Change mac mail storage location
By default, macOS Mail stores its data in the ~/Library/Mail
folder. However, you can change the storage location to a different directory on your Mac. Here's how:
Method 1: Using the Mail app
- Open the Mail app on your Mac.
- Go to Mail > Preferences (or use the keyboard shortcut
Command +,
). - Click on the Accounts tab.
- Select an account from the list on the left.
- Click on the Advanced tab.
- Click on the Change button next to Mailbox.
- Select a new location from the dropdown menu or enter a custom path.
- Click OK to save the changes.
Method 2: Using the Terminal
- Open the Terminal app on your Mac.
- Type the following command and press Enter:
defaults write com.apple.mail MailboxPath /path/to/new/location
- Replace
/path/to/new/location
with the actual path you want to use (e.g.,/Users/yourusername/Mail
). - Press Enter to save the changes.
Method 3: Using the Finder
- Open the Finder app on your Mac.
- Go to ~/Library/Mail (or the current location of your Mail data).
- Drag the entire
Mail
folder to the new location you want to use (e.g.,Users/yourusername/Mail
). - Move the folder to the new location.
- Open the Mail app and go to Mail > Preferences (or use the keyboard shortcut
Command +,
). - Click on the Accounts tab.
- Select an account from the list on the left.
- Click on the Advanced tab.
- Click on the Change button next to Mailbox.
- Select the new location from the dropdown menu or enter the custom path.
- Click OK to save the changes.
After changing the storage location, your Mail data will be moved to the new location. Note that this may take some time, depending on the size of your Mail data.