Finding the path of a file means the address of the directory where the file is located on your computer. For mac users, there are certain situations where you need the full path of a file. To find the path of a file on a Mac there are several different ways, one of the easiest ways to find the path is to open the Mac terminal now drag and drop the file in the terminal. The other ways to get the information about the path of a file on Mac OS X Mountain, Lion, Catalina and Mojave are mentioned in this post as well. To paste the path of a file on Mac you can press Command + V.

A copied full path of a file on a Mac would look something like this.

/Users/UserName/Desktop/Bello.zip

/Users/UserName/Download/Hello.txt

1. Copy file path from Mac Context Menu

Another easy way to copy the path of a file or folder on macOS is mentioned below, also it is very much similar to the Shift+RIght click keyboard shortcut method on Windows.

1. Select the file or folder whose full path you would like to know.
2. Right-click on the folder, when the context menu pops up press and hold the option key from the keyboard.
3. Copy “File-name” as pathname option will appear right in the context menu itself.
4. Now, all you have to do is just click on it and it will copy the full path of the file or folder to the clipboard.

2. Find File Paths Via Get Info Option

This option is similar to the properties option in Windows. macOS has an option called get Info in the context menu. With the help of this option, you can get all the information like file name, file type, file size, and file location about that particular file or folder on your Mac.

• First, select the file or folder you want to know about.
• Now right-click on that file or folder and from the context menu select the Get Info option.
• The infobox will pop-up.
• Now in this list of information find the column that says “Where” right beside it you will be able to see the full path of that file or folder.

3. Copy File path via Go to Folder

The third method to copy file path is using the Finder of your Mac.

1. Open Finder on your Mac.
2. Click on the Go option on the taskbar of your Mac.
3. Now, select the Go to Folder option.
4. A new pop-up box will appear saying Go to folder.
5. Next, you have to drag the file or folder from which you want to copy the path, drop it into the input field that says enter a path.
6. The full path of that file must be visible to you inside the Go to the folder dialogue box.
7. Simply, press Command + C to copy the path of the file in your clipboard. Now, you can paste the full path of that file or folder anywhere you want.

4. Find the Path of a File in Mac Terminal

Terminals are basically used to execute commands be it on any platform. but on Mac OS you can also use it to find the path of a file or folder. below we have written down the steps on how to get the path of a file or folder using mac terminal. This method comes in handy if you need to type the full path of a file on a command line.

1. Open Finder >> Go >> Utilities.
2. Now, Launch the terminal App.
3. Drag and drop the file or folder in the terminal window of which you want to find the full path.
4. Right after you have dropped the file or the folder into the terminal window, it will instantly show you the full path of that file. In case the file you have dropped is located on the desktop, then it will show the desktop path.
5. use your cursor to highlight the path written and then copy it using the Command + C key combination from your keyboard and then it will be copied on your clipboard through which you can paste it wherever you want to.

5. Create ‘Copy path’ Quick Action in Automator

This is one of the complex methods to find the path of a file or folder on a Mac. As you will be required to create an Automator service using the Copy to clipboard feature on macOS. However, once you are done creating the Automator feature, you will always have a copy file path option in the context menu for all the files and folders. This option will be permanently available in your mac’s context menu. So it’s like putting in efforts for once and then you can use this handy feature every time you need to copy the complete path of a file or folder.

below we have a detailed tutorial on how to create the Automator service that can create the copy path service easily.

1. First, you need to launch the Automator app on your Mac.
   • Click on the File tab in the Finder screen and then type Automator in the search box.
   • Alternatively, click on GO > Utilities and then search for Automator.
2. Now, on the net screen select Quick Action and click on Choose to create a new service.
3. Type Copy to Clipboard in the search input box.
4. Drag Copy to clipboard into the right window pane.
5. Next, you have to configure the 2 options under Service receives selected as files or Folders and Finder.
6. To complete, click on File >> Save and save your Automation created service as “Copy Path” or “Copy path to clipboard”.

To test this Automation feature you can open finder and then go to any of the folder or files, right-click on the file or the folder, you must see a new option in the context menu under Quick Action > Copy Path. Now, if you will click this option it will directly copy the path of that folder or file into your clipboard.

Conclusion

If you will be using any of the methods mentioned above to copy the path of a file or folder, you won’t need to type the desktop path or download the folder path of a file manually. Instead of every time using the terminal app on your Mac to find and copy the path of a file or folder, use and create the Automator service, which will be there permanently in the context menu of your mac.