How to download and install Adobe Creative Cloud on Mac
The Creative Cloud desktop app is how Adobe installs Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and its other apps on a Mac. Here is what you need, how to install it from adobe.com and how to keep Adobe’s apps from filling your disk.
Adobe Creative Cloud
- macOS 12 or later
- One file for Apple Silicon and Intel
- The app is free. Adobe apps need a plan
Or the installer straight from the developer’s server:
The links go to the developer’s website (adobe.com, ffc-static-cdn.oobesaas.adobe.com). MacWashing is not affiliated with the developer and keeps no installers.
Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities) and run:
brew install --cask adobe-creative-cloudHomebrew downloads the app from the developer’s server, checks the file and puts the app in Applications.
No Homebrew yet? How to install Homebrew: one command from brew.sh.
Before you download
You need an Adobe account: you sign in to Creative Cloud right after installing. The app itself is free. Photoshop, Illustrator and the others need a Creative Cloud plan, and most can be tried for free first.
Creative Cloud runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel and needs macOS 12 Monterey or later, with at least 4 GB of free space. Adobe warns that most of its apps need a newer macOS, so check each app’s requirements on adobe.com.
Download Creative Cloud only from adobe.com. «Free Photoshop» downloads and cracked installers are a common source of malware.
How to install Creative Cloud
- Open
Creative_Cloud_Installer.dmgin your Downloads folder.
- Double-click Creative Cloud Installer and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.
- Enter your Mac password when the installer asks for it.
- Sign in with your Adobe account or create one, then wait while the installer downloads and installs the Creative Cloud app.
- In Creative Cloud, open Apps and click Install or Try next to the app you need.
Adobe’s download page may start the download by itself. If nothing happens, use the restart link on that page.
What to set up after the first launch
- Opening at login. Creative Cloud starts with your Mac and keeps background helpers running. To stop it opening at login, look in Creative Cloud’s settings, under General.
- Disk space. Each Adobe app takes several gigabytes, and video apps also build media caches. Remove apps you no longer use in Creative Cloud: click the three dots next to an app and choose Uninstall.
- File syncing. Creative Cloud syncs your libraries and cloud files to your Mac. They take space in your home folder too.
- The installer. Move
Creative_Cloud_Installer.dmgfrom Downloads to the Trash once Creative Cloud runs.
If Creative Cloud won’t install or open
- «Creative Cloud Installer is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete it and download it again from adobe.com.
- The installer stops with an error. Creative Cloud won’t install on a case-sensitive disk volume, and it needs macOS 12 or later. Check both, then try again as an administrator.
- Creative Cloud is broken after an update. Remove it completely, with its helpers, and install it again: see how to uninstall Adobe Creative Cloud on Mac.
Alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud
Keep your Mac tidy
Adobe apps leave caches and logs behind as you work. System Junk in MacWashing finds the caches apps build up, and the Uninstaller removes Creative Cloud with its helpers if you no longer need it.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Questions and answers
Is Adobe Creative Cloud free?
The Creative Cloud app is free. Adobe’s apps, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, need a paid plan. Most have a free trial you start from the Apps list.
Do I need an Adobe account?
Yes. Creative Cloud asks you to sign in right after installing, and every Adobe app checks your plan through that account.
Can I install Photoshop without Creative Cloud?
No. On a Mac, Adobe installs and updates its apps through the Creative Cloud app. Installing your first Adobe app installs Creative Cloud as well.