Hello,
In High Sierra, where does Launchpad store its information (i.e. list of apps, folders, layout etc.)?
Asking this differently:
* how to back-up these data
* when doing a clean install of High Sierra (erasing the existing OS then installing the new one), how to import Launchpad data?
Thanks
In High Sierra, where does Launchpad store its information (i.e. list of apps, folders, layout etc.)?
Navigate to /private/var/folders/
In it will be several folders with two-character names. In each one, a folder with an long and obscure name will be present. Open it. Some will be empty or will contain folders you can't open. Open the folders you can open. Within one of them, there will be a folder named com.apple.dock.launchpad containing a folder named db. It contains the Launchpad data you seek.
I've never tried to do anything other than deleting that entire folder and its contents, which will reset Launchpad's appearance and organizational structure to its default configuration. Conversely, archiving that folder and dragging it back into that same location will restore it. Log out / in again to implement.
* how to back-up these data
Use Time Machine. To learn how to use Time Machine please read How to use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support.
* when doing a clean install of High Sierra (erasing the existing OS then installing the new one), how to import Launchpad data?
Use Migration Assistant (or Setup Assistant as it is commonly known when installing macOS). When asked to select a restore source, select the Time Machine backup. Beware that restoring only that folder may have unintended consequences due to the nature in which macOS organizes its data.
Needless to say back up your Mac before making any changes to its file system.
In High Sierra, where does Launchpad store its information (i.e. list of apps, folders, layout etc.)?
Navigate to /private/var/folders/
In it will be several folders with two-character names. In each one, a folder with an long and obscure name will be present. Open it. Some will be empty or will contain folders you can't open. Open the folders you can open. Within one of them, there will be a folder named com.apple.dock.launchpad containing a folder named db. It contains the Launchpad data you seek.
I've never tried to do anything other than deleting that entire folder and its contents, which will reset Launchpad's appearance and organizational structure to its default configuration. Conversely, archiving that folder and dragging it back into that same location will restore it. Log out / in again to implement.
* how to back-up these data
Use Time Machine. To learn how to use Time Machine please read How to use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support.
* when doing a clean install of High Sierra (erasing the existing OS then installing the new one), how to import Launchpad data?
Use Migration Assistant (or Setup Assistant as it is commonly known when installing macOS). When asked to select a restore source, select the Time Machine backup. Beware that restoring only that folder may have unintended consequences due to the nature in which macOS organizes its data.
Needless to say back up your Mac before making any changes to its file system.
As far as I know Launchpad stores its info in hidden folders on the root level of your Mac, and on no account should these be made visible and tinkered with unless you know exactly what you're doing! They're important integral parts of macOS and are hidden for very good reasons, one of which is you could totally hose your OS, rendering your Mac unbootable in a worst case scenario!
If you're doing a clean OS install and restore your data from a recent Time Machine backup then all Launchpad data will be automatically restored (you do use Time Machine, don't you?!) I hope this helps you! Cheers, Ian.
It's hard to see how the content and layout of the Launchpad "spaces" could be critical to the OS. (It's like a preference file.) Launchpad is not part of the OS. When the related files are deleted, the OS will just create new ones.
Time Machine is not a valid option. (Time Machine lost at multiple times numerous key data.)
May you tell me what are those files and where they are located?
Thanks
Not sure what you want to do but, If you do a clean install, i.e. erasing the drive first, any previous Launchpad info would no longer be valid so it makes no sense to try and restore it. And, Launchpad is part of the OS.
Of course, when doing a clean install, any previous Launchpad info would be lost, hence my question.
To say it makes no sense to restore it is like saying it makes no sense to restore any app preference after doing a clean install of the app. So according to you, users should keep on manually re-inputting all their preferences, account details, etc. after each fresh install? And if we follow your logic, after a fresh OS install, all the user data are lost and there is no way to retrieve them?
To claim that the info would not be valid does not make any sense. Launchpad data include apps located in the Application folder, and their organisation. When you do a fresh install, many apps are re-installed: they do not disappear. And even if they do, like user installed apps, the user can always and of course put them back. So the Launchpad data are obviously fully valid after a clean install. The only issue is while the content is there, the organization is lost. Two options appear. 1) The user manually re-organize things, but the process is time and energy consuming (clearly, you have never done that). 2) A simple copy & paste of the Launchpad "database" does the job very quickly, hence my question.
Launchpad is not part of the OS. That's factually inaccurate. Launchpad is an app that is meant only for a user. Think about: what would the OS do with this app? No OS needs a Launchpad. It's like the Chess app. No OS needs a Chess app.
Do you know where the Launchpad files are located? Clearly not. But that's the only useful and needed insights.
FWIW, when you do a new install the Apps that come preinstalled are going to be listed in Launchpad. Any apps that were installed from the App Store or from third-parties would be listed in the previous Launchpad list. Of course those same apps are no longer installed so what would be the point is seeing what used to be installed in Launchpad?
Once again, you point to things that yourself say do not make sense, so why do you list those and consider this is the topic?
Even if an app is missing, it will just not show up in the Launchpad, as expected. Why would that be a problem? It's like if a user deletes an app: the Launchpad should not show it.
And it's clear that when the Launchpad data are to be retrieved, it is AFTER re-installing all relevant apps, precisely to avoid this situation...
Thanks for the indication of the file and location.
However, it does not seem that all data is located there. After opening the file, key information (folder names) is missing. So where are the folder names located for example?
Several files are probably used.
When doing an "OS" install, Launchpad is installed like other apps (Mail, Safari etc.). This does not mean it is part of the OS. The "OS" installer installs many things: the OS of course, but also apps, user folders and files. The expression "OS installer" is just a simplification.
It's like when saying "buying a new Apple computer": no one gets only a computer (hardware), you also get the OS and many apps (software). Hardware and software are of course distinct and no one can confuse one for another, yet Apple sell both at the same time. No one says "I'm planning to buy an Apple computer with an OS with apps".
For something to be part of an OS implies the OS needs this component to work, which is not the case with any app, be it Safari, Mail, Launchpad or Chess. No one would believe that Chess for exemple is needed for any OS to run...
FWIW, the Launchpad layout list is located here…
/System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/Resources/LaunchPadLayout.plist
Have fun.
I'm not the best person to ask. I didn't even know Launchpad was not part of macOS.
Thank you for enlightening me.
If anyone knows where Apple has decided to store those user data, that would be great. (The location has again changed compared to prior macOS versions...)
Thank you! All clear.
(On the back-up side, I don't rely on Time Machine, instead manually copying files to an external drive, for various reasons.)
Glad you got the info you sought. I for one wasn't going there because of the possible repercussions. Good Luck.
Launchpad database location
