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On my Macbook, I have a folder that is synced to iCloud. It looks like this:

Folder synced to iCloud

This is great, because in case something happens to my MacBook, I have a backup. However, my iCloud has more data than my MacBook's harddrive can hold, so iCloud routinely deletes the local copy of my files to free up space, while keeping them safe in the cloud. This is bad because files I need may not be available locally on my laptop, and when a Desktop application needs the file, it can't access the file, and it appears to the application as if the file is no longer there.

If I want to keep the file available locally, I have to manually find the missing file in Finder and click "Download Now" in the context menu:

Download Now in the context menu

This workaround does help, but only temporarily - after some hours, macOS decides to "optimize" my storage again and delete the local copy, reverting it back to the previous state, and breaking my desktop application. Super annoying.

Is it possible to mark a folder and/or files to permanently remain locally downloaded?

Some Googling reveals it is possible to do this on iCloud on Windows (huh?!) and iPad, but I can't find instructions on how to do it on a Mac (double huh?!)

Anson Kao
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    Remember that syncing is not backup. – Gilby Nov 23 '22 at 06:42
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    What is the macOS version on your MacBook? Can you pls clarify if it is the file or the folder or both you want to have stored locally? How do you know if either is synched to iCloud? What makes you think either is not available when you are offline? Is there a cloud symbol next to either in Finder and if so, can you pls describe exactly how that cloud symbol looks like (simple cloud, cloud with a down arrow, etc.)? – Alper Nov 23 '22 at 10:38
  • Thanks @Alper, added screenshots to clarify. – Anson Kao Nov 23 '22 at 15:00
  • @Gilby what do you mean? When my files are synced to iCloud, I can see they are accessible from all my other devices. – Anson Kao Nov 23 '22 at 15:00
  • I don't understand the OP's question. iCloud synchs "Desktop and Documents," and all the files in those locations appear and can be accessed on my two Macs, even when the Macs' wifi is turned off. – DavidRecallsMonica Nov 23 '22 at 15:44
  • @AnsonKao Thx. You still haven’t mentioned the macOS version. How big is the folder being reverted to only-in-cloud status frequently together with its contents? How big is your MBP’s internal drive (the drive the folder is located on) and how much empty space does it have left on it? – Alper Nov 23 '22 at 19:39
  • @Alper I'm on macOS Big Sur 11.5.2. I have maybe 50 files of varying sizes ranging from 300 MB to 50 KB that have this issue. My harddrive is 256 GB, but I have something like 500 GB in my iCloud storage, so not all of it can fit on my hard drive, so to David's point, in my case iCloud MUST remove some of it. But I would like to indicate a subdirectory to keep always available offline. – Anson Kao Nov 24 '22 at 10:14
  • Does this answer your question? Mac storage is full but iCloud is not, what to do? – Alper Nov 24 '22 at 12:12
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    No, that post describes how to achieve the situation I already have, which is iCloud backs everything up to the cloud. I want to keep that, but have specific files continue to remain available offline.

    It sounds like the answer is macOS does not support what I want... which is sad, because the iCloud x Windows integration DOES support it (see: https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud-windows/keep-files-downloaded-icw8531ad6b7/icloud)

     – Anson Kao Nov 24 '22 at 12:22
  • Not sure I understand the problem here. Usually iCloud automatically downloads files if an application wants to open them. Is your Mac online or offline in such moments? – nohillside Nov 24 '22 at 12:41
  • @nohillside that is only true if you are opening up a file from the "File Open Dialog". If the desktop application is passively opening multiple files without using the "File Open Dialog" (e.g. in software engineering, 3D modelling, and other advanced applicaitons) there is no opportunity for macOS to do that automatically. Also, it is just a HUGE delay and waste of data to wait 2 minutes to download massive files everytime I need it. It should remain offline constantly. Considering forfeiting the iCloud backup and just moving it outside of the iCloud directory. Super annoying – Anson Kao Nov 25 '22 at 03:20
  • Would you consider other cloud solutions than iCloud a valuable option? – nohillside Nov 25 '22 at 04:49
  • Also, iCloud is not a backup, it‘s a syncing solution. If you loose/damage the local copy of a file, you also loose/damage the versions in iCloud and on other connected devices. – nohillside Nov 25 '22 at 04:51
  • Thanks everyone for your replies, I really appreciate it. Self-answered, echoing what what we all discussed. – Anson Kao Nov 26 '22 at 10:03

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Sadly, it seems that macOS simply does not have the feature that would solve this exact problem directly - only Windows has the feature.

Therefore, the best way to mitigate this problem is to simply switch from iCloud to something like DropBox or Google Drive, which as others have pointed out, is a better solution anyway since they have version history etc.

Anson Kao
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