The fastest way to color a folder on Mac

Open Finder and right-click the folder you want to color. Select Get Info from the menu. At the top of the window that opens, you'll see a small colored circle next to the folder icon. Click that circle, and a palette of seven colors appears: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and gray. Click the color you want, close the window, and the folder changes when ready.

That's the entire process. The folder stays that color until you change it again or remove the color by clicking the gray option. The color shows up in Finder views, on your desktop, and in any folder where that folder appears.

Key Takeaways

  • Right-click any folder, select Get Info, and click the colored circle next to the folder icon to pick from seven preset colors.
  • Mac offers only the built-in colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and gray—without third-party apps.
  • The color change takes effect when ready and shows up everywhere that folder appears in Finder.
  • You can remove a folder's color by selecting the gray option, which returns it to the default appearance.
  • Coloring folders works the same way on all recent macOS versions, including Monterey, Ventura, and Sonoma.

Where to find the color option in Get Info

When you open Get Info, the window shows several sections. The color circle is always at the very top, to the left of the folder name. On some Mac screens it's straightforward to miss because it's small, but it's always there in that top-left corner. If you don't see it, make sure you right-clicked the folder itself and not something inside the folder.

The Get Info window also shows file size, creation date, and permissions below the color option. You don't need to touch any of those to change the color—just click the circle and pick your shade.

Coloring multiple folders at once

If you want to color several folders the same shade, you can select them all before opening Get Info. Hold down Command and click each folder you want to color. Then right-click one of the selected folders and choose Get Info. The color palette appears, and when you pick a color, it applies to all selected folders at the same time.

This saves time if you're organizing a project with multiple related folders—for example, coloring all your client folders red or all your archive folders gray. The process is identical to coloring a single folder.

What the seven colors look like in different views

The colors appear the same whether you're looking at folders in icon view, list view, or column view. In icon view, the folder itself takes on the color. In list view and column view, the folder name appears next to a small colored dot. On your desktop, colored folders stand out clearly from the default gray ones.

The colors are bright enough to spot quickly but not so bright that they're hard to look at. If you're using a Mac with dark mode enabled, the colors adjust slightly to match the darker background, but they remain recognizable.

Removing a folder's color

To remove the color from a folder and return it to gray, right-click the folder, select Get Info, and click the colored circle again. This time, click the gray option at the end of the palette. The folder returns to its default appearance.

You can also remove color from multiple folders at once using the same method: select all the folders you want to change, open Get Info, and click gray in the color palette.

Why you might want to use folder colors

Coloring folders helps you organize your Mac visually without renaming anything or creating new folder structures. Many people use colors to separate work from personal files, to mark folders by project, or to flag folders they use frequently. A quick glance at your desktop or an open Finder window tells you what you're looking at.

Colors also work well alongside other Mac organization tools. You can color a folder and also add it to your Favorites in Finder, or color it and use Spotlight to search for it by name. The color is just one layer of organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use custom colors instead of the seven built-in ones?

No. macOS only offers the seven preset colors through the Get Info menu. Third-party apps exist that add custom colors, but the native Mac system is limited to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and gray. For most people, the built-in colors are enough to organize their files.

Do folder colors sync across my other Macs?

Folder colors do not sync through iCloud or any other Apple service. If you color a folder on your MacBook, that color won't appear on your iMac or Mac mini. You have to color folders separately on each Mac. The color is stored locally on that machine only.

Will coloring a folder affect how it backs up or transfers?

No. The color is metadata stored by macOS and doesn't change the folder's contents or how it behaves. When you back up your Mac, move a folder to an external drive, or send it to another person, the folder itself transfers normally. The color may or may not appear on the other Mac, depending on whether that Mac's system recognizes the color tag.

Can I color folders inside other folders the same way?

Yes. The process is identical whether the folder is on your desktop, in your Documents folder, or nested inside another folder. Right-click it, select Get Info, click the color circle, and pick your shade. The location doesn't matter.

What happens if I color a folder and then move it?

The color stays with the folder. If you drag a colored folder to a different location on your Mac, it keeps its color. The color is part of the folder's properties, so it moves along with the folder itself.