With macOS Sierra, Apple introduced Documents & Desktop syncing to iCloud. But sometimes it can be a pain in the arse to use because users don’t really have a lot of control over it. But I found a tool that can help you get manual iCloud sync.
[iCloud Drive: How to Recover (or Remove) Recently Deleted Files]
Manual iCloud Sync
I ended up turning Documents and & Desktop sync off. I got frustrated with it because my data was constantly being uploaded and downloaded, wasting my bandwidth. But recently I found a tool on Github called iCloud Control. It adds a menu button to Finder that lets you remove local items, download items, and publish a public link to share your files. So here’s what you do.

- Download the latest versionĀ iCloud Control from Github. Click on the iCloud.Control.app.zip link.
- Unzip the file and move the app to Applications.
- Open the app. It will tell you what to do. You’ll be going to System Preferences > Extensions and enabling the Finder extension of iCloud Control.
- Next, relaunch Finder by holding down the Option key and right-clicking on the Finder icon. Click Relaunch.
- The menu button should have been automatically added. If you don’t see it, open a Finder window, right-click on the toolbar and click Customize Toolbar. It should be in there and you can drag it up to the toolbar.

What The Options Mean
- Remove selected item locally: The selected item(s) will be removed from your device, while remaining in iCloud.
- Download selected item: Download previously removed files from iCloud. On macOS Sierra and later, the cloud icon provides the same functionality.
- Publish public link: Places a link to the selected file in your clipboard.
this is a great idea, but I was looking for the options