Where apps hide your files

TextEdit saved and unsaved files, located

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

TextEdit has no library of its own. Saved files go where you put them, and drafts you never saved are held in an autosave folder inside the app's container until you reopen the app.

The location

Saved documents are wherever the save panel put them. Two special places matter. When iCloud Drive is on, TextEdit's own iCloud folder is:

~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~TextEdit/Documents/

In Finder that is iCloud Drive > TextEdit. For work you never saved, TextEdit keeps autosave data in its sandbox container:

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.TextEdit/Data/Library/Autosave Information/

The autosave folder exists once TextEdit has been used, and it is empty when nothing is pending, which is the normal state after you save or close everything. The iCloud folder exists only when iCloud Drive is switched on.

How to find a document you saved

1. If the document is open, Command-click (or Control-click) its name in the window's title bar. The menu lists every folder from the file up to the disk, and choosing one opens it in Finder.
2. Use File > Open Recent to reopen a file you used lately, then use the same title trick.
3. If it was never saved, go to the autosave folder below.

If you cannot remember the name, sorting Documents, Desktop and Downloads in Finder by Date Modified solves most cases.

Unsaved and Untitled windows

TextEdit saves as you type. An Untitled window that was never saved is kept so it can be restored when you reopen the app, and its data lives in the Autosave Information folder above, under a name of TextEdit's choosing rather than anything you typed.

Restoring depends on one setting. In System Settings > Desktop & Dock, Apple describes Close windows when quitting an application this way: windows don't reopen automatically the next time you open the app. With it on, an Untitled draft will not come back by itself. With it off, TextEdit normally reopens it.

If a draft has vanished:

1. Reopen TextEdit and see whether the window comes back.
2. Look in the autosave folder with Finder (⇧⌘G, then paste the path).
3. Copy any file you find to your Desktop first, then open the copy. Do not edit files in place.

The guide to recovering an unsaved document walks through more cases.

Files that never get a place

The first save of a new document asks where to put it. The Where pop-up lists TextEdit's iCloud folder when iCloud Drive is on. Apple's TextEdit guide notes a trap here: choosing plain iCloud Drive saves to the top level of iCloud Drive, not into the TextEdit folder. If you keep losing files, pick a folder such as Documents deliberately each time.

Plain text versus rich text

Rich text documents end in .rtf, plain text ends in .txt. Choose Format > Make Plain Text before the first save if you want .txt, and Format > Make Rich Text to go back. A rich document with images or attachments saves as .rtfd, which is a package: a folder that Finder shows as one file. If you email an .rtfd, compress it first or the attachments may be lost. To make every new document plain text, change the format in TextEdit > Settings > New Document.

Getting files out

TextEdit has no export library. File > Export as PDF makes a PDF copy. File > Duplicate makes a copy you can save elsewhere, and holding ⌥ while the File menu is open turns that item into Save As, where the format menu offers other types. File > Revert To > Browse All Versions shows earlier versions of a saved document, which is often the fastest fix for a file you overwrote.

Space and cleanup

TextEdit files are tiny, so size is rarely a concern. Do not delete the container folder. If a stale draft you no longer want keeps reappearing, quit TextEdit, then move that autosave file from Autosave Information to the Trash in Finder. Check first that you do not need it.

Checking from Terminal

Two read-only commands help when you are hunting for a draft. The first lists the autosave folder newest first, so whatever was being typed a minute ago is at the top:

ls -lt ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.TextEdit/Data/Library/Autosave\ Information

The second lists your iCloud TextEdit folder, newest first:

ls -lt ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/com~apple~TextEdit/Documents

Both show names, sizes and dates only. They do not open anything. If a file you want has a recent time, copy it to the Desktop in Finder before opening it, so TextEdit cannot overwrite the only copy.

What Spotlight sees

Saved files in iCloud Drive, Documents or Desktop show up in Spotlight by name. The autosave folder does not, because it sits inside the TextEdit container in ~/Library, which Spotlight leaves out, and a draft's file name would not match the first line you typed anyway.

Searching for the file next time

TextEdit's iCloud folder and the container holding its drafts are both places macOS protects, as are Documents, the Desktop and Downloads, so Everywhere needs Full Disk Access before it can list them. With that granted, type the name you saved under and the file appears wherever it lives, including a drive you have since unplugged. For a lost draft, typing Autosave Information lists that folder for TextEdit and every other app that keeps one, so pick the path containing com.apple.TextEdit. It reads file names only, so it cannot search the words inside an unsaved draft.

Common questions

Where does TextEdit store unsaved documents?

In ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.TextEdit/Data/Library/Autosave Information, until the app restores the window or you save or discard it.

Where are TextEdit files saved by default?

The save panel offers TextEdit's folder in iCloud Drive when iCloud Drive is on. Otherwise it is whatever folder you choose, often Documents.

How do I see the folder of a TextEdit file I have open?

Command-click or Control-click the document name in the window's title bar to see the path, then choose a folder to open it in Finder.

Why did my Untitled TextEdit document disappear?

If Close windows when quitting an application is on in Desktop & Dock settings, windows do not reopen when you relaunch TextEdit. Check the Autosave Information folder in TextEdit's container.