Troubleshooting

Problems are listed in the order people meet them. Warnings from the app appear in a yellow Warnings banner in the manager window. Click it to read them and click Dismiss to clear them.

Finder shows a stale icon

Cause. Finder has not redrawn the row yet. The manager window then shows a banner reading Some icon changes need Finder to restart before they appear. The app never restarts Finder on its own, because that closes your Finder windows and tabs and interrupts a copy in progress.

The glyph disappears from a folder

Cause. On macOS 26, a folder or disk with an icon of its own makes Finder redraw the row from that icon whenever it changes. The banner then says ‘Name’ keeps losing its sidebar icon because the folder has a custom icon of its own. Open the favorite and choose Remove Its Icon to fix it permanently.

All three are in the favorite editor. Details: Keeping both icons.

The folder is refused when I add it

Cause. A folder can have only one favorite. The editor shows ‘Name’ already uses this folder. and the text A folder can only have one favorite - two would fight over the same sidebar row. Edit ‘Name’ instead, or choose a different folder. The Add button stays disabled until you do.

A warning says a folder is missing

Cause. The warning reads Name: folder no longer exists at followed by the path. The folder was moved, renamed or deleted, or it lives in a cloud provider or disk that is not available.

1. Put the folder back, or reconnect the provider or disk that holds it.

2. Click Refresh in the manager window.

   You seeThe warning is gone and the icon is applied.

If the folder moved for good, remove the favorite and add the new folder.

A disk or share is not mounted

Cause. A favorite set to Show in Locations only needs a mounted disk or server. When it is not mounted the warning reads ‘Name’ is set to appear in Locations only, but Finder only lists mounted disks and servers there. Turn that option off to give it a row under Favorites. A network share gives a related warning: ‘Name’ can’t be shown in Locations only - Finder builds that row itself for network shares and it can’t take a custom icon. Turn the option off to give it a row under Favorites instead.

See Disks and network shares.

A Locations row will not take an icon

Cause. Finder’s own entries (iCloud Drive, Computer, AirDrop, Network and the cloud-provider rows) cannot take a custom icon. macOS stores one and never draws it, so the app leaves them alone.

Add a folder inside the cloud location, or a mounted disk, instead. See Rows that cannot take an icon.

My SVG shows warnings or looks wrong

Cause. Warnings are not refusals. The app tells you what it had to drop or flatten: embedded photos, live text, effects it cannot draw, colours and gradients, and artwork that is too wide, too tall, too thin or too dense to read at 16 pt.

Every message and its cause are listed in Messages from the import sheet.

A helper shows as not enabled

Cause. Each Both icons favorite has a helper that you switch on in System Settings. Until it is on, the row shows the normal sidebar icon. Settings shows Disabled in System Settings - the regular sidebar icon is shown or Not registered - the regular sidebar icon is shown, and the banner may say a helper is installed but not enabled yet.

1. Open Settings and click Open Extensions Settings, or choose System Settings› then General› then Login Items & Extensions.

   You seeThe list of extensions, with SBF-<favorite name> for each helper.

2. Switch the helper on.

3. Click Refresh Status in Settings.

   You seeThe status reads Enabled - the helper draws this row’s sidebar icon.

Launch at Login does not turn on

Cause. macOS owns the login item. Either it waits for your approval, shown as Waiting for approval in System Settings → Login Items under the switch, or it refused the change and an alert reads Couldn’t change Launch at Login: followed by the reason.

Open System Settings› then General› then Login Items & Extensions, allow SidebarFavorites, then reopen Settings so the switch reads the real state.

Settings shows a Configuration Issue

Cause. The app could not read config.json. It moved the file aside and started with an empty list.

Click Reveal Backup in Settings and follow If the file cannot be read.

The warnings banner lists a sidebar problem

Cause. The app could not change a row in Finder’s sidebar, or found a row it did not expect. The warning names the favorite.

Helpers remain after uninstalling

Cause. Dragging the app to the Trash runs none of its code, so Both icons helpers stay registered.

Next time, delete your favorites first. See Uninstalling.

Still stuck? Report an issue.