No preview for file thumbnails • Mojave

My problem

Since installing Mojave I consistently can't see previews for file thumbnails. This is most noticeable for files such as pdf, png and jpg. Similarly, it won't load the preview when I hit the spacebar while selecting a file in Finder.

You can see what I mean in the image below, taken in Finder.

User uploaded file

What I've tried

• Regular reboots

• Reboots to safe mode

• Clearing my cache, resetting NVRAM and PRAM


Some reboots help a little and sometimes I'll suddenly be able to see previews. But adding any kind of new file will reset the issue.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS Mojave (10.14)

Posted on Oct 1, 2018 7:44 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 5, 2018 10:48 AM

I just renewed my Sketch license, upgraded from 50.2 to 52.1, and can confirm that was the source of the problem on my end at least. If you're a designer and having this issue with Mojave, upgrading Sketch is likely the solution to your problem. Unfortunately, it will cost you if your license is expired. It would be great if the Sketch devs release a free fix for this issue since it's such a deal breaker, but I doubt they would (but who knows!)


Thanks everyone for your input!

27 replies

Nov 4, 2018 4:22 PM in response to i_rina

Nope, not related to this.


In my case, it may be related to thumbnails of photos that were saved from On1 app. I know many people think it has to do with Sketch for instance. But I do not have Sketch. I am going to try to resave my .psd files that were saved from On1 and see if the problem disappears when they are saved from Photoshop. If that is the problem, it will take me a long time to resave all my On1 .psd files!


So hope Apple comes up with a fix for this Mojave problem soon.

Dec 9, 2018 5:40 AM in response to Jeroen van de Ruit

I have this problem too. I am a photographer and work a lot with PSDs, TIFFs and other image files and they all have the same problem.


Tried restarting, safe mode, clean PRAM, NVRAM, etc, created a new account, no dice.


I don't have Sketch installed, so in my case that's not the reason.


Waited on Mojave for a week just in case it was rebuilding the icons. Did a clean install with formatting the HD. Did a clean install and then installed Photoshop CC 2018 instead of 2019. Nothing worked. Spent hours with Apple on the phone with no results either. After a couple of weeks, went back to Sierra which is where I should have stayed. The only pain in the neck is once again having to click to ignore the "Update to Mojave" that pops up almost every day.

Oct 4, 2018 6:52 PM in response to Jeroen van de Ruit

I have the same problem.


I read some articles saying that if you reboot in Safe Mode that fixes the issue and indeed it does, after rebooting post safe-mode all the files in my desktop showed thumnail preview, but I noticed when I created new files they didn't render any thumbnail preview and suddenly all files show generic icons as yours.


Apple please advise on this.


Instructions for Safe Mode:

Shut down the mac

Turn on and hold down shift until the system boots (takes a little longer)

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No preview for file thumbnails • Mojave

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