How to Change Tableau Repository Location

Moving your "My Tableau Repository" folder is one of those simple tasks that can make a huge difference in how you manage your workflow and hard drive space. By default, Tableau sets itself up in your main Documents folder, but you can easily change this location to a different drive, a cloud-synced folder, or a dedicated project space. This guide will walk you through exactly how to change the Tableau repository location on both Windows and macOS, step-by-step.

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Why Would You Change Your Tableau Repository Location?

Before diving into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." Your Tableau Repository is the central hub for your work. It stores everything from saved data sources and workbooks to your preferences, logs, and custom shapes. While the default location works fine, there are several practical reasons to move it:

• To Free Up Space on Your Primary Drive: The C: drive on Windows or the Macintosh HD on a Mac can fill up quickly with applications and system files. Moving your repository to a second, larger internal drive or an external hard drive can free up valuable primary storage.
• For Better Organization: Many users prefer to keep all their project files in a dedicated folder structure. Relocating the repository allows you to centralize your Tableau assets alongside other related project data instead of having them buried in your user documents folder.
• To Enable Automatic Backups: If you use a cloud storage service like OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox, moving your repository into its sync folder ensures your workbooks and data sources are continuously backed up to the cloud. This simple change can be a lifesaver in case of hardware failure.
• For Consistency Across Devices: If you work on multiple computers, placing your repository in a cloud-synced folder can help you maintain access to your workbooks and resources, though it’s not designed for simultaneous use and can lead to file conflicts if you aren't careful.

A Quick Pre-Flight Check Before You Move Anything

There are two golden rules to follow before you start moving folders around. Getting these right will prevent headaches later.

1. Close Tableau Desktop Completely: Make sure the application is not running. If Tableau is open, it will have a lock on some of the repository files, which can cause errors during the copying process or prevent the location change from taking effect. On Windows, you can even double-check the Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to ensure no Tableau processes are running in the background.
2. Back Up Your Current Repository: While this process is generally safe, it's always smart to have a backup. Simply find your "My Tableau Repository" folder and create a copy of it in a safe location. You can do this by right-clicking the folder, selecting "Copy," and then pasting it to your desktop or another drive.

Once you’ve done these two things, you’re ready to proceed.

First, Find Your Current Repository Location

If you're unsure where your repository currently lives, the default paths are:

• On Windows: C:\Users\<your-username>\Documents\My Tableau Repository
• On macOS: /Users/<your-username>/Documents/My Tableau Repository

You can also confirm the location directly within Tableau Desktop (which you should do before closing it for the move). Just go to the top menu and click File > Repository Location.... A dialog box will appear showing the current file path.

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How to Change the Tableau Repository Location on Windows

Moving your repository on a Windows machine is a straightforward process. Just follow these steps in order.

Step 1: Create Your New Repository Folder

First, decide where you want your repository to live. This could be on another drive like D:\ or in a specific project folder. Using Windows File Explorer, navigate to your desired location and create a new, empty folder. For this example, let's say we create a folder at D:\Tableau\MyNewRepository.

Step 2: Move Your Existing Repository Files

Now, navigate to your current "My Tableau Repository" folder (usually in C:\Users\<your-username>\Documents). Open the folder, select all of the contents (Ctrl+A), and copy them (Ctrl+C). Do not just move the top-level "My Tableau Repository" folder itself, you want to move the files and sub-folders inside of it. Next, go to the new folder you just created (D:\Tableau\MyNewRepository) and paste everything into it (Ctrl+V).

Step 3: Tell Tableau About the New Location

With your files copied over, open Tableau Desktop. Go to the top menu and select File > Repository Location.... In the dialog box that appears, click the "..." browse button, navigate to the new folder you created (D:\Tableau\MyNewRepository), and select it. Click OK.

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Step 4: Restart Tableau and Verify

Tableau will show a prompt informing you that you must restart the application for the change to take effect. Click OK, then close and reopen Tableau Desktop. To confirm the move was successful, you can either:

• Go back to File > Repository Location... and check that the path points to your new folder.
• Try opening one of the sample workbooks from the start screen. If it opens without any errors, you’re all set.

Once you’ve confirmed everything is working, you can safely delete the old repository folder from your Documents to free up space.

How to Change the Tableau Repository Location on macOS

The process on a Mac is nearly identical. Here’s the step-by-step breakdown.

Step 1: Create Your New Repository Folder

Using Finder, choose a new home for your repository. Maybe it’s on an external drive or a special "Work_Files" folder. Create a new, empty folder at that location. For instance, you could create /Users/<your-username>/Documents/Work_Files/TableauRepo.

Step 2: Move Your Existing Repository Files

Next, use Finder to go to your current repository location, typically located at /Users/<your-username>/Documents/My Tableau Repository. Open the folder, select all its contents (Cmd+A), and copy them (Cmd+C). Navigate to your new folder and paste the copied contents into it (Cmd+V).

Step 3: Point Tableau to the New Location

Open the Tableau Desktop application. From the menu bar at the top of the screen, click File > Repository Location.... A Finder window will appear. Navigate to the new folder you created, select it, and click Choose.

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Step 4: Restart Tableau and Verify

Tableau will display a message asking you to restart for the new location to be used. Click OK to acknowledge it, then quit and reopen Tableau. After it reloads, make sure everything is working as expected. Check the path again under File > Repository Location.... If the new path is shown and your previous workbooks open correctly, you have successfully moved your repository. You can now delete the old folder from your Documents to clean up your drive.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips

Most of the time, this process is smooth. But if you run into a hiccup, it's usually one of these common culprits.

• "My workbooks and data sources are gone!" This is the most common panic-inducing moment. It almost always happens because you told Tableau about the new repository location before you moved your files there. Tableau is now looking at an empty folder. The fix is simple: just find your old repository files and copy them into the new location you've assigned.
• Permissions Errors If you move the repository to a network drive or a new external drive, your user account might not have the read/write permissions it needs. This can prevent Tableau from saving files or even starting correctly. Make sure you have full permissions for the new folder.
• Forgetting to Restart Tableau The location change doesn't apply until you have fully closed and reopened the application. If things seem off, try another restart first.
• Cloud Syncing Conflicts Using a folder synced by Dropbox or OneDrive is a great backup strategy, but be patient. After moving your files, give the service time to fully upload/sync everything before you start working in Tableau. Also, avoid running Tableau with the same cloud-synced repository on two different machines at the same time, as this can create file conflicts.

Final Thoughts

Changing your Tableau repository location is a simple but powerful way to organize your workflow, manage disk space, and automate your backups. As long as you remember to close Tableau and transfer your files before you point the application to its new home, the transition is seamless on both Windows and Mac.

While organizing your repository cleans up your local machine, the bigger challenge for most is wrangling data from scattered sources in the first place. Marketing reports often require logging into a dozen different platforms like Google Analytics, Shopify, Facebook Ads, and a CRM, then manually stitching the data together. To eliminate that friction, we built Graphed that connects directly to all your sources and allows you to create real-time, shareable dashboards just by asking questions in plain English—no manual CSV exports, no waiting for a data team, and no complex configuration needed.