Where Are Cities: Skylines Save Files Located?
Cities Skylines Saves folder on Windows, macOS and Linux, the per save cloud toggle, and where mods live.
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The original Cities: Skylines keeps cities in a Saves folder under a Colossal Order tree, with gameSettings.cgs beside it for options. The layout matches on all three desktop systems, only the parent moves.
Cloud sync is per save, chosen while saving, which confuses people expecting a global toggle. A city saved locally stays local even with Steam Cloud on. Workshop mods live separately under the Steam workshop tree, so cities using mods need those subscriptions matched on any new machine.
Where Cities: Skylines stores this, by platform
%localappdata%\Colossal Order\Cities_Skylines\Saves
gameSettings.cgs sits one level up for options. Each save chooses local or cloud while saving, so check both places when a city goes missing.
~/Library/Application Support/Colossal Order/Cities_Skylines/Saves
Same interior as Windows. Use Go to Folder in Finder since Library stays hidden.
~/.local/share/Colossal Order/Cities_Skylines/Saves
Follows the XDG data home. Mods and saves transfer cleanly to other platforms once workshop subscriptions match.
Frequently asked questions
My city is gone but Steam Cloud is on. Where is it?
Probably saved locally. Skylines picks local or cloud per save at save time, so a local city never uploads. Look in the Saves folder on the machine where you built it.
Why won't my transferred city load?
Missing mods and DLC are the usual cause. Match workshop subscriptions and DLC on the target machine first. A city referencing absent content refuses to open without an error that says so plainly.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.