I've been poking around Catalina for the last month or so on a 2012 MacBook Pro that I keep around for testing. I didn't do much with it however, just set up some programs to make sure they would work. All went well so I purchased a 2020 Mac Mini and am in the process of actually using it. I'm aware of the double drives, Mac HD and Mac HD-Data. My question is, what are considered the best practices for setting up files and folders? For the last couple of decades I've kept various files organized in folders in Mac HD. In Catalina, the permissions for Mac HD don't allow that. It looks like perhaps I could change the permissions to what I'm used to (I haven't tried it yet) but I assume that's not the preferred way of doing things. Should I create a folder on the Desktop and use that to store files the way I've always done in the past in Mac HD? Or, is there's a proper way to do this in Catalina that I'm not aware of? I'm not a newbie but could use a little help getting started with the different way Catalina operates. Thanks.
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New Catalina User-Best Practices for Data Folders
- Thread starter Daverich4
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Where on the file system are you looking to store things? Your user's Home Directory should have free permissions which is the expected location for storing data, similar to how things are on Linux, though not at /home but /Users
Do you mean right at the root level of the boot drive? Generally MacOS expects (as casperes1996 points out) that your files will all be stored inside your home folder -- otherwise any other user on the machine would be able to see your files.
The root file system is on the read-only OS Volume in Catalina. It is not just a matter of changing some permissions to get access to it. And with Big Sur coming, Apple locks down the root file system even more with Signed System Volume.
There are several places you can store your files depending on the need. On your home folder there are several pre-existing folders such as Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Movies, Music, Pictures. There is the /Users/Shared folder, if you have files that is shared between multiple user accounts. On an external hard drive if you have a large volume of media such as music or photos. There is also cloud storage that you can use such as iCloud Files, Dropbox, etc.
There are several places you can store your files depending on the need. On your home folder there are several pre-existing folders such as Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Movies, Music, Pictures. There is the /Users/Shared folder, if you have files that is shared between multiple user accounts. On an external hard drive if you have a large volume of media such as music or photos. There is also cloud storage that you can use such as iCloud Files, Dropbox, etc.
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Thanks for all of the replys. It was kind of a silly question, I'm just not used to Mac HD being locked down and have always kept files not associated with any programs there. I wasn't sure if Apple had any intended alternative to that and apparently they don't. I'll just put a folder on the desktop and use that as a storage spot. Thanks again.
The root of the file system has never really been intended as a place for storing data, on OS X or any Unix for that matter; And I don't think Windows either. Within the root of your home folder you can create your folder structures