Laura,

It should be on your home directory, so on a Mac it would be /Users/USERNAME. So on my Mac for example, it would be /Users/jonyoon.

The permissions on the file should also be only readable to you. If you use the Finder on your Mac, you should be able to search for that .netrc file, Control+Click and select Get Info, then expand the Sharing & Permissions section at the bottom of that info screen.

Can you verify the permissions you have setup on that .netrc file in either directory location on your Mac?

Regards,

Jon