How to Make Apps Reappear in macOS Applications After Moving Them

 

If you move apps to an external drive, they will disappear from the Applications folder. This is expected behavior. The fix is simple.

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Why Apps Disappear

macOS only shows apps that physically exist in:

/Applications

Once you move an app elsewhere, macOS no longer lists it.

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Correct Way to Show Apps Again (Best Method)

Create symbolic links from /Applications to the app’s new location.

A symbolic link makes macOS think the app is still in Applications, even though it runs from another drive.

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Step-by-Step (Batch Method)

1. Put your apps on the external drive, for example:

            /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Applications

2. Open Terminal

3. Run this command:

for app in "/Volumes/ExternalDrive/Applications/"*.app; do

  ln -s "$app" /Applications/

done

👉 Replace ExternalDrive with your actual drive name.

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What This Does

• Creates links for all apps at once

• Apps instantly reappear in Applications

• No need to move apps back

• Works with Spotlight and Launchpad

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If Terminal Looks “Stuck” (>)

Press:

Ctrl + C

Then re-run the command.

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Alias vs Symbolic Link

• Finder alias ❌ (less reliable)

• ln -s symbolic link ✅ (system-level, recommended)

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Result

Your apps:

• Appear in Applications

• Launch normally

• Still live on the external drive