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Moving your whole home folder to an external drive: possible, but here is the safer way

macOS lets you point your account at a home folder on another drive. It works, but unplug the drive and your account breaks. What to move instead.

6 min read

On a 256 GB Mac with a 2 TB drive always plugged in, it is tempting to move everything. macOS does allow a home folder on another drive. It is also the move most likely to leave you unable to log in, so it is worth knowing both the method and the alternative.

Why it is risky

  • If the drive is not connected at login, macOS cannot find your home folder and signs you into an empty one. Your apps look reset.
  • Many apps assume the home folder is on the startup disk. Some sync, backup and security tools behave badly.
  • macOS updates and FileVault are designed around the internal disk.
  • On a laptop you take out of the house, it means carrying the drive everywhere.

The safer way: move the big folders only

Your home folder is mostly a few large things. Move those, and leave Library and the rest where they are.

FolderMove it by
Photos libraryCopy it to the drive, open it holding Option, set it as the System Photo Library
Movies and video projectsDrag the project folders across, open them from the drive
Music librarySee moving the Music library
Old Documents and archivesDrag across, check, then delete the originals
# What is large in your home folder
du -sh ~/* 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -10

Moving files to an external drive has the steps for each.

If you still want to move all of it

For a desktop Mac with a drive that never leaves, this is the supported method. Make a full Time Machine backup first.

  1. Create a second admin account in System Settings, Users and Groups, and log into it.
  2. Copy your home folder from /Users to the external drive, which must be APFS or Mac OS Extended. Use sudo ditto to keep permissions.
  3. In Users and Groups, Control-click your original account and choose Advanced Options.
  4. Change Home directory to the new location and restart.
  5. Log in to your account, check everything works, and only then delete the old home folder.
sudo ditto /Users/yourname /Volumes/External/Users/yourname

Common questions

Can I move my home folder to an external drive on a Mac?

Yes, through Advanced Options in Users and Groups. It works best on a desktop Mac with the drive always connected. On a laptop, move the large folders instead.

What happens if the external drive with my home folder is unplugged?

macOS cannot find your home folder at login and gives you an empty one. Your files are safe on the drive, but apps and settings will look reset until it is reconnected.

What is the safest way to free space from my home folder?

Move the large items, usually the Photos library, videos and old projects, to an external drive, and leave Library and settings on the Mac.

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