Skip to main content
Participant
March 2, 2022
Answered

Premiere Pro automatically saving files to iCloud Drive

  • March 2, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 1050 views

Hello! Whenever I open up the application, Premiere Pro automatically saves my files and creates a new folder in iCloud Drive on my Mac. I would love it if it could save directly on my laptop instead of that. How can I fix that?

Correct answer Sumeet Kumar Choubey

Hi latasha_9923,

Premiere Pro requires access to the user documents directory to work properly. This is needed to save the preferences for that user profile. The location to save overall app preferences can't be changed. These preference files are not huge and should not take up a lot of storage. However, you can customize the location where the Media Cache files and Media Cache database are saved. Also, the location for Scratch Disks files can be changed manually from documents to any location of your choice. You can access this by navigating to File > Project Settings > Scratch Disks. Hope it helps. Let us know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks,

Sumeet

3 replies

MyerPj
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 26, 2025

Hi @latasha_9923 ,

 

@Sumeet Kumar Choubey has it correct, the basic files that go into documents are not large, and you can put your projects and media files anywhere you like. As far as iCloud goes, that seems more like an Apple issue. Make sure your scratch disk files and especially the cache is on a fast drive.

Participant
May 26, 2025

I am having this same issue in 2025. I've moved my Adobe folder to my external hard drive. I've changed the location for saving, auto saving, and cache files. I delete the folder from Documents directory. But every time i open PP it recreates the folder in that location. I've tried disabling PP access to my Documents folder but then it won't open unless I give it permission to access the folder. This is causing issues with using my sequeunce and export presets and also taking up a lot of storage in my iCloud.  

Any updates on fixing this?

Sumeet Kumar ChoubeyCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
Community Manager
May 26, 2025

Hi latasha_9923,

Premiere Pro requires access to the user documents directory to work properly. This is needed to save the preferences for that user profile. The location to save overall app preferences can't be changed. These preference files are not huge and should not take up a lot of storage. However, you can customize the location where the Media Cache files and Media Cache database are saved. Also, the location for Scratch Disks files can be changed manually from documents to any location of your choice. You can access this by navigating to File > Project Settings > Scratch Disks. Hope it helps. Let us know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks,

Sumeet

caroline_edits
Community Manager
Community Manager
March 2, 2022

Hi there! When you create a new project in Premiere Pro, the second option on the window that appears says "Location." That should help you choose where your project file is stored. If you've already created a project that you're working on, you can use the toolbar at the top to go to File>Save As and choose a new save location.

 

Let us know if this answers your question, happy to help! 

Participant
May 26, 2025

I am having this same issue in 2025. I've moved my Adobe folder to my external hard drive. I've changed the location for saving, auto saving, and cache files. I delete the folder from Documents directory. But every time i open PP it recreates the folder in that location. I've tried disabling PP access to my Documents folder but then it won't open unless I give it permission to access the folder. This is causing issues with using my sequeunce and export presets and also taking up a lot of storage in my iCloud.