How to fix icloud drive error -36 moving issue

Not a question but a solution. I've been struggling for years with error -36, which made it impossible to move any file from any icloud-synced part of my computer to any other part of my computer that's not synced to icloud. I went to system preferences > icloud and deactivated icloud completely, and once prompted I opted to not keep a copy as all my files were backed up to the cloud and I learned that they would just repopulate once icloud turned back on. I turned icloud back on after all the files had been wiped and lo and behold, they all repopulated without issue (it took a few hours for them to all re-download, however). I use ableton live (a music software) to make pretty complex songs and I was worried that deleting the files would mess up the compositions or the third party plugins, but thankfully they all continued to work without issue. Everything seems to be working perfectly now, and error -36 is entirely gone. Thanks to kappesantecdm for the solution.


I'm not sure if opting to create a backup (as is prompted when first turning off icloud) would have had a different result but it may be worth a shot if users want to go that route. I did time machine backups on all my devices before restarting icloud.


dot_clean did nothing.


Mac mini, macOS 12.6

Posted on Oct 5, 2023 8:09 AM

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How to fix icloud drive error -36 moving issue

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