Why can’t I save Sketch files on my Mac?

Sometimes you may see an alert message when trying to save a Sketch file on your Mac that the file could not be saved. This can be caused by permissions settings on the folder you are trying to save or by security rules implemented by Apple on macOS that apply to storage service applications like Google Drive, Dropbox, One Drive, etc. If this happens, there are a couple of things you can try to fix it:

1. Check the permissions settings in the target folder

This is most likely a permissions error so the first thing to do is verify that the folder you want to save your file into has the correct permissions.

Open Finder and locate the folder you are trying to save to, select the folder and then type ⌘I (command+I).

A window with the folder’s options will display. Check in the Sharing and Permissions section that your username appears with Read and Write permissions. If your username is not listed, add it, and remember to check the option Apply to enclosing items to apply the change to all nested folders. If your username appears but shows Read-only permissions, change them to Read and Write.

2. Grant permissions to Sketch and your storage service app

If the folder had the correct permissions and the problem persists, check the permissions that Sketch and your Storage Service app have:

1. Open Finder and on the menu bar select System Preferences… > Security and Privacy then select Files and Folders on the left panel.
2. To make changes here, click on the lock icon in the bottom-left corner of the window and enter your username and password (or one for an administrator on your machine) in the prompt that appears.
3. Once you have selected Files and Folders, look for both Sketch and the Storage Service app you are using on the right panel and make sure all boxes are checked.
4. If there were unchecked boxes, check them, go back to Sketch, quit the App, relaunch it and try saving again.

3. Grant Sketch full disk access

1. Open Finder and on the menu bar select System Preferences… > Security and Privacy then select Full Disk Access on the left panel.
2. To make changes here, click on the lock icon in the bottom-left corner of the window and enter your username and password (or one for an administrator on your machine) in the prompt that appears.
3. Select Sketch from the list of applications that appears and choose Open, then tick the checkbox next to it.

You should now be able to save files without any trouble, but if you do have further issues, please get in touch.