Adobe Illustrator Recovery File Location Mac Jun 2026

Because the Library folder is hidden by default on macOS, you cannot simply browse to it in Finder without a specific command. Use one of these two common paths depending on your version:

| Location | Path (adjust version & language) | |----------|----------------------------------| | Recovery Folder | ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator [Ver]/[Lang]/Recovery/ | | AutoSave Folder | ~/Documents/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator [Ver]/AutoSave/ | | System Temp | /private/tmp/ or /private/var/folders/ |

~/Library/Containers/com.adobe.illustrator/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery How to access these folders: Open Finder .

These files usually have the original name plus _recovered or a timestamp. adobe illustrator recovery file location mac

Adobe Illustrator recovery files are temporary files that are automatically saved by the software at regular intervals. These files contain your unsaved work and can be used to recover your project in case of a crash or unexpected closure.

Julian stared at his MacBook Pro, his breath caught in his throat. He had spent the last six hours crafting the intricate vector art for a high-profile client’s logo. He had gotten lost in the flow, the rhythm of adding anchor points and adjusting Bezier curves. In a moment of caffeine-deprived overconfidence, he had clicked "Don't Save" on a popup he barely read, right before the application decided to crash spectacularly.

Inside this folder, he found nothing today—because his file had successfully restored via the prompt. However, he learned that if the recovery fails or if the app crashes during the recovery process, Illustrator often dumps a copy of the data here. Because the Library folder is hidden by default

Julian realized a crucial detail. The Library folder is hidden by default on macOS. If he hadn't used the Go to Folder shortcut, he would have had to navigate to his Home folder and use Command + Shift + . (period) to toggle the visibility of hidden folders just to see the Library directory.

(Note: [Username] is your user name, and [Version] is your Illustrator version number, like 24, 25, 27, etc. The language folder en_US might differ based on your installation language.)

/Users/[Username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator [Version] Auto-Recovery/en_US/ Adobe Illustrator recovery files are temporary files that

He hesitated for a second, taking a deep breath. He restarted his Mac. He reopened Illustrator. A dialog box appeared: "Adobe Illustrator has detected an unexpected exit. Would you like to recover?"

To search here:

On a Mac, Adobe Illustrator recovery files are stored in the following location: