How to Customize Folder and External Drive Icons on Your Mac
macOS is powerful, polished — and sometimes a little too tidy.
If you’ve ever wanted your folders or external hard drives to feel more you, this guide shows exactly how to customize icons on your Mac. From simple image swaps to clean, transparent icons made in Preview, this is one of those “why not?” tricks that makes your Mac feel personal.
🎓 What You’ll Learn
• How to change folder and external drive icons on macOS
• The fastest ways to access file information
• How to remove image backgrounds using Instant Alpha
• Why PNG and TIFF formats matter for icons
• How to extract icons from built-in macOS apps
• Practical ideas for organizing folders visually
👀 Quick Look: Preview Files Instantly
Quick Look is one of the most underrated macOS features.
Select any file and press the Spacebar to instantly preview it — no app required. It works for images, PDFs, videos, and more, making it perfect for quickly choosing icon images.
ℹ️ How to Get Info on Files and Folders
To change an icon, you’ll need the Get Info window.
You can open it by:
• Right-clicking a file or folder → Get Info
• Selecting it and pressing Command + I
• Using the File → Get Info menu
In the top-left corner of this window is the icon itself — this is where the magic happens.
✂️ Removing Backgrounds with Instant Alpha
Using Preview, you can remove backgrounds from images without installing anything.
1. Open an image in Preview
2. Click Markup
3. Select Instant Alpha
4. Click and drag over the background color
5. Press Delete
macOS will prompt you to convert the file to a format that supports transparency — say yes.
🎯 Custom Selections for Precise Icons
If Instant Alpha removes too much:
• Use Rectangular Selection
• Use Elliptical Selection (hold Shift for perfect circles)
• Use Lasso Selection for freeform shapes
Once selected:
• Edit → Copy
• Paste directly onto a folder icon via Get Info
🖼️ Exporting Images with Transparency (Alpha Channel)
Not all image formats support transparent backgrounds.
Best formats for icons:
• PNG
• TIFF
Avoid:
• JPEG (no transparency support)
In Preview:
1. Choose File → Export
2. Select PNG or TIFF
3. Ensure Alpha (transparency) is enabled
🧰 Using Built-In macOS App Icons
You can reuse icons from macOS itself.
Steps:
1. Open Get Info on any app (like Photos)
2. Click the icon in the top-left
3. Press Command + C
4. Open Preview → File → New from Clipboard
5. Export as PNG
You now have a high-quality icon ready for customization.
⚠️ Notes About External Drives & Time Machine
• External drives can be customized just like folders
• Some Time Machine drives may resist icon changes depending on macOS version
• If an icon won’t change — it’s not you, it’s macOS
🎨 Why Bother Customizing Icons?
Because:
• Visual organization is faster than reading names
• Custom icons reduce mistakes with external drives
• Your Mac should feel like your Mac
Also… because you can.
🧠 Final Thoughts
This is a small customization with a big personality payoff.
Once you start labeling folders with meaningful visuals — faces, symbols, or colors — navigating your Mac becomes quicker, clearer, and more enjoyable.
And honestly?
Your Mac deserves a little flair.