Find which files are shared in iCloud Drive

Question

This seems obvious, but can't figure it out. How can I find which files are shared to other people in iCloud drive? Finder shows individually a text under each shared file, but I would like to see a list of all shared files.

See more information about file share functionality (add people) on Apple Support Pages under Share files section where it says:

You can allow people to view and edit files by sharing them using iCloud Drive.

If I share hundreds of files, after a while it will become hard to find and unshare files that no longer need to be shared. I'm questioning the auditability of the share functionality.

Answer 1

I tested with this method in macOS 12.3.1 Monterey. This will list all sharing files.

This is modified from answer by @dvilchez here, which no longer works in macOS 12.3.1 Monterey but the same principle works with modifications.

Let file be path to your file, mdls "$file" will show you all the metadata of this file. If file is "Shared by Me", then we'll see kMDItemIsShared = 1. (This is the key step to discover which metadata key to use, which may not be in older macOS, and may change in newer macOS.)

Hence, to search all files that is "Shared by Me", use

mdfind -onlyin "$HOME/Library/Mobile Documents/" 'kMDItemIsShared == 1'

where "$HOME/Library/Mobile Documents/" is the root directory of your iCloud.

For any other folder,

1. right click the folder,
2. holding the opt key,
3. Click Copy "..." as Pathname,
4. run mdfind -onlyin 'PASTE_YOUR_PATH_HERE' 'kMDItemIsShared == 1', remember to single quote your path as typically an iCloud path has spaces.

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Original answer below:

Below is a non-robust and manual method to do this. It has been working for me since the original answer on Dec 6, 2019. I didn't document which macOS I was using, but from the date it is likely macOS 10.15 Catalina or possibly macOS 10.14 Mojave.

Updated at Apr 14th, 2022 with macOS 12.3.1 Monterey.

1. Go to the iCloud Drive folder you want to find shared files,
2. search in this folder (by pressing Cmd + F),
3. make sure current directory is selected, not "This Mac", and
4. search by Shared by Me (quoted "Shared by Me" would not work).
5. Hopefully all documents "Shared by Me" is shown, per document,
   1. Confirm that it is "Shared by Me":
      • For older macOS version, only in the enclosing folder you will be able to see the file is marked as "Shared by Me". Right click and click Show in Enclosing Folder and check if the file is "Shared by Me".
      • For later macOS (e.g. 12.3.1 Monterey), you can see "Shared by Me" at the end of the filename.
   2. Remove sharing:
      • For older macOS version,
        1. right click on the "Shared by Me" file, Share > Show People,
        2. select Share Options, choose Stop Sharing.
      • for newer macOS version (e.g. 12.3.1 Monterey).,
        1. Share > Manage Shared File,
        2. Stop Sharing.

This method is not robust as you won't know if there's any false negative. And with macOS 12.3.1 Monterey I'm getting a lot of false positive.

Answer 2

I don't know how robust this method is, I have got some false positive (files that were previously shared), however it returns all the shared files.

mdfind -onlyin /Users/<user>/Library/Mobile\ Documents/ "kMDItemUserSharedSentTransport == 'Add People'"

Answer 3

1. open a Finder window
2. in the menu bar (top of your screen), click Finder, Preferences...
3. click the Sidebar tab in Finder Preferences dialog/window
4. under the Favorites heading, tick the option box next to iCloud Drive

Answer 4

You can find the files that have been shared by going to an iOS device (iPhone, iPad) and using the Files app or within Pages, Number, Keynote when opening a file. This functionality has been available for a long time in iOS but unfortunately it has not found its way fo mac osx.

Answer 5

Apple has provided this feature in latest update to Monterey. You now have Shared folder under iCloud in Finder. Similar functionality is also added in Files application in IOS.