How to Access Files on Your Mac from Your iPhone

You need a file that's on your Mac, but you're not near it. Maybe it's a document you were working on, something in your Downloads folder, a photo, a project file. Whatever it is, it's sitting on your Mac and you need it on your phone right now.

There are a few ways to handle this. Here's a rundown of your options and which one works best depending on your situation.

Option 1: Cloud storage (if you set it up already)

If you use iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive and the file is already in a synced folder, you can just open it on your phone from the respective app. Fast, no setup required on the spot.

The catch is that this only works for files you already put in a synced folder. If the file is on your desktop, in a local folder, or anywhere outside your cloud storage, it won't be there. And if you haven't set up cloud storage ahead of time, this option isn't available to you in the moment.

Option 2: Access your Mac remotely and grab the file

This works for any file, anywhere on your Mac, whether you set anything up in advance or not (as long as you have Macky installed).

With Macky, you connect to your Mac from your iPhone and see its screen. Then you navigate to the file just like you would sitting at your desk. Find it in Finder, open it, and then get it to your phone however makes sense: email it to yourself, upload it to a cloud service, AirDrop it, whatever works.

It's a couple more steps than tapping a file in Dropbox, but it gets you any file on your Mac, not just the ones you thought to sync ahead of time.

Setting up Macky to access your Mac files

Step 1: Download the Mac host app

Get the app from macky.dev. It runs as a menu bar app in the background. Requires macOS 15 or later.

Step 2: Install the iPhone app

Download Macky from the App Store. Requires iOS 18 or later.

Step 3: Sign in with the same account on both

Create an account and sign in on both devices. Set a Master Password to protect your sessions.

Step 4: Connect and find your file

Open the iPhone app, tap your Mac, enter your Master Password, and you're looking at your Mac's screen. Navigate to wherever the file is, open it or move it somewhere accessible, then get it onto your phone.

Getting the file from your Mac to your iPhone

Once you've found the file on your Mac through Macky, here are the quickest ways to get it to your phone:

• Email it to yourself. Open the file in Mail on your Mac, send it to your own address, then open it on your iPhone from the Mail app.
• AirDrop it. Right-click the file in Finder, choose Share, and AirDrop it directly to your iPhone if you're in range.
• Upload to iCloud Drive or Dropbox. Drag the file into your cloud storage folder and it'll show up on your phone in seconds.
• Use a file transfer service. Drop it into a shared Google Drive folder, a Notion page, or anywhere else you can access from your phone.

When to use each approach

If you already use iCloud Drive or Dropbox and the file is in there, just use that. It's faster.

If the file is somewhere else on your Mac, or you want a reliable way to get any file without thinking about it in advance, Macky gives you full access to your Mac's entire file system. No planning ahead, no synced folders required.

Your Mac needs to be awake

For any remote access to work, your Mac can't be asleep. If it's likely to sleep before you need to connect, adjust the sleep timer in System Settings or use Amphetamine to keep it awake. Something to sort out before you leave, not after.

Pricing

Macky's free plan gives you 5-minute sessions with 1 Mac and 1 iPhone. Usually plenty for grabbing a file. Pro is $29 as a one-time payment and removes the session time limit, so you're not racing the clock if you need to dig around a bit.