finder rather than using Terminal, so you can put it back. Then open Stream Deck and confirm the plugin is gone.

Plugin developers link a plugin under development into this folder, according to Elgato's SDK docs, so a symbolic link there that you did not make may come from a developer's setup.

Resetting profiles

Elgato's article on deploying profiles to many Macs has IT teams delete ProfilesV2 and Backup with the app closed, after which Stream Deck builds fresh profiles from a default. Elgato calls the method unsupported and likely to break with updates, and it deletes your own profiles and their automatic backups. On a Mac you use, make a Backup All file first, and use the app to delete profiles rather than the folder.

Why searching misses these

~/Library is hidden in Finder, and Spotlight and Finder searches leave out its contents. Profile files have machine-generated names, so searching for a profile's name finds nothing even when it is there.

Finding the folders again

Type com.elgato or sdPlugin into Everywhere to see the data folder and every installed plugin at once, each with its path, or streamDeckProfilesBackup to find backup files wherever you saved them. Application Support is not a protected folder, so this works without Full Disk Access, though backups saved in Documents or Downloads need it. It matches file and folder names only, not what a profile contains. ⌘T opens a Terminal in the selected folder.

Common questions

Where does Stream Deck store profiles on a Mac?

In ~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/ProfilesV2, according to Elgato's help, current as of Stream Deck 7.0. The profile files inside have machine-generated names.

Where is the Stream Deck plugins folder on Mac?

In ~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/Plugins. Each plugin is a folder ending in .sdPlugin; uninstall from the Plugins tab in the app's preferences where you can.

How do I back up all my Stream Deck profiles?

In the app's settings, open the Profiles tab, click the down arrow at the bottom right, hover over Backup All and click Create Backup. Double-click the .streamDeckProfilesBackup file later to restore; that overwrites existing profiles.

Where are Stream Deck's automatic backups on Mac?

Elgato says that since Stream Deck 5.3 the app backs up profiles each time it updates, into ~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/Backup. Restore one by double-clicking it.