# Getting Started

Install Folder for Mac, sign in with Apple and choose where your files live: on Folder, free with 5 GB, or in your own Cloudflare R2 buckets.

One question, one button, and the folder is in Finder.

## Install

Folder for Mac is on the [Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6819667588?mt=12&pt=128232389&ct=folder-web). It needs macOS 27 or later.

## Where Files Live

The first screen asks one question, Where Files Live, with two answers:

- On Folder: free, nothing to set up. Your files are stored by us, in the EU. See [folders on Folder](/docs/on-folder).
- In Your Cloudflare: R2 buckets you own. We never hold a file. See [your Cloudflare](/docs/your-cloudflare).

Either way you sign in with Apple. On Folder, a handle is suggested for your folder's address on the web, and the folder appears in Finder with a `start-here.md` in it.

A third kind needs no account at all: a folder [on this Mac](/docs/on-this-mac). Choose On This Mac on the first screen, or File › Add a Folder… (⌘N).

## Where the Folder Shows Up

- In Finder's sidebar, under Locations. See [in Finder](/docs/finder).
- In the Files app on iPhone and iPad.
- On the web at folder.dev, from any browser, once you sign in.

## What Works Where

| | On Folder | In Your Cloudflare | On This Mac |
|---|---|---|---|
| In Finder | Yes | Yes | Yes¹ |
| In the Files app on iPhone and iPad | Yes | Yes | No |
| On the web at folder.dev | Yes | Yes | No |
| Every overwrite and delete kept | Yes | Yes | Yes² |
| Finder tags on the web | Yes | Yes | No |
| Share links with a password or an expiry | Soon | Yes | No |
| Invites into someone's Finder | Soon | Yes | No |
| ChatGPT and Claude | Yes | Yes | No |
| Build folders kept out of Dropbox and Time Machine | No | No | Yes |

¹ A folder on this Mac is already in Finder; Folder's window lists it too.
² On this Mac, per Claude Code session or restore point.

## Invited to a Folder?

Open the link you were sent. See [invites](/docs/invites).

Source: https://folder.dev/docs/getting-started