FiloFinder

A fast, free, open-source Finder alternative for macOS — with real Cut & Paste, split view, tabs and a folder tree.

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FiloFinder is a free Finder replacement for Mac. It's a native file manager/file explorer for people who miss Windows Explorer features on macOS, or who just want a faster, more powerful Finder.

• Native Mac app: an AppKit interface over a Rust core, smooth at 120 Hz.
• Large folders: lists 100,000-item folders in about a tenth of a second.
• Small: around 7 MB, free and MIT-licensed, with no account and no telemetry.

Why use FiloFinder instead of Finder?

	Finder	FiloFinder
Cut & Paste files (⌘X / ⌘V)	Hidden (⌘C then ⌥⌘V)	✓
Dual-pane / split view	✗	✓
Expandable folder tree sidebar	✗	✓
Image previews in the folder tree	✗	✓
Clean ZIP extraction (no __MACOSX junk)	✗	✓
Tabs, Quick Look, tags, Trash	✓	✓
Open source	✗	✓

It's a good fit if you're looking for a Windows Explorer–style file manager for macOS, a dual-pane file manager, or a free alternative to paid Finder replacements like Path Finder, ForkLift or Commander One.

Features

• Real Cut & Paste (⌘X → ⌘V moves files), plus copy, duplicate, rename and new folder, with undo (⌘Z).
• Never overwrites silently:
  • Name conflicts ask whether to Keep Both, Replace or Skip.
  • Copies are written under a temporary name first, so a crash never leaves a half-copied file.
  • Moves between drives delete the original only after the copy is verified.
• Split view (⌘M) for moving files between two folders, and tabs.
• Drag & drop between folders, panes, the sidebar and other apps.
• Quick Look (Space) and a preview pane for every file type macOS can preview.
• Colour tags: tag files from the right-click menu, and browse every tagged file from the sidebar.
• Trash inside the app, with Put Back and Empty Trash.
• Fast, clean ZIP extraction (double-click a .zip):
  • Parallel, and skips .DS_Store / __MACOSX junk.
  • Protected against malicious archives.
• Live refresh: folders update when files change elsewhere.
• Grid and list views, adjustable icon and text size, and Finder's keyboard shortcuts.

Install

Requires macOS 13 Ventura or newer, on Apple Silicon or Intel.

Option 1 — One-line install (recommended)

Open Terminal (⌘Space → type Terminal) and paste:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bipul0525/FiloFinder/main/install.sh | bash

This downloads the latest release, verifies its checksum and signature, installs it in /Applications, removes the download quarantine and opens it. Nothing else needed. You're welcome to read the script first.

Option 2 — Homebrew

brew install --cask bipul0525/tap/filofinder

Option 3 — Install from the DMG

1. Download Filofinder-x.y.z.dmg from Releases.

2. Double-click the DMG and drag Filofinder onto Applications.

3. Eject the DMG.

4. Allow it to run (once). FiloFinder is free and isn't notarised by Apple (that needs a paid $99/year developer account), so macOS blocks the first launch and may say the app "is damaged" or "can't be verified". It isn't damaged. Open Terminal and paste:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Filofinder.app && open /Applications/Filofinder.app

   This only removes the "downloaded from the internet" flag from FiloFinder; it doesn't change any system security setting.

   Without Terminal: try to open the app once, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway next to the Filofinder message, and confirm.

You only do this once — updates install automatically afterwards.

First launch

Filofinder asks for Full Disk Access so it can show every folder (including the Trash) without macOS asking again and again. Click Open Settings, switch Filofinder on, and come back; the window closes by itself. You only do this once, because the permission stays across updates.

Updates

Filofinder checks for updates every 6 hours and installs them on relaunch. You can also use Filofinder → Check for Updates…. Every update is cryptographically signed and verified before it installs.

Keyboard

Keys	Action
Return / ⌘↓	Open
⌘[ · ⌘] · ⌘↑	Back · Forward · Enclosing folder
⌘C · ⌘X · ⌘V	Copy · Cut · Paste
⌘D · F2	Duplicate · Rename
⌫ / Del	Move to Trash (asks first)
⌘⌫	Delete immediately (asks first)
⌘Z	Undo
Space	Quick Look
⌘M · ⇥	Split view · Switch pane
⌘T · ⌘W	New tab · Close window
⌘1 · ⌘2	List · Grid
⌘+ · ⌘−	Zoom icons
⌥⌘+ · ⌥⌘−	Name text size
⇧⌘.	Show hidden files
⇧⌘H · ⇧⌘G	Home · Go to folder

Build from source

Requirements:

• macOS 13+
• the Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install; the full Xcode app is not needed)
• Rust via rustup

rustup target add aarch64-apple-darwin x86_64-apple-darwin
scripts/build.sh --debug --run    # fast native build, then launch
scripts/build.sh                  # universal release build → build/Filofinder.app
cd core && cargo test             # core test suite

The project has two halves:

• core/ holds the Rust engine: listing, file operations and ZIP.
• app/ holds the Swift/AppKit interface, connected to the core through UniFFI.

See docs/PLAN.md for the design.

FAQ

Is FiloFinder a free Finder alternative? Yes, it's completely free and open source (MIT).

Can I cut and paste files on Mac with it? Yes. ⌘X then ⌘V moves files, just like Windows.

Does it replace Finder? It runs alongside Finder; you can use it as your everyday file browser. Finder stays installed (macOS requires it).

Does it work on Apple Silicon and Intel? Yes, it's a universal app for macOS 13 Ventura and newer.

Why does macOS say the app "is damaged"? It isn't notarised by Apple, because that requires a paid developer account. See Install for the one-time fix.

Privacy

Filofinder has no account and no telemetry. Its only network access is the update check against this repository's GitHub Releases.

License

MIT