AirDrop files go to /private/tmp instead of ~/Downloads

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AirDrop files go to /private/tmp instead of ~/Downloads

AirDropping a file from my iPhone 15 pro max ios18.2.1 to my Mac mini macOS 15.2 the file arrives in /private/tmp instead of ~/Downloads.

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Jan 19, 2025 09:24 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Matti Haveri

Level 6

19,170 points

Jan 19, 2025 10:31 PM in response to Nello Lucchesi

Do you use Dropbox or 3rd party virus apps that might cause this:

How to change where AirDrop files are sav… - Apple Community

AirDrop download location can be tweaked with an AppleScript but check the previous thread first.

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Answer 2

teehoff

Level 1

8 points

Feb 2, 2025 11:20 PM in response to Nello Lucchesi

Hi there! I am having the same issue, I replaced my Downloads folder with a symlink to a Downloads folder in iCloud so I always have files on any of my devices. Not sure what the best way to approach this is because I want my AirDrop files to go to the iCloud downloads folder I have, but with a symlink it's not working. What I did for now was deleted the symlink and created the regular "Downloads" folder again, but now when I AirDrop files to my Mac they are still going into the tmp folder. I wasn't sure what you meant by "after power cycling and logging in fresh" - maybe that's what I need to do? Do you mean logging out of iCloud on my phone and back in? Also, what do you think I should do re: having AirDrop files go to my iCloud Downloads folder? Thank you! <3

Edit:

So I restarted my MacBook and AirDrop started working correctly and going to the new Downloads folder lol sorry.

But do you know of anyway to make the AirDrop files go to my iCloud Downloads folder I use by chance? I'd rather have everything go straight there so it's available on any of my devices.

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Answer 3

teehoff

Level 1

8 points

Feb 2, 2025 11:33 PM in response to teehoff

Edit (again):

A while back I added a "Folder Action" to my Downloads folder using a script from GitHub (menushka/airdropSorter.scpt).

I just activated this on the new Downloads folder I made and now anything that gets AirDropped or put into the Downloads folder gets moved right away to the iCloud Downloads folder I made.

Do you happen to know if there is any easier way doing this? This seems pretty complicated for something that should be pretty simple imho.

Thanks again!

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Answer 4

Jan 20, 2025 05:50 AM in response to Nello Lucchesi

I'd suggest doing a spring cleaning:

Backup, boot to Recovery mode, erase, install, restore only user data files.

(Optionally you might 1st prepare a bootable macOS install flash drive and use that instead Recovery volume. Or do that just in case so you have a bootable volume handy).

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Then check if the AirDrop issue has been fixed.

Then install 3rd party apps but stay away from virus apps and "cleaners" that are not needed and are infamous for corrupting the system.

I use Dropbox and it has not caused problems for me so go ahead and install also it.

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Answer 5

Feb 3, 2025 06:54 AM in response to teehoff

By “power cycling and logging in fresh” I meant:

Log out each user that is logged in ( → Log Out <userName>…);
Shut down your computer ( → Shut Down…);
Turn on your computer, usually by pressing the power button and letting go of it; and
Log into your regular account.

No, I don't know a simpler way to move files downloaded from any source from ~/Downloads to another folder, including a folder synced with a cloud storage service. I haven't tried this with iCloud, but using an application called Hazel by Nooodlesoft.com is probably another way to do it but it isn't simpler.

I haven't tried this, but I suppose that downloads from a web browser could be changed to go to an iCloud folder instead of ~/Downloads. The specific steps to change the location of files downloaded by a web browser depends on the which browser you are using. For Safari:

Safari → Settings … → General; then change the dropdown for File download location

I hope that I answered your questions.

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Answer 6

Jan 20, 2025 05:21 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, I use Dropbox. I’d already found the thread that you referenced so I suspected that Dropbox is the cause of my problem.

Unfortunately, I don’t understand the solution offered in this thread. I’m reasonably comfortable with the Mac file system and using Terminal.

Can you please describe the proposed solution in more technical and precise terms?

Thank you.

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Answer 7

Jan 22, 2025 11:58 AM in response to Matti Haveri

The root of my problem was not related to Dropbox; it was that I'd replaced ~/Downloads with a symlink to my external drive and apparently AirDrop will not follow the symlink.

I learned from a friend that:

It may be that AirDrop sees a symlink there and instead of following the link, it falls back to a backup location of the Unix-standard system temporary directory /tmp (which on macOS, is a symlink to /private/tmp.

Using the Finder, I deleted the symlink and replaced it with the Downloads directory that it pointed to on my external drive; drag-and-drop preserved its Extended Attributes.

I tested AirDrop from my iPhone and it still put files in /private/tmp but after power cycling and logging in fresh AirDrop placed files in ~/Downloads, as expected. (Perhaps a simple log out/in would also have worked.)

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AirDrop files go to /private/tmp instead of ~/Downloads

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