Where Does macOS Store Document Version History?
macOS document Versions database location, how per volume revision stores work, and what deleting them costs.
Last updated
macOS Versions keeps old copies of documents in a hidden store at the root of each volume, not inside the files. Enter Time Machine style through Revert To, Browse All Versions in any supported app. The store is per volume, so external drives carry their own history.
The trade is space for safety. Heavy editors accumulate gigabytes of revisions invisibly. Clearing the store reclaims it at the price of the timeline, while current files never change.
Where macOS stores this, by platform
/.DocumentRevisions-V100
One store per volume at its root, hidden from Finder. This is the database behind Browse All Versions. Delete judiciously: it frees space but permanently empties every document timeline on that volume.
Frequently asked questions
Does deleting DocumentRevisions free disk space safely?
Yes, for that volume. The system stops keeping new versions for files there and drops the existing history. Documents themselves stay untouched; only the Browse All Versions timeline empties.
How do I see old versions of a document?
Open the document, then File, Revert To, Browse All Versions. That timeline is the visible face of this database. If it shows nothing, versioning is off or the store was cleared.
Do versions travel with the file when I copy it?
No. Versions live in a hidden store at the volume root, outside the file itself. Copying the file elsewhere carries only the current version, which surprises people migrating to new drives.
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