How do I change a folder's color on Mac without Preview?

On macOS 26 or later, Control-click the folder, choose Customize Folder, and click a color. A color tag works too. Preview is only needed on macOS 15 and earlier, or for a shade the built-in colors don't offer.

Why does my folder show a colored dot after I changed its color?

Picking a color in Customize Folder also adds the matching color tag, according to reports on Apple's community forums. The dot is that tag. Removing the tag removes the color as well.

Can I change folder colors on macOS Sequoia?

Not with a built-in setting. Customize Folder, tag tints and the Folder color setting arrived in macOS 26. On Sequoia, recolor the icon in Preview and paste it in Get Info, or use an app.

Do folder colors show on my other devices?

Other Macs on macOS 26 or later show them, since the color and symbol travel with the folder, including through iCloud Drive. Macs on older versions don't show the customization fully.

Guide

How to change folder color on Mac

On macOS 26 or later, Control-click a folder, choose Customize Folder, and click a color. To change every folder at once, pick a Folder color in Appearance settings. On older versions of macOS there’s no color setting, so you recolor the folder’s icon in Preview and paste it back.

By Chris at Neon FrenchieUpdated October 29, 2026Checked on macOS 27.0.1 on October 20, 2026

Change one folder’s color (macOS 26 or later)

Apple added folder colors, symbols and emoji in macOS Tahoe 26, and they work the same way on macOS 27.

In Finder or on the desktop, Control-click the folder and choose Customize Folder….
Click one of the colored circles.
Optionally, pick a symbol from the list, or click Emoji and choose one to show on the front of the folder.

You can customize your Home folder, but not the folders that come with your Mac, such as Applications, Library, System and Users.

Color folders with tags

Since macOS 26, a color tag tints the folder itself, not just a dot beside its name. It’s the quickest way to color several folders at once, and tags are searchable and listed in the Finder sidebar.

Select one or more folders and Control-click them.
Click a color above Tags. Its name shows as you move the pointer over it.

Control-1 to Control-7 add or remove your favorite tags from the keyboard, and Control-0 removes every tag from the selection. If a folder has more than one color tag, it shows only one color. To keep tags as dots without coloring folders, open Finder, then Settings, then Tags and turn off Tint folders based on tags.

Change the color of every folder

Open System Settings, then Appearance and choose a Folder color. It changes the color of folder icons throughout Finder. If Icon & widget style is set to Tinted, the same choice is called Icon, widget & folder color and colors icons and widgets as well.

On macOS 15 or earlier: recolor the icon in Preview

Before macOS 26 there was no folder color setting. The workaround is to copy the folder’s icon, tint it in Preview and paste it back. It also works on newer versions when you want a shade the color circles don’t offer.

Select the folder and choose File, then Get Info. Click the small folder icon at the top of the Info window, then choose Edit, then Copy.
Open Preview and choose File, then New from Clipboard.
Choose Tools, then Adjust Color…. Drag the Tint, Temperature and Saturation sliders until the folder is the color you want, then close the panel.
Choose Edit, then Select All, then Edit, then Copy.
In the folder’s Info window, click the small icon again and choose Edit, then Paste.

Preview has no hue slider, so some colors are hard to reach from the standard blue. The result is a custom icon, the same kind you get by pasting any picture onto a folder. Our guide to changing a folder icon on Mac covers that in more depth, and if the new icon doesn’t show up, see when Finder won’t update a folder icon.

Put a folder back to normal

A color tag: Control-click the folder and remove the tag, or press Control-0 to remove all its tags. According to reports on Apple’s community forums, this also clears a color picked in Customize Folder, since choosing one adds the matching tag.
A pasted icon: select the folder, choose File, then Get Info, click the small icon at the top and choose Edit, then Cut.

One catch: if a folder already has a custom icon, adding a symbol or emoji in Customize Folder asks to remove that icon first (Remove and Customize or Keep Current Icon), and Finder warns that you can’t undo it.

Folder color apps

Apps can do in one click what Preview does in five steps, with more colors. One that many people look for by name is Folder Colorizer from Softorino. Its Mac App Store version, Folder Colorizer Pro, costs $3.99 and needs macOS 11 or later; it colors folders and can add emoji, decals and images. Softorino also offers a version on its own site that’s free to try.

Folders that match your wallpaper, with MacScapes

MacScapes approaches folder color from the wallpaper: its folder icons take their colors from the same palettes as its live wallpapers, so your folders can match the scene on your desktop. There are 70 patterns, from a plain Classic folder in one color to stripes, checks and dots, and you can add one of 50 symbols on top.

In MacScapes, open Folder Icons.
Pick a pattern and a palette. The palette starts as your current vibe’s, so the icon matches what’s on screen.
Click Apply to Folders… and choose the folders, or drop them onto the window.

Apply Inside a Folder… gives every folder inside one folder the icon, including folders you add there later (while MacScapes is running, or the next time it opens). Every folder you change is listed in the pane, where Reset to Standard Icon puts it back. Eight patterns are free, including Classic, and work with the 11 free palettes; the rest need MacScapes Pro. See folder icons for every pattern.