Where apps hide your files

Typora's theme folder and support files

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

Typora themes are CSS files in ~/Library/Application Support/abnerworks.Typora/themes/. Here is how to open that folder, add your own CSS safely and find the cache, preferences and unsaved drafts.

The location

Typora's themes are plain CSS files in a folder inside its support folder:

~/Library/Application Support/abnerworks.Typora/themes/

abnerworks.Typora is the app's identifier, so the folder is named after it, not after "Typora". Typora's own theme page says themes are usually stored here, so the word "usually" matters: if the folder is not there, use the button below, which opens the right place whatever version you run.

Open it from Typora

Open Typora's preference panel from the Typora menu, go to the Appearance section and click Open Theme Folder. That is Typora's documented route. Or in Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G), paste the path and press Return. From Terminal:

open ~/Library/Application\ Support/abnerworks.Typora/themes

Install a theme

1. Open the theme folder.
2. Copy the theme's .css file into it, plus any fonts or images it needs. Many themes ship a folder of assets next to the CSS file.
3. Quit and reopen Typora, then pick the theme from the Themes menu in the menu bar.

If a theme does not appear, check the file name against Typora's naming rule for theme CSS: no capital letters and no characters other than letters and -, with spaces replaced by -. Typora turns the name into the menu label, so my-first-typora-theme.css shows as "My First Typora Theme" in the Themes menu.

Add your own CSS without editing a theme

Typora loads your own styles from two optional files in the same folder:

File	What it changes
base.user.css	Applies to every theme
{current-theme}.user.css	Applies to one theme only

For the second kind, use the theme's own file name: newsprint.user.css for Newsprint, and github.user.css for GitHub (whose file is github.css, so not Github). The names are case-sensitive. Typora applies its basic styles first, then the theme, then base.user.css, then the per-theme file, so your rules win. Typora recommends this over editing a theme directly, because updates can replace the built-in themes and third-party theme updates can overwrite your changes.

Create these files in a plain-text editor. In TextEdit, choose Format > Make Plain Text first, or the file will be saved as rich text and the CSS will not work, and keep the .css ending if TextEdit offers to add .txt.

Where Typora keeps everything else

Typora's own uninstall guide lists the places it writes on macOS:

Path	What it is
~/Library/Application Support/abnerworks.Typora/	Themes and the app's support data
~/Library/Caches/abnerworks.Typora/	Cache
~/Library/Preferences/abnerworks.Typora.plist	Preferences
~/Library/Saved Application State/abnerworks.Typora.savedState	The windows and documents Typora reopens

Typora documents two uses for clearing things. For a blank window after launch, it suggests removing the cache folder. For a crash that repeats because the app keeps reopening a huge file, it suggests removing the saved-state folder so Typora does not reopen the file that crashed it. Quit Typora first and move the folder to the Trash rather than using rm. Do not remove the whole abnerworks.Typora support folder unless you have copied themes out first, because your own themes and .user.css files live there.

Where your documents and drafts are

Your writing is not inside Typora's folders. A Typora document is an ordinary Markdown file in whatever folder you saved it to, so you can open it in any editor and back it up like any other file.

For a document you never saved, Typora's documentation says untitled drafts on macOS are kept in:

~/Library/Autosave Information

The page adds "please save them just in case", so treat it as a safety net rather than storage. Typora uses the native macOS auto save and versions, so for a saved file you can go back in time with File > Revert To > Browse All Versions. The Recover Unsaved Drafts button in Typora's docs is described for Windows and Linux, and the Auto Save page names no separate drafts folder for macOS.

Back it up or move to a new Mac

Copy the themes folder, which holds everything you customised:

cp -R ~/Library/Application\ Support/abnerworks.Typora/themes ~/Desktop/typora-themes-backup

On the new Mac, install Typora, open it once, quit, then put your theme files and base.user.css into the new themes folder, keeping the file names. Copy your .md documents separately. Make sure the theme names match, since a .user.css file only works with the theme it is named for.

Why a normal search misses them

Finder and Spotlight searches leave out ~/Library, so your theme and .user.css files do not show up in a normal search. Drafts in ~/Library/Autosave Information are hidden in the same way.

Finding a theme or draft by name

Type user.css into Everywhere to list your custom CSS files, or part of a theme's name to find the CSS and its asset folder together. For an untitled draft, type Autosave Information to jump to that folder and look at what is inside. Both folders are in the unprotected part of ~/Library, so they are covered without extra access, though new files there can wait for the next scan. It searches file names only, not the Markdown inside.

Common questions

Where are Typora themes stored on a Mac?

Usually in ~/Library/Application Support/abnerworks.Typora/themes/. The Open Theme Folder button in the Appearance section of Typora's preferences opens the right folder for your version.

How do I add custom CSS to Typora on Mac?

Put a base.user.css file in the themes folder to change every theme, or a file named after one theme, such as github.user.css, to change just that theme. File names are case-sensitive.

Where does Typora save unsaved documents on Mac?

Typora's documentation says untitled drafts are kept in ~/Library/Autosave Information. Save them as soon as you can, because that folder is a safety net.

Why is my Typora theme not showing in the Themes menu?

Check the file name against Typora's rule for theme CSS: lowercase letters only, with hyphens instead of spaces or other characters. Then restart Typora, which Typora's install steps call for after adding a theme.