How to Add a Location Bar to Finder on macOS

Finder does not have a text-entry address bar like some file managers, but macOS gives you three useful ways to see or use a location. Turn on the Path Bar to see clickable folders at the bottom of a Finder window. To put a full POSIX path such as /Users/alex/Documents/Projects in the window title, use a hidden Finder preference in Terminal. To copy a file or folder path, use Finder’s built-in Copy as Pathname command. These options solve different tasks, so start with the one you need.

Show the Path Bar at the bottom of Finder

The Path Bar is the simplest answer if you want to see where the open folder sits in your drive. It shows each parent folder as a clickable segment, so you can move up the hierarchy without opening a separate dialog.

1. Open a Finder window and select it so Finder is the active app.
2. In the menu bar, choose View > Show Path Bar. If the menu instead says Hide Path Bar, the bar is already enabled.

The path appears along the bottom edge of the window. Click a folder segment to show that folder’s subfolders in the window. The bar is a navigation control, not a field where you can type or edit a path. Apple also notes that holding Option can reveal the Path Bar momentarily. Apple’s Finder guide to file and folder information describes the Path Bar and its pathname actions.

For example, click Documents in the chain to return to that parent folder. This is often faster than navigating backward repeatedly, especially when you have opened several nested folders.

You can also Control-click a folder segment in the Path Bar and choose Copy “[folder]” as Pathname. That copies the selected folder’s full path to the clipboard. This is handy when a support form or Terminal command needs a folder location.

Show the full path in the Finder window title

If by “location bar” you mean a full slash-separated path across the top of the window, Finder has no switch for it in System Settings. A longstanding, undocumented Finder preference can display the current folder’s POSIX path in the title area instead. Apple does not document this preference in its current Finder guide, so Apple could change its behavior in a future macOS release. It is a display preference; it does not rename, move, or edit your files.

Turn on the title-bar path

1. Open Terminal. You can find it in Applications > Utilities, or press Command-Space, type Terminal, and open the Terminal app result.

2. Enter this command, then press Return:

defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool YES

3. Restart Finder so it reloads the preference:

killall Finder

Finder should relaunch automatically. Its title area will show the current folder’s full path instead of only the folder name. The path is informational; you cannot click it to move through folders or select it to copy. Keep the Path Bar enabled as well if you want clickable navigation at the bottom.

Restore the default title

To remove the path from Finder’s title area, change YES to NO and restart Finder again:

defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool NO
killall Finder

Copy a file path or jump to a folder

You do not need a separate utility just to copy a pathname. In Finder, select or right-click a file or folder while holding the Option key. Choose Copy “[item name]” as Pathname from the contextual menu, then paste it into a document, message, or Terminal window. Apple documents this built-in method in its Terminal guide to specifying files and folders.

If you already have a path and want Finder to open it, choose Go > Go to Folder or press Shift-Command-G, paste the path, and press Return. Apple’s Go to Folder instructions also explain how to enter a pathname directly.

Which Finder path option should you use?

• See and navigate parent folders: turn on the Path Bar.
• Keep the complete folder path visible at the top: use the Terminal preference, remembering that it is undocumented.
• Copy a path: use Copy as Pathname from a file’s contextual menu or a Path Bar segment.
• Open a known path: use Go to Folder.

The older advice to install FinderPath for basic path copying is unnecessary on current macOS: Finder already provides a native pathname command. The Path Bar and title display are also independent, so you can use either one—or both—depending on whether you want clickable navigation or a persistent text path.