How To Change Folder Color On Mac

Tips
1

I’m trying to customize my Mac desktop by changing specific folder colors so I can spot important project folders faster, but I can’t figure out how to do it with the current macOS options. Are there any built-in settings, shortcuts, or reliable third-party apps that let you change folder colors without messing up system performance or file organization?

2

Short answer. macOS does not let you change folder color directly with a built‑in option, but there is a workaround with custom icons. Here is the simple way.

  1. Make a colored folder image
    • Open Preview.
    • Go to File > New from Clipboard if you copied an icon, or File > New from File and pick a folder icon image, or any PNG.
    • If you want to recolor a default folder, do this:

    • In Finder, select any folder.
    • Press Command + I.
    • Click the small folder icon in the top left of the Info window.
    • Press Command + C to copy it.
    • Go to Preview, File > New from Clipboard.
      • In Preview, open the Markup toolbar.
      • Use Adjust Color.
      • Move the Hue and Saturation sliders until you get the color you want.
      • When it looks right, press Command + A to select the whole icon, then Command + C to copy.

  2. Apply it to a folder
    • In Finder, right click the target folder.
    • Click Get Info.
    • Click the small folder icon at the top left of the Info window.
    • Press Command + V.
    • The folder icon changes to your new color.

  3. Repeat faster
    • Once you have one good colored folder, use that as a “template” folder.
    • Copy its icon from Get Info, then paste onto other folders the same way.
    • You can keep a little “Icons” folder somewhere on your Mac with a blue, red, yellow set ready to go.

  4. If you want way less manual work
    Third party apps do this with fewer steps, and some add labels, symbols, etc. Popular ones people use:
    • Folder Colorizer for Mac
    • Foldery
    • Image2icon

    These usually let you pick a color from a palette, then apply it to multiple folders at once. Test with a couple of unimportant folders first, in case you do not like the style.

  5. Bonus quick‑spot trick in Finder
    Even if you color icons, also use Tags to mark priority:
    • Right click folder > Tags > pick a color label.
    • Then in Finder sidebar, click the Tag to see all related project folders grouped.

Between tags and colored icons, your important project folders stand out on the desktop and in Finder.

3

macOS is annoyingly stubborn about this. @kakeru covered the custom-icon trick really well, so I’ll skip repeating that recipe and add a few different angles.

  1. About “built‑in” options
    Strictly speaking, there is no proper built-in setting just for changing folder color globally. Apple wants you to use:
  • Tags (the colored dots / labels)
  • Smart folders / sidebar organization

So if what you want is fast visual scanning, a combo of tags + minimal icon tweaks is usually more practical than recoloring every folder manually.

  1. Make tags actually useful, not just dots
    Instead of random tag colors, treat them like a traffic light system:
  • Red: “Active sprint” or “this week’s projects”
  • Yellow: “Waiting / blocked”
  • Green: “Done but keep handy”

Then:

  • In Finder > Settings > Tags:
    • Hide colors you never use.
    • Put your 3 to 5 “work” tags at the top.
  • In Finder sidebar, keep only those tags visible.

Result: your important project folders show a strong colored circle and are one click away in the sidebar, even if you never mess with the folder icons at all.

  1. Use folder views to your advantage
    If your main pain is “desktop looks like a junkyard,” changing colors alone won’t really solve it. Try:
  • On the Desktop: View > Sort By > Tags (or Kind) so tagged stuff floats together.
  • In project folders: View > as Icons, then View > Show View Options:
    • Increase icon size.
    • Increase grid spacing.
    • Turn on “Show item info.”

Bigger icons + visible tags = easier to spot without wild recoloring.

  1. For less tedious icon work than @kakeru’s approach
    Their method is solid, but if you’re touching more than a few folders, it gets old fast. Alternative approaches that use similar mechanics without repeating the same steps:

  • Use one “master” icon file per color:

    • Create a single PNG for each color (red, yellow, purple, etc) in any image editor.
    • Use that same PNG in Preview to generate variations (slight tint, overlay text, etc).
    • Instead of copying from folders themselves, always copy from the PNG’s Preview window.
      That way, your template lives outside Finder, and you can version or update it later.

  • Create “category” icons instead of just colors:

    • For example:
      • Red folder with a tiny :warning: style symbol baked into the graphic.
      • Blue folder with subtle “DEV” text in the corner.
      • Green with “FIN” for finance.
    • Paste those onto folders like normal.
      You end up not just with color, but meaning at a glance.
  1. Smart folders as a power move
    If your real goal is “see important project folders fast,” color might actually be the least powerful solution:
  • Create a Smart Folder:
    • Finder > File > New Smart Folder.
    • Click the + button.
    • Set “Kind” to Folder.
    • Add more criteria: Tag is “Important” or Name contains “ClientX” etc.
    • Save that Smart Folder and pin it in the sidebar.

Now every time you tag or name a folder appropriately, it auto-appears in that one Smart Folder view. No hunting around the desktop at all.

  1. Mild disagreement with the “just use 3rd‑party apps” fix
    Those apps are convenient, sure, but they:
  • Often apply a style that doesn’t match Apple’s default aesthetic very well.
  • Sometimes store icons in slightly weird ways so when you migrate Macs or reset caches, they glitch and revert.

If you only need a few key folders to stand out, I’d honestly stick to:

  • Tags for quick priority scanning.
  • A small set of carefully designed custom icons for your top 5–10 project folders.
  • Smart folders / sidebar for actual workflow speed.

Color alone is nice eye candy, but a tiny bit of structure plus very limited custom icon use will help you find stuff way faster than trying to color every folder on the machine.