How to Change Folder Icons on Mac

The quickest way to change a folder icon on Mac

You can change any folder icon on your Mac in about 30 seconds using the Get Info window. Right-click the folder you want to change, select Get Info, click the small icon in the top-left corner of the window, and paste a new image. The system automatically converts the image to an icon and applies it to that folder only — the original folder stays unchanged.

This method works with any image file: PNG, JPG, GIF, or TIFF. You do not need special software or administrator access. If you want to undo the change, open Get Info again, click the icon, and press Delete.

Key Takeaways

Right-click any folder, choose Get Info, click the icon in the top-left corner, and paste an image to change it when ready.
You can use any image file — PNG, JPG, GIF, or TIFF — and the Mac converts it to a folder icon automatically.
Each folder gets its own icon; changing one folder does not affect others with the same name.
To remove a custom icon, open Get Info, click the icon, and press Delete to restore the default folder appearance.
Folder icons you create stay with the folder even if you move it to a different location on your Mac.

Step-by-step: changing a folder icon using Get Info

Open Finder and locate the folder you want to change. Right-click it and select Get Info from the menu. A window will open showing the folder's details.

At the very top of the Get Info window, you will see a small preview of the current folder icon. Click directly on that icon — it will highlight with a blue border. Now you can paste an image into it. If you have an image file open in Preview or another program, copy it (Command+C), then click the icon and paste (Command+V). If you do not have an image ready, you can drag an image file directly onto the icon instead.

The Mac will convert the image to fit the folder icon shape. Close the Get Info window, and the change takes effect when ready. The folder now displays your custom icon in Finder, on the desktop, and in any folder view.

Finding and preparing images to use as folder icons

You can use any image on your Mac as a folder icon. Search your Photos library, read images from the web, or use screenshots. Smaller images (under 512 pixels wide) work just as well as large ones, and the Mac scales them automatically.

If you want to use an image from the web, right-click it in your browser, select Save Image As, and save it to your Downloads folder or Desktop. Then open it in Preview, copy it, and paste it into the folder icon as described above. You can also drag image files directly from Finder onto the icon in the Get Info window — you do not have to copy and paste.

For best results, use images with clear, straightforward shapes. Detailed photographs can become hard to see at small sizes in Finder. Solid-color backgrounds and bold outlines tend to look clearer when the Mac shrinks them down to icon size.

Using emoji and symbols as folder icons

You can also use emoji as folder icons without needing an image file. Open the Emoji & Symbols panel on your Mac by pressing Control+Command+Space. Find an emoji you like, double-click it to copy it, then open Get Info for your folder and paste it into the icon.

The emoji will appear as a small colored symbol on your folder. This method is faster than finding an image file and works well for quick visual organization — for example, a camera emoji for a Photos folder or a document emoji for a Writing folder. The emoji scales to fit the icon space automatically.

Changing icons for multiple folders at once

If you want to explore the same icon to several folders, change the first folder as described above, then open Get Info for that folder again and copy the icon (click it, then Command+C). Open Get Info for each additional folder and paste the icon into it. This is faster than finding and pasting the image each time.

You can also create a folder template by customizing one folder completely, then duplicating it. The duplicate will have the same custom icon. This works well if you organize projects in similar folder structures and want them all to look the same.

Restoring the default folder icon

To remove a custom icon and return a folder to the standard Mac folder appearance, open Get Info for that folder, click the custom icon at the top, and press the Delete key. The icon will revert to the default gray folder when ready.

This does not affect the folder's contents or location — it only changes the visual appearance. You can change the icon back to something custom anytime by repeating the Get Info process.

Troubleshooting icon changes that do not appear

If you paste an image and the icon does not change, make sure you clicked directly on the small icon preview at the top of the Get Info window — not somewhere else in the window. The icon should highlight with a blue border when selected. If it does not highlight, click it again.

If the image still does not paste, try copying the image again. Some image formats or very large files can cause pasting to fail. Try a different image or a smaller version of the same image. If you are dragging an image file onto the icon instead of pasting, make sure you drag it directly onto the icon preview, not into the empty space below it.

After pasting, close the Get Info window completely. Sometimes the icon does not display until you close the window and refresh the Finder view. If the folder still shows the old icon, try pressing Command+Option+I to force Finder to refresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the icon for a folder inside another folder?

Yes. The Get Info method works for any folder anywhere on your Mac — inside other folders, on the desktop, in your Documents folder, or anywhere else. Right-click the folder, select Get Info, and follow the same steps. The custom icon stays with that folder no matter where you move it.

Will my custom folder icon show up on other Macs or when I share the folder?

Custom folder icons are stored on your Mac only. If you share the folder with another person or move it to a different Mac, the other user will see the default gray folder icon. The icon information does not travel with the folder itself — it is stored in your Mac's system files.

Can I use a folder icon from another app?

Yes, but you need to extract the image first. Many apps store their icons as image files inside the app bundle. Right-click an app in Applications, select Show Package Contents, and look for an Assets or Resources folder. You can copy image files from there and use them as folder icons. Not all apps organize their files this way, so you may need to search for the specific app's icon location.

What image formats work best for folder icons?

PNG, JPG, GIF, and TIFF all work. PNG is usually the best choice because it supports transparent backgrounds, which can look cleaner on your desktop. The Mac automatically converts any of these formats to the icon size and shape it needs, so you do not have to resize or prepare the image yourself.

Can I change the icon for the Applications folder or other system folders?

You can change the icon for most folders, but some system folders (like Applications, Library, or System) may require administrator access or may revert the change after a system update. For regular folders you create yourself, there are no restrictions. If you want to customize a system folder and Get Info does not let you change the icon, your user account may not have permission to modify it.

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