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Please tell me where should the Photos App System Photo Library reside on my MAC? I can see all the photos I've taken in my iCloud online account, but not on my MAC. Same thing with photos I've taken are accessible on my iPhone, in my iCloud online account, but not on my MAC. I accidentally moved the Photos App Photos Library file and need to move it back to where it belongs so my MAC Photos App can access those photos.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.1
See this document: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
By default your Photos Library is in the Pictures folder in your user home folder. You can keep the library also on an external volume, but this volume must not have been used for Time Machine backups. It should have a wired connection and must not be a network share. You can keep your library in any folder rin your user home folder, but not in any folder that is synced with a cloud service. Do not move the library into a dropbox or onto iCloud Drive or Google Drive or similar.
See: Where is it safe to store a Photos Library - 2019 Version
See this document: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
By default your Photos Library is in the Pictures folder in your user home folder. You can keep the library also on an external volume, but this volume must not have been used for Time Machine backups. It should have a wired connection and must not be a network share. You can keep your library in any folder rin your user home folder, but not in any folder that is synced with a cloud service. Do not move the library into a dropbox or onto iCloud Drive or Google Drive or similar.
See: Where is it safe to store a Photos Library - 2019 Version
Hi
If you have all your pictures currently in iCloud, and just want to synchronise them with a Photos library on your mac, the easiest way is to create a new empty library on your mac, (in the pictures folder is the normal place). Set this new library as the system library, and make sure iCloud photos is enabled, and your mac will then download everything from iCloud photos library into your newly created library.
Here is how:
Hold down the option key while starting photos, and click "create new". Name it Photos Library.photoslibrary, and locate it in your pictures folder. (First screenshot). (If there is already a library with that name in the pictures folder, you could just use that one rather than creating a new one)
Then open the new library - go into photos preferences (general tab), and click "use as system photos library" (second screenshot)
Finally in photos preferences iCloud tab, set it up as the final screenshot. (You need to have enough space on your mac to download all the photos from iCloud)
Photos App System Library on MAC
