If the sidebar of a Finder window is hidden or missing items
If a window in the Finder doesn’t show the sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t show the items you expect, try these solutions.
Show or hide the sidebar of a Finder window
Make sure that the window that has no sidebar is open and the active window.
To show the sidebar: From the View menu in the menu bar, choose Show Sidebar. Or press Control-Command-S.
To hide the sidebar: From the View menu in the menu bar, choose Hide Sidebar. Or press Control-Command-S.
Show or hide items in the Finder sidebar
If the sidebar is visible, but sections such as Favorites, Locations, or Tags contain no items:
Move your pointer over the name of a section to show an arrow next to the name.
Click the arrow to show or hide items in that section. In the example pictured, items in the Favorites section are hidden in the left image and shown in the right image:
If the sidebar is still missing certain items, such as iCloud Drive, Downloads, or Documents:
From the File menu in the menu bar, choose Settings.
Click Sidebar at the top of the Finder settings window.
Use the checkboxes to show or hide items in the sidebar.
These checkboxes are for default items, not any custom item that you might have added to the sidebar. If a custom item such as a file, folder, or app has been removed from the sidebar, you can add it back by pressing and holding the Command ⌘ key while dragging the item to Favorites in the sidebar. Learn more about customizing the Finder sidebar.