Change where new Finder windows open on Mac

New Finder windows open to Recents out of the box, but that's just the default — you can send them to your Home folder, Desktop, Documents, iCloud Drive, the Computer level, or any folder you name. Here's the full menu of choices, the trade-offs of each, and how to set your pick in Finder Settings or from the Terminal.

Set the location in Finder Settings

1. Make Finder active (click the desktop or any Finder window), then choose Finder → Settings from the menu bar.
2. Stay on the General tab and find New Finder windows show.
3. Click the dropdown and choose a location. The change applies instantly — press Cmd-N to see it.

The steps are identical on macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia; only the wording "Settings" versus the older "Preferences" differs. The choice affects new windows only, so anything already open stays put.

What each choice gives you

• Recents — the default. A live list of recently used files pulled from everywhere. Good for picking up where you left off, poor as a place to organise into.
• Home — the root of your account, holding Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, and your own folders. The most common "one stable base" choice.
• Desktop — handy if you keep active work on the desktop and want windows to mirror it.
• Documents — best if that's where nearly everything you create lives.
• iCloud Drive — sensible when your working files sync across devices rather than sitting locally.
• Computer — the top level, showing your drives and connected volumes. Useful if you juggle external disks or network shares.
• Other… — browse to any folder at all, such as a single project directory or your Downloads folder.

Do it from the Terminal

Finder stores the target as a short code under the NewWindowTarget key. These four codes cover the most-used built-in locations:

# PfHm = Home · PfDe = Desktop · PfCm = Computer
defaults write com.apple.finder NewWindowTarget -string "PfHm"
killall Finder

# Undo — restore the default (Recents)
defaults delete com.apple.finder NewWindowTarget
killall Finder

Swap PfHm for PfDe or PfCm to target the Desktop or Computer level. For a folder that isn't on this list — Documents, iCloud Drive, or one of your own — use the Other… option in the dropdown above, which also accepts a custom path. The killall Finder restart is harmless; Finder just relaunches, and the delete command returns everything to stock.

Check which target is currently set

To see where new windows point right now, read the key back in Terminal:

# Prints the current target code (or an error if it's the default)
defaults read com.apple.finder NewWindowTarget

Decode the result against the codes above: PfHm is Home, PfDe Desktop, PfCm Computer, and PfLo a custom folder — in which case defaults read com.apple.finder NewWindowTargetPath shows the exact file:// location. If the command reports that the key "does not exist," nothing has overridden the default, so new windows open to Recents. This is handy when a Mac's behaviour doesn't match your memory of setting it, or when you're auditing a machine you set up a while ago — one read tells you the truth without opening Finder Settings.

Reading the key is also the fastest way to copy a setup between Macs: note the value on the machine you like, then run the matching defaults write on the others. It's the same one-line change whether you're configuring a single Mac or a whole desk of them, with no menus to click through on each one.

Match new tabs to new windows

New Finder tabs follow the same target as new windows, so setting this once keeps both consistent. If you lean on tabs to compare folders, see how Finder tabs work on Mac for merging windows and reordering tabs.