To keep frequently used folders, disks, and files within reach, add them to Finder’s Favorites and show only the built-in sidebar items you use. Open Finder, reveal the sidebar if needed, then drag a folder or disk into Favorites. The sidebar entry is an alias: adding or removing it does not move or delete the original item. Apple’s guide to customizing the Finder sidebar

What belongs in the Finder sidebar?

Use Favorites for a short list of destinations you open directly: for example, an active project folder, a shared working folder, or a frequently used external disk. The sidebar is designed for quick access to locations. If you need to find files scattered across several folders by category, tags may fit better: clicking a tag in the sidebar shows items with that tag, wherever they are stored. Apple explains sidebar shortcuts and tags

A useful rule of thumb is to pin a location when you often navigate to that folder itself. Use a tag when you want to gather individual files and folders that share a label. These are different ways of finding things; tagging does not relocate the item, and a sidebar favorite does not create a new folder or duplicate its contents.

Show the sidebar and Favorites

Open a Finder window by clicking Finder in the Dock. If the left sidebar is missing, choose View > Show Sidebar from the menu bar, or press Control-Command-S. The same shortcut hides it again. If the menu item is dimmed, Apple says to choose View > Show Toolbar first. Apple’s troubleshooting guide

If the sidebar is present but Favorites is absent, move the pointer over the Favorites heading and click the arrow that appears to show the section. A section can be collapsed without its contents being removed. To show or hide default items such as Documents, Downloads, or iCloud Drive, open Finder > Settings > Sidebar and select or clear the relevant checkboxes. Apple notes those checkboxes control default sidebar entries; they do not restore a custom favorite that was removed. Apple’s instructions for missing sidebar items

Add a folder or disk to Favorites

In a Finder window, locate the folder or disk you want to keep handy. Drag its icon into the Favorites section of the sidebar, and release when it appears in the position you want. If Favorites is not available, first enable at least one Favorites item in Finder > Settings > Sidebar; Apple documents that this makes the section available for adding items. Apple’s customization steps

The item remains in its original location. The new sidebar entry is a link to it, so you can use it to navigate without changing the folder’s place in the file system. Reordering the entry is also a sidebar-only change: drag it to a new position among the other items. Apple describes sidebar items as aliases

For example, if you open a particular project folder repeatedly, add that folder—not merely its parent—to Favorites. Keep a parent folder instead when you routinely need to browse several sibling folders. This is a practical choice based on the navigation you do; Finder does not automatically infer which folder should be pinned.

Add an individual file, remove an entry, or tidy the list

To add a file directly to Favorites, hold the Command key while dragging it to the section. Apple also documents Command-dragging an app icon there. To remove any custom entry, drag its icon out of the sidebar until the remove indicator appears. This removes the shortcut only; the original file, folder, or disk stays where it is. Apple’s sidebar instructions

For a less crowded sidebar, remove destinations you rarely open and drag the remaining entries into a useful order. You can also resize the sidebar by dragging the divider between it and the Finder window. To temporarily hide a whole section, point to its heading and click the hide arrow; click the show arrow later to reveal its items again. These controls change what is visible, not the location or contents of your files. Apple’s guide to sidebar appearance

When tags are a better shortcut

A favorite points to one location. A tag can collect files and folders from different locations. To show a tag in the sidebar, choose Finder > Settings > Tags and select the checkbox beside it. To assign a tag, select an item in Finder, use the Tag button in the toolbar, or Control-click the item and choose a tag. Clicking the tag in the sidebar then shows items carrying it. Apple’s tag instructions

Use tags when the task is “show me all the items marked for review,” for example, and Favorites when the task is “open this working folder.” Apple also supports Smart Folders for automatically collecting files that match criteria you set; they present matching items together without moving the originals. That can be useful when a saved search is more appropriate than a static folder link. Apple’s Finder overview

Restore a missing item

If a default item such as Downloads disappears, check Finder > Settings > Sidebar and turn it back on. If the entire sidebar is hidden, use View > Show Sidebar or Control-Command-S. If only Favorites or another section’s contents are missing, hover over its heading and click the arrow to expand it. Apple’s troubleshooting guide

If a custom favorite was removed, return to its original location in Finder and drag it back into Favorites. The default-item checkboxes do not bring back custom entries. If the original folder or disk itself has moved or is unavailable, the sidebar link may no longer take you to the intended destination; locate the item’s current location and add that item again. The shortcut is only as useful as the destination it points to.

Keep the list useful over time

A small Favorites list is easier to scan than one that tries to represent every project or file. Keep stable, repeatedly used destinations there; remove a shortcut when it stops being useful, knowing that removal does not delete the underlying item. For items that cross folder boundaries, use a tag or a Smart Folder instead of adding many individual locations.

Wallo’s Mac workflow library focuses on organizing existing open windows and to-dos locally by goal, with keyboard focusing. It does not provide Finder sidebar controls; use Finder’s documented settings and drag-and-drop actions to manage these locations. Once Favorites contains the destinations you actually revisit, the sidebar becomes a practical navigation list rather than another place to maintain a full filing system.

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