Where are synched Onedrive files stored on a Macbook

Question

Where are synched Onedrive files stored on a Macbook

David Telford 0

Until recently, I accessed files and photos in a folder called OneDrive.noindex on the Macbook.
It appears to have changed with content now being saved in Cloudstorage. Was there a recent change in the way Onedrive works on Mac's?
Can I delete the folders in Onedrive.noindex? It seems to no longer be updated when I save Test documents to Onedrive but I want to make sure it is OK to do this.
I am running Tahoe 26.6.2 on the Macbook

David Telford 0 Reputation points

2026-11-04T18:51:33.5666667+00:00
The path of the folder in question: ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OneDriveSyncClientSuite/OneDrive.noindex, is only 27.98 GB and is almost all Documents. Before it would contain photos and videos as well.

The hidden .Dbfs.Dbfs_Personal.noindex folder beside it, at 261.18 GB, closely matches the size of my OneDrive in CloudStorage.

My question is whether the 28 GB OneDrive.noindex still used by OneDrive, or is it a leftover from before the File Provider migration that can be safely removed?

I set up a Test document which shows in Onedrive Cloud and in the new CloudStorage location, but not in Onedrive.noindex.

2 answers

Your answer

David Telford 0 Reputation points

2026-11-04T18:51:33.5666667+00:00

The path of the folder in question: ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OneDriveSyncClientSuite/OneDrive.noindex, is only 27.98 GB and is almost all Documents. Before it would contain photos and videos as well.

The hidden .Dbfs.Dbfs_Personal.noindex folder beside it, at 261.18 GB, closely matches the size of my OneDrive in CloudStorage.

My question is whether the 28 GB OneDrive.noindex still used by OneDrive, or is it a leftover from before the File Provider migration that can be safely removed?

I set up a Test document which shows in Onedrive Cloud and in the new CloudStorage location, but not in Onedrive.noindex.

Answer 1

You're correct that OneDrive for Mac now uses Apple's File Provider framework, with synchronized files. However, this does not necessarily mean that the older OneDrive.noindex folder is no longer used or can safely be deleted. Microsoft has previously identified ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OneDriveSyncClientSuite/OneDrive.noindex as a OneDrive cache location and advised against manually removing it. The fact that your new test document appears in CloudStorage but not in OneDrive.noindex is useful information, but it does not conclusively establish that the 28 GB folder is abandoned. Similarly, the 261 GB .Dbfs.Dbfs_Personal.noindex folder may be associated with OneDrive's internal storage. Its reported size does not necessarily represent an additional 261 GB of physical disk usage.

To determine whether these folders are still associated with your current OneDrive installation, could you confirm which version of OneDrive you are running (select the OneDrive cloud icon in the macOS menu bar > Settings > About) and whether you installed it from the Mac App Store or directly from Microsoft? Also, does OneDrive currently report that all your files are synced, and are you trying to recover disk space or simply remove folders you believe are obsolete? If possible, please share a screenshot showing the two folders and their sizes, along with System Settings > General > Storage so we can compare the reported folder sizes with actual disk usage. If your objective is to recover space, Microsoft's supported Free Up Space option for locally downloaded OneDrive files would be a safer starting point than manually deleting internal cache folders.

David Telford 0 Reputation points

2026-11-05T09:47:42.9733333+00:00

Thanks Jeronimo, I am running OneDrive Version: 26.189.0928.0007 (26M), I can't remember where I installed the Mac App from, the App is advising that all files are backed up and synced, I am trying to recover disk space and eliminate any unnecessary duplication on the macbook, I wasn't proposing to delete the noindex folder, simply delete the contents; I had a photographs and video folder as well as the documents folder but only the documents folder has content, the photographs and videos folders are empty. All my Onedrive content seems to be in the Cloudstorage location with grey ticks indicating I believe that the content is physically stored on the Macbook. I tested this by copying images from Cloudstorage on to my desktop and then opening them.
I attach screenshoots of Dave's Stuff from noindex and Cloudstorage for comparison. Note that the latter include a Test Document that I saved to the cloud which only appears in Cloudstorage, indicating that the downloading link to noindex is now not operating

Answer 2

Yes. On macOS 12.1 and later, OneDrive uses a new Files On-Demand experience, and the OneDrive folder location moved from [username] > OneDrive to Library > Cloud Storage > OneDrive. A shortcut or alias is also created in the previous location. That matches the change being seen from OneDrive.noindex to Cloud Storage.

For opening synced files now, use Finder and browse to Library > Cloud Storage > OneDrive, or use the OneDrive alias created in the old location.

For the old OneDrive.noindex content, the supported guidance in the available documentation is that the previous location may contain an alias/shortcut, and in some cases older folders from a previous OneDrive version can be removed when Finder shows a Delete banner for that folder in /Library/CloudStorage. The documentation does not provide a general instruction to manually delete all folders in OneDrive.noindex.

A safe path is:

Open OneDrive from Spotlight.
Confirm new files appear under Library > Cloud Storage > OneDrive.
If OneDrive prompts that a folder already exists after sign-in, select Use this folder.
If there are signs of two OneDrive versions, open the OneDrive cloud icon in the menu bar, use Show in Finder, inspect the OneDrive folders in /Library/CloudStorage, and only use Delete where Finder explicitly shows that option for an old folder.
If needed, open OneDrive Preferences > Account > Unlink this Mac, then sign in again. The documentation states no data will be lost; the Mac is only disconnected briefly.

If Desktop and Documents backup is involved, OneDrive on macOS requires the standalone sync app rather than the Mac App Store app, and Full Disk Access must be enabled in System Preferences > Security & Privacy Preferences > Privacy.