FinderFlow Download

macOS file manager · runs fully on your Mac

Finder, but it actually does more.

A fast, native file browser with a built-in code editor, a Markdown reader, real Finder color tags, Spotlight search, and one-click IDE launch — the whole stack you usually open four apps for, in one window.

Download for macOS See the features

Universal · Apple Silicon + Intel · macOS 14+ · 6.8 MB .dmg · Free & open source · MIT

FinderFlow browsing a folder in list view with colored file tags, sortable columns, a sidebar, and a search bar.
List view — color tags, Spotlight search, copy-path, sortable columns.

See it in action

Every view, one window

Click through the views — the same window, however you like to work.

List view with sortable columns and color tags.

Sortable columns (name, dates, size, kind), optional date grouping, inline rename, and tag dots — exactly where you expect them.

Why switch

One app instead of four

The reasons people move from Finder — none of these ship in macOS Finder.

No Sublime / VS Code
Edit code in place Double-click a file → tabs, syntax highlighting, command palette, minimap.
No Obsidian
Read & write Markdown Rendered preview for AI / README / notes files, plus an edit mode with ⌘S.
No Terminal hunt
Open in your IDE Terminal, VS Code, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex — one click, only what you have.
No right-click digging
Copy a folder path One button, instant toast — not three menus deep.
No memorized commands
Cut / copy / paste / move Every file op from buttons & menus, with full undo / redo.
No extra unzip app
Compress & extract zip in, and zip / tar / gz / bz2 / xz out — built in.

Built-in editor

A code editor that doesn't feel bolted on

Open any text or code file straight from the browser into a real, standalone, resizable window — it never blocks your file navigation.

  • Syntax highlighting for dozens of languages
  • Multiple files as tabs
  • Fuzzy command palette (⌘⇧P) & Sublime keybindings
  • Theme-aware Sublime-style minimap — click/drag to scroll
  • Drag, minimize, resize like any native macOS window
FinderFlow's built-in code editor showing a Swift file with two open tabs, line numbers, syntax highlighting, and a Sublime-style minimap on the right.
Editor — tabs, line numbers, syntax highlighting, minimap.

Markdown, built in

Read it clean. Edit it fast.

AI hands you Markdown all day. Read it rendered, or flip to edit and save with ⌘S — without ever leaving your files.

Markdown reader showing a rendered document with headings, bullet lists, and inline code spans.
Read mode — rendered, styled, with inline code & links.
Markdown edit mode showing the raw source of the same document with monospaced text.
Edit mode — raw Markdown, ⌘S to save, auto-save on close.

Everything in the box

All the Finder basics — plus the parts it's missing

Three real views

Column (miller) with a live preview pane, sortable List, and a resizable Icon grid — all sharing the same sort & group options.

Finder-compatible color tags

The 7 standard colors, multiple per file, written in macOS's real format — they show up in Finder too.

exclusive

Drag files anywhere

Drag a file or multi-selection out of FinderFlow onto the Desktop, another folder, an upload dialog, a browser, Slack, Mail — real file drag just like Finder.

new in 1.2

Group & sort like Finder + Explorer

Group by Date (Today → Previous 90 Days → Earlier), Kind, Extension, Size or Name. Folders-first / files-first / mixed — works in every view.

new in 1.2

Spotlight search

This folder, recursive, or your entire Mac. Extension search (.pdf) included.

Preview that works

Quick Look + a preview pane for images, PDFs, code, video, audio, docs.

Undo / redo everything

Every move, rename, paste and trash is reversible — partial-failure-safe.

One-click IDE launch

Open the folder in Terminal, VS Code, Cursor, Claude Code or Codex — only what you have shows.

exclusive

Copy path in one click

A dedicated copy-path button with a confirmation toast — no menu digging.

Archive tools

Compress to zip; extract zip / tar / gz / tgz / bz2 / xz with built-in tools.

Share, AirDrop & Get Info

Share/AirDrop, Get Info, Show in Finder, make alias — the native actions you rely on.

Finder right-click menu

A bundled extension adds New Folder Here, Copy Path, Open in Terminal & Open in FinderFlow right into Finder.

exclusive

Set as default folder handler

Route folder opens to FinderFlow via LaunchServices. Pinned & recent folders, path bar, disk-space status, launch at login.

Trust

Local by design, light on your Mac

It handles your files, so it's built — and reviewed — to deserve that.

Security & privacy

  • 100% local. No network calls, no telemetry, no accounts — nothing about your files leaves your Mac.
  • Security-reviewed. An AppleScript-injection path via crafted filenames was found and fixed with strict literal escaping, across the app and the Finder extension.
  • Bug-hardened. The QA pass also fixed unsaved-Markdown data loss on close and made partial paste/move failures undo-safe.
  • Sandboxed extension. The Finder extension is sandboxed; the app uses only the file access you grant via standard macOS prompts.
  • Open source. Read every line — MIT licensed.

A RAM saver, not a hog

  • ≈ 55–60 MB idle while browsing — measured, not guessed.
  • Cached icons. File-type icons are reused, not duplicated, so big folders stay lean.
  • Freed on close. The editor & Markdown preview use WebKit only while open; that memory is released the moment you close the window.
  • Event-driven. No background polling, no CPU burn while it sits idle.
  • Self-contained. No Node, no Homebrew, no runtimes to install.

Get it running

Requirements & install

macOS14.0 Sonoma or later
ChipApple Silicon or Intel (universal)
Download≈ 6.8 MB · .dmg
ExtrasNone — fully self-contained
PriceFree & open source (MIT)
# 1. Download & open FinderFlow-1.4.dmg, drag it into Applications # 2. First launch: it's free (not paid-Apple-signed), so macOS asks once — # System Settings → Privacy & Security → "Open Anyway" # 3. …or clear the quarantine flag in one line: $ xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/FinderFlow.app # 4. (optional) enable the Finder right-click menu under # Login Items & Extensions → Extensions → FinderFlow

On first browse, macOS shows standard “allow access” prompts — normal for any file manager. Just click Allow.

Download FinderFlow 1.4
Gobinda Tarafdar

About the maker

Gobinda Tarafdar

WordPress product marketer by trade, stubborn problem-solver by habit, lifelong Harry Potter devotee by heart. By day I'm the Product Marketing Specialist at WPBakery. Before that I helped a single plugin cross 400,000+ active users. When the day-job owl flies home, I tinker on my own little workshop of spells — FinderFlow is one of them.

WPBakery The page builder I market. Docscriber Documentation, conjured. TheRecaller A memory charm for the web. TheEditra A video-editing cauldron. The Quill Press Tech news, Daily-Prophet style. Costlas Cost-of-living, 140 countries.

Why I built this

Finder is fine — until the moment you need a little more, and have to go find another app.

I live in my files. All day I'm jumping between folders, peeking into a config, fixing one line in a script, reading a Markdown file an AI just wrote me, then opening that folder in my editor or terminal. With Finder, every one of those is a detour into another app.

So I built the file manager I actually wanted — one that edits the file, renders the Markdown, copies the path, and opens the IDE without ever leaving the window. It stays out of your way, runs entirely on your Mac, and sips RAM instead of hogging it.

It's a premium-feeling app, but it's free and open source. If you've ever wished Finder did just a bit more, it's yours too.

Support the project

If it saves you a trip to Finder, give it a star

FinderFlow is free and open source. A star helps others find it; a small donation keeps the workshop lit.

Star on GitHub Helps others discover it. Donate Keeps the workshop lit. Follow on X New tools & updates. Connect on LinkedIn Say hello.

Give Finder the upgrade it never got.

Install once. Browse, tag, search, edit, and launch your IDE — all in one window.

Download for macOS · .dmg · 6.8 MB View source on GitHub

Universal · macOS 14+ · ad-hoc signed · 6.8 MB