Keeping both icons

Some folders and disks carry an icon of their own, and on macOS 26 that icon makes your sidebar glyph disappear. This page explains the problem, the three choices the editor offers, and the Both icons mode that keeps both icons. Read it if the editor shows a warning about a custom icon or a glyph keeps vanishing.

On this page

The problem
The three choices
Choose what to do
What Both icons mode adds
Check, manage and remove helpers
If it does not work

The problem

Some folders carry an icon of their own, the kind you paste into Get Info so the folder is recognisable on the Desktop or in the Dock. Disks can carry one too. On macOS 26, Finder redraws the sidebar row from that icon whenever the folder changes, for example when a file is copied in, and your glyph disappears.

The editor checks the folder you choose. If it finds an icon of its own, it shows This folder has a custom icon of its own. (for a disk, This disk has a custom icon of its own.) and offers the choices below. Folders without an icon of their own get no extra question.

The three choices

The choices are three radio buttons under the warning. The line under them explains the one you picked.

Choice	What it does	Choose it when
Keep both icons	The folder keeps its own icon on the Desktop, in Finder windows and in the Dock, and the sidebar row keeps your glyph. It switches this favorite to Both icons mode, which adds one helper.	You want the folder’s own icon and your glyph.
Remove its icon	The folder goes back to a plain icon everywhere, which makes the glyph stay. A copy of the removed icon is kept in `IconBackups` in the app’s data folder, so you can put it back.	You do not need the folder’s own icon and want nothing extra running.
Leave as is	Changes nothing. The glyph keeps disappearing whenever the folder changes, until you press Refresh in the manager window.	You rarely change the folder and accept the occasional refresh.

Nothing takes effect until you click Save (or Add, or Apply), so you can move between the choices freely, and Cancel leaves the folder untouched.

Choose what to do

Open the editor and choose the folder with Browse..., or open an existing favorite.
Under the orange notice, choose Keep both icons, Remove its icon or Leave as is.
You seeIf the folder has an icon of its own, the warning and three radio buttons appear. Leave as is is selected.
Select Keep both icons, Remove its icon or Leave as is.
With Both icons selected, the lines under Mode say what the folder keeps and name the helper, here SBF-Music.
You seeFor Keep both icons, Mode switches to Both icons, the warning turns into This folder has its own icon - kept. The helper draws the sidebar glyph., and a line names the helper that will be added.
Click Save (Add for a new favorite).
With Keep both icons, the app installs the helper and may ask you to enable it in System Settings. See Check, manage and remove helpers.
You seeThe choice is applied. For Remove its icon the editor shows where the copy of the icon was saved.

You can also switch any favorite to Both icons with the Mode control in the Sidebar Icon Mode section. The other segment is Sidebar icon only, which sets the glyph and runs nothing in the background.

What Both icons mode adds

Finder draws a sidebar row from a different source when a Finder Sync extension claims the folder, and that source ignores the folder’s own icon. Both icons mode uses this: it adds one small helper for each favorite you switch on, and carries your artwork inside it. Favorites in the normal mode add no helper. For the mechanism, see How it works.

Property	Value
What it is	A Finder Sync extension carried by a small host app with no window. One is made for each Both icons favorite.
Size	About 6 MB.
Name in System Settings	`SBF-<favorite name>`, shown with this app’s icon. For a favorite named Projects it is `SBF-Projects`.
Where it appears	System Settings then General then Login Items & Extensions, in the list of extensions.
Runs at login	It is not a login item. The host app quits itself a few seconds after registering the extension, and only the extension stays.
Where the files are	`~/Library/Application Support/SidebarFavorites/AdvancedApps/`
If it is disabled	The row falls back to the normal sidebar icon at once. It comes back when you enable the helper.

Check, manage and remove helpers

Settings lists every helper with its status. The list appears only when at least one favorite uses Both icons mode. The window is described in Settings.

Press ⌘,, or choose Preferences... from the menu bar menu.
You seeThe Settings window opens with a Finder Sync Helpers group.

Read the status under each helper name.

Status	What it means	What to do
Enabled - the helper draws this row’s sidebar icon	The helper is registered and on. The dot is green.	Nothing.
Disabled in System Settings - the regular sidebar icon is shown	The helper exists but is switched off. The dot is orange.	Click Fix… and switch it on.
Not registered - the regular sidebar icon is shown	macOS has not seen the helper, or its installation failed. The dot is red.	Click Fix…, then Refresh Status. If it stays, press Refresh in the manager window.
Checking…	The status is still being read.	Wait a moment.

You seeA coloured dot and one line of text per helper.

Click Open Extensions Settings to enable or disable a helper.
You seeSystem Settings opens at Login Items & Extensions.
Click Refresh Status after you change it.
You seeThe status text updates.

To switch back and remove a helper, use these steps.

Open the favorite from the manager window.
Set Mode to Sidebar icon only.
You seeThe line under Mode reads: Sets the sidebar glyph. Nothing runs in the background.
Click Save.
You seeThe helper is removed, and the row shows the normal sidebar icon.

If you remove the app itself, delete your favorites first so no helpers are left behind. See Uninstalling.

If it does not work

What you see	Cause	Fix
The glyph still disappears.	The favorite is in Sidebar icon only mode and the folder has its own icon.	Choose Keep both icons or Remove its icon, or press Refresh.
A warning ending is installed but not enabled yet. Enable it under System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions.	macOS asks you to switch each helper on.	Click Open Extensions Settings in Settings and enable the helper.
A warning ending did not register with the extension system. Its row keeps the regular sidebar icon for now.	macOS did not accept the helper.	Click Refresh in the manager window, then check Settings.
The sidebar shows the normal icon for a Both icons favorite.	The helper is disabled or not registered.	Read its status in Settings and follow the table above.

More fixes are in Troubleshooting.