6 ms·

Show HN: Fast, native Mac file manager (filters, fuzzy find, 9 MB, no Electron)

98 points by whimbyte 2mo ago

My Downloads folder had been left unkept for a really long time and cleaning it up using Finder was quite cumbersome. So I started creating a simple app to help me filter out and delete or move the files in the folder. It started out very basic and the filtering options genuinely helped me clean out the Downloads folder, then as I thought of more features I would like to see in a file manager I started to add them. Some of the features are: - Fuzzy go to folder/file where you only need to write a few letters of a full path, get suggestions and can jump to the correct path instantly - Hover over a file to preview an image or PDF without opening it - Dual-pane view and tabs that remember selected filters - Command palette to find actions fast - Batch rename (with regex support and presets for common operations), image conversion (HEIC/WebP/AVIF to JPG/PNG), zip creation - Bookmarks, Quick Look, single-click open, keyboard control And many other small quality of life features. I used Claude Code for making the app and the tech stack is .NET/C# with AppKit. The app is compiled to Native AOT so the total app size is only around 9 MB. Since file operations are very important to get right (I don’t want to lose any important files) I put a lot of time into hardening file move/copy/delete operations. Copies are written to a temp file and atomically renamed into place. I also made a dedicated audit of move/copy/delete and verified each operation by hand. Another thing that’s important to me is apps that are privacy first so the only network request the app makes is to check if there’s a new version (this is not done at all for the trial version, the trial expiry date is enforced locally by just checking the date and trusting the user) and the only information that is sent is the current app version. The app is Apple Silicon, macOS 12+ and has a 30-day free trial with a one-time launch price of $19.99 (no subscription).

chonghaoju 2mo ago
[dead]
satoyoshidev 2mo ago
Cross-volume moves can't use rename(2), so they fall back to copy-then-delete. If the copy dies halfway, does it roll back or leave a partial file at the destination?
farazzz123 2mo ago
[dead]
sebarb 2mo ago
[flagged]
whimbyte 2mo ago
[dead]
othmanosx 2mo ago
Just add an Up Directory button and you’ll be infinitely better than Finder.
jaffa2 2mo ago
does this index the disk to do this ? So the filemanager is working with an index rather than the files ? It could be stale ? I haven't found a good file manager for mac since 15 years now. They all just about do the things I need but not good enough. I've never really done the dual pane thing, my favourite gui for file management was Windows XP. Every iteration of explorer since has gotten objectively worse. On mac I don't even bother trying to filemanage. I remote in to a windows machine. I need to be able to get paths and paste paths. for my downloads I just sort by type in list view and delete whatever by type. just do that a few times a year no big deal. I don't understand why we can't have an AI that sorts out the files they half baked 'stacks' onto the desktop, but all that happens is i now have dozens and dozens of stacks which contain dozens and dozens of files.
- ttoinou 2mo ago
  I’m in the same boat, I don’t like Finder (better than Windows Explorer though), nor do I like default macOS files / folders dialogs, and I really dislike drag and drop behavior on macOS I dont understand why we are stuck in stone’s age with filesystems GUI
  - jaffa2 2mo ago
    One thing worth knowing is in the mac file dialogs you can drop a file from finder into these and it will change directory to where that file is. The other thing is in most apps in the title bar there is an icon. Drag that to finder and it saves the file. Kinda Risc os style.
    - msephton 2mo ago
      You can also paste whatever file path is on the clipboard into a file dialog to instantly go to that path.
  - whimbyte 2mo ago
    > and I really dislike drag and drop behavior on macOS In the app you can have a dual pane with two folders side-by-side and select the file(s) you want to move/copy to the other folder and right click or open the command palette to do the operation, so you do not have to drag them (though dragging still works too). It's also possible to cut files with CMD + X and paste them somewhere else with CMD + V.
HeavyStorm 2mo ago
Just switched from windows to Mac and the rumors are true. Finder is terrible.
- walthamstow 2mo ago
  Slightly unrelated but do yourself a favour and download the Alt Tab app for MacOS. I haven't used a Windows machine daily for a long time but that window switching behaviour never went away for me, especially if I'm working on just the laptop screen.
  - alimbada 2mo ago
    I've been using it for the last 3 years since I needed to use Macs for work and it is a boon compared to the janky/jarring native Mac app switching behaviour.
- commandersaki 2mo ago
  [dead]
- nottorp 2mo ago
  it's only port install mc that keeps me from reviewing all alternative file managers for mac os :)
  - stasomatic 2mo ago
    Or just plain fzf/yazi.
- linzhangrun 2mo ago
  Feel like using the terminal CLI directly is better than Finder.
syou1024 2mo ago
[flagged]
dinkblam 2mo ago
[flagged]
- alejoar 2mo ago
  I guess I cannot operate a computer.
seanclayton 2mo ago
Do you have any kind of public AI statement on the ways this product utilizes or is built with generative AI, if any?
- nubg 2mo ago
  the point being? the battle of using agentic AI for software development being "stealing" has long been lost.
  - frizlab 2mo ago
    Says who? I do not think people actually think it’s not stealing in all honesty. I’m pretty sure it’s something like “but we cannot do differently” and we kind of collectively “decided” to stop talking about it. It’s still plainly wrong, and a theft.
    - frizlab 2mo ago
      You can downvote me all you want, but morally, what has been done is unacceptable.
  - Hugsbox 2mo ago
    Some people may not trust vibecoded projects with their entire filesystem if they don't know how much human review the code has underwent. Worst-case scenario could be a catastrophe.
- lionkor 2mo ago
  I have a template if anyone wants it https://libls.org/ai-use.html https://libls.org/ai-use.html
aagd 2mo ago
Why would anyone trust an app from an anonymous source access their whole filesystem with read/write access? Who are you hello@whimfiles.com and where are you from?
- 217 2mo ago
  nothing beside the lack of willing is stopping you from removing its internet access before giving it the file system permissions
  - lurkercodemnky 2mo ago
    What if it writes to your .bashrc with a malicious alias for sudo?
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]
frizlab 2mo ago
First screenshot on the front page has a design issue: text of selected file is in black instead of white.
- whimbyte 2mo ago
  > First screenshot on the front page has a design issue: text of selected file is in black instead of white. Good catch. That's already fixed (selected-row text is white now, matching Finder). Just an old screenshot on the site. I'll get it updated. Thanks for flagging it.
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]
ninefathom 2mo ago
//confused noises// Wait, are you telling me that macOS has gotten so ensh---ified that many of its users feel the need to purchase a bespoke file manager, arguably one of the most fundamental functions of an operating system? Surely this is a very specific product for a very specific class of users? This can't be a widespread need, right? RIGHT? (Context: I haven't used modern macOS in roughly a decade and have no idea what it's like these days)
- phyzix5761 2mo ago
  I think most of us software engineering (or related) people don't use the gui interface for file management. I've been using macOS for the last 20 years and I only used the gui for files like 10 or 20 times maybe. Not sure who the target audience is but at $19.99 I would pay a lot of money to have a list of the people who bought the app.
- msephton 2mo ago
  I think it's more people would rather built their own opinionated file manager than explore or understand how much Finder can really do. This app does a tiny fraction of what Finder can do and has been able to do for decades.
- abanana 2mo ago
  (Context: similar to you) I suppose it's similar to how people used to buy things like Directory Opus. The point isn't so much that the default one doesn't work. A bunch of functions like those listed here, e.g. batch rename and easy image conversion, would be a great help to power users, and should be better than having to install a separate program for each one. I doubt it's aimed at everybody, but it shouldn't need to be. Software tailored to a specific group's needs is likely to be better for them than something too generic.
- tl 2mo ago
  It's not a widespread issue but it's hardly new. DiskTop was an add-in that's almost as old as the Mac itself, and PathFinder has had a business model for most of the life of OSX. Alternative file managers are arguably a healthy property; the alternative is the phone where you cannot compete meaningfully with the Files app. And Finder works for most basic needs, something which is not true of its mobile counterpart.
msephton 2mo ago
I like many of the ideas in this app, but IMHO it does not yet look like a macOS app: eg. strange blue focus outlines to denote active state, which on my system are larger vertically than the button they contain but not horizontally which results in a very untidy display, some buttons are smaller than the required/recommended minimum size. Some other things I've noticed, compared to Finder: far less items in the same vertical space, different keyboard shortcuts for same feature makes migration difficult. My favourite Finder-likes: Nimble Commander, Marta
- msephton 2mo ago
  After putting a lot of thought into this, I've ended up making my own dual pane file manager. Oops!
- whalesalad 2mo ago
  https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guideline...
  - ThePinion 2mo ago
    I think it's arguable that following the guidelines post-Tahoe will lead to a worse UI.
cloin 2mo ago
I used to have a greater need for a file manager in other jobs. I don’t have the same need anymore but Forklift (https://binarynights.com/ https://binarynights.com/) has always been great and I still use it from time to time.
jwr 2mo ago
I really, really need a better Finder. I've been using Path Finder for many years, but it was always a so-so replacement and the company wasn't very interested in moving it forward (even fixing bugs took many years). I eventually gave up and stopped paying for it. I now use the Finder (column view) and it sucks. At a first glance, I like this app. The problem I have is that I tend to think about the long term: will this app be around in 5 years? There is a plethora of AI-coded apps (this in itself doesn't bother me) where the author loses interest after just a couple of weeks. And (here come the HN downvotes, because this is really unpopular on HN) the one-time pricing model doesn't lend itself to long-term sustainability, unfortunately. I know people hate to hear that, but ask anyone who tried to run a small or solo-founder business whether it's possible to make ends meet with one-time purchases.
- cosmic_cheese 2mo ago
  Would you mind elaborating on how the Finder isn’t your cup of tea? I’m curious, because at this point I’ve used everything from the spatial Classic Mac OS Finder to to every OS X Finder to every Windows Explorer version since to Windows 95 to Dolphin to the menagerie of Nautilus forks, and I don’t quite understand the discontent with the Finder for the most part. If anything I find the W11 Explorer overall more frustrating these days.
  - andrekandre 2mo ago
    i have a theory: all file browsers suck, they just suck in different ways for different people my other theory is that its entirely possible to make a good file browser, but nowadays theres not much investment in them beyond fixing major issues for most users... > I don’t quite understand the discontent with the Finder for the most part its got a lot better over the years (old pathfinder user here) but for me anyways its the constant explosion of new windows and lack of split-view (and also integrated terminal but i know apple will never do that) also, i love column view in finder and that makes every other fileviewer (even the one in kde with the terminal) suck for me...
  - jwr 2mo ago
    Mostly because I have to do way too much clicking to see things in the column view. Columns are usually too narrow. Then you have to scroll horizontally to get to see your files. Search is slow. Open windows are kinda-remembered, but not always, it seems. And I'd like some folders to be sorted by date modified (downloads, anyone?) and most others by name. Then there is no quick "fuzzy find in a subtree" fzf-like functionality. I mean, compared to the Windows garbage this is better, but it has seen little love over the last 20 years or so and it shows.
Z4cki 2mo ago
That's a great tool dude! I was looking for similar thing would give it a try
thenthenthen 2mo ago
“Your Downloads folder has 847 files.” Oh no.. do I have a problem? +10k files
kristianp 2mo ago
I'm not familiar with .net on Mac, what binding did you use to make this? .NET MAUI? https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/maui/developer-tools/platform-backends/macos?view=net-maui-10.0 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/maui/developer-tool...
- whimbyte 2mo ago
  Not MAUI. It's .NET's macOS target (net10.0-macos, the macos workload that descends from Xamarin.Mac), which ships C# bindings for the native Apple frameworks. So the UI is plain AppKit used directly from C#.
mune2gu-chan 2mo ago
The 9MB size alone got my attention. It's refreshing to see a native macOS app that doesn't pull in Electron for everything.
- thx67 2mo ago
  Could be pulling in webkit. 9MB doesn't mean it isn't based on a web renderer. It would be awesome if software came with a nutrition label. IO, does it phone home, memory safety, does it use web renderer, memory usage, etc.
  - whimbyte 2mo ago
    There's no web renderer at all. The UI is native AppKit (NSTableView, NSOutlineView, NSPanel, etc.) driven from C#/.NET via P/Invoke. It uses real Cocoa controls, not HTML/CSS in a Webview. The app doesn't phone home except for checking if there is a new version (and only does this in the registered version) and the only information sent is the current version number.
    - thx67 2mo ago
      Thank you for supplying all that info. I wasn't implying your app did anything nefarious, just the kinds of things I would like to see on an App Nutrition label. That is cool that you wrote it in .NET, any hiccups with that stack? I did some MacDev using Lua like 15 years ago, it worked out pretty well.
      - whimbyte 2mo ago
        No worries. There were some minor initial setup/hiccups in the beginning of the project but overall I'm very happy with using .NET with Native AOT.
    - anthk 2mo ago
      Could it be compiled with GNUStep?

98 points by whimbyte 2mo ago

chonghaoju 2mo ago

[dead]

satoyoshidev 2mo ago

Cross-volume moves can't use rename(2), so they fall back to copy-then-delete. If the copy dies halfway, does it roll back or leave a partial file at the destination?

farazzz123 2mo ago

[dead]

sebarb 2mo ago

[flagged]

whimbyte 2mo ago

[dead]

othmanosx 2mo ago

Just add an Up Directory button and you’ll be infinitely better than Finder.

jaffa2 2mo ago

does this index the disk to do this ? So the filemanager is working with an index rather than the files ? It could be stale ? I haven't found a good file manager for mac since 15 years now. They all just about do the things I need but not good enough. I've never really done the dual pane thing, my favourite gui for file management was Windows XP. Every iteration of explorer since has gotten objectively worse. On mac I don't even bother trying to filemanage. I remote in to a windows machine. I need to be able to get paths and paste paths. for my downloads I just sort by type in list view and delete whatever by type. just do that a few times a year no big deal. I don't understand why we can't have an AI that sorts out the files they half baked 'stacks' onto the desktop, but all that happens is i now have dozens and dozens of stacks which contain dozens and dozens of files.

ttoinou 2mo ago
I’m in the same boat, I don’t like Finder (better than Windows Explorer though), nor do I like default macOS files / folders dialogs, and I really dislike drag and drop behavior on macOS I dont understand why we are stuck in stone’s age with filesystems GUI
- jaffa2 2mo ago
  One thing worth knowing is in the mac file dialogs you can drop a file from finder into these and it will change directory to where that file is. The other thing is in most apps in the title bar there is an icon. Drag that to finder and it saves the file. Kinda Risc os style.
  - msephton 2mo ago
    You can also paste whatever file path is on the clipboard into a file dialog to instantly go to that path.
- whimbyte 2mo ago
  > and I really dislike drag and drop behavior on macOS In the app you can have a dual pane with two folders side-by-side and select the file(s) you want to move/copy to the other folder and right click or open the command palette to do the operation, so you do not have to drag them (though dragging still works too). It's also possible to cut files with CMD + X and paste them somewhere else with CMD + V.

HeavyStorm 2mo ago

Just switched from windows to Mac and the rumors are true. Finder is terrible.

walthamstow 2mo ago
Slightly unrelated but do yourself a favour and download the Alt Tab app for MacOS. I haven't used a Windows machine daily for a long time but that window switching behaviour never went away for me, especially if I'm working on just the laptop screen.
- alimbada 2mo ago
  I've been using it for the last 3 years since I needed to use Macs for work and it is a boon compared to the janky/jarring native Mac app switching behaviour.
commandersaki 2mo ago
[dead]
nottorp 2mo ago
it's only port install mc that keeps me from reviewing all alternative file managers for mac os :)
- stasomatic 2mo ago
  Or just plain fzf/yazi.
linzhangrun 2mo ago
Feel like using the terminal CLI directly is better than Finder.

syou1024 2mo ago

[flagged]

dinkblam 2mo ago

[flagged]

alejoar 2mo ago
I guess I cannot operate a computer.

seanclayton 2mo ago

Do you have any kind of public AI statement on the ways this product utilizes or is built with generative AI, if any?

nubg 2mo ago
the point being? the battle of using agentic AI for software development being "stealing" has long been lost.
- frizlab 2mo ago
  Says who? I do not think people actually think it’s not stealing in all honesty. I’m pretty sure it’s something like “but we cannot do differently” and we kind of collectively “decided” to stop talking about it. It’s still plainly wrong, and a theft.
  - frizlab 2mo ago
    You can downvote me all you want, but morally, what has been done is unacceptable.
- Hugsbox 2mo ago
  Some people may not trust vibecoded projects with their entire filesystem if they don't know how much human review the code has underwent. Worst-case scenario could be a catastrophe.
lionkor 2mo ago
I have a template if anyone wants it https://libls.org/ai-use.html https://libls.org/ai-use.html

aagd 2mo ago

Why would anyone trust an app from an anonymous source access their whole filesystem with read/write access? Who are you hello@whimfiles.com and where are you from?

217 2mo ago
nothing beside the lack of willing is stopping you from removing its internet access before giving it the file system permissions
- lurkercodemnky 2mo ago
  What if it writes to your .bashrc with a malicious alias for sudo?
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]

frizlab 2mo ago

First screenshot on the front page has a design issue: text of selected file is in black instead of white.

whimbyte 2mo ago
> First screenshot on the front page has a design issue: text of selected file is in black instead of white. Good catch. That's already fixed (selected-row text is white now, matching Finder). Just an old screenshot on the site. I'll get it updated. Thanks for flagging it.

deleted 2mo ago

[deleted]

ninefathom 2mo ago

//confused noises// Wait, are you telling me that macOS has gotten so ensh---ified that many of its users feel the need to purchase a bespoke file manager, arguably one of the most fundamental functions of an operating system? Surely this is a very specific product for a very specific class of users? This can't be a widespread need, right? RIGHT? (Context: I haven't used modern macOS in roughly a decade and have no idea what it's like these days)

phyzix5761 2mo ago
I think most of us software engineering (or related) people don't use the gui interface for file management. I've been using macOS for the last 20 years and I only used the gui for files like 10 or 20 times maybe. Not sure who the target audience is but at $19.99 I would pay a lot of money to have a list of the people who bought the app.
msephton 2mo ago
I think it's more people would rather built their own opinionated file manager than explore or understand how much Finder can really do. This app does a tiny fraction of what Finder can do and has been able to do for decades.
abanana 2mo ago
(Context: similar to you) I suppose it's similar to how people used to buy things like Directory Opus. The point isn't so much that the default one doesn't work. A bunch of functions like those listed here, e.g. batch rename and easy image conversion, would be a great help to power users, and should be better than having to install a separate program for each one. I doubt it's aimed at everybody, but it shouldn't need to be. Software tailored to a specific group's needs is likely to be better for them than something too generic.
tl 2mo ago
It's not a widespread issue but it's hardly new. DiskTop was an add-in that's almost as old as the Mac itself, and PathFinder has had a business model for most of the life of OSX. Alternative file managers are arguably a healthy property; the alternative is the phone where you cannot compete meaningfully with the Files app. And Finder works for most basic needs, something which is not true of its mobile counterpart.

msephton 2mo ago

I like many of the ideas in this app, but IMHO it does not yet look like a macOS app: eg. strange blue focus outlines to denote active state, which on my system are larger vertically than the button they contain but not horizontally which results in a very untidy display, some buttons are smaller than the required/recommended minimum size. Some other things I've noticed, compared to Finder: far less items in the same vertical space, different keyboard shortcuts for same feature makes migration difficult. My favourite Finder-likes: Nimble Commander, Marta

msephton 2mo ago
After putting a lot of thought into this, I've ended up making my own dual pane file manager. Oops!
whalesalad 2mo ago
https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guideline...
- ThePinion 2mo ago
  I think it's arguable that following the guidelines post-Tahoe will lead to a worse UI.

cloin 2mo ago

I used to have a greater need for a file manager in other jobs. I don’t have the same need anymore but Forklift (https://binarynights.com/ https://binarynights.com/) has always been great and I still use it from time to time.

jwr 2mo ago

I really, really need a better Finder. I've been using Path Finder for many years, but it was always a so-so replacement and the company wasn't very interested in moving it forward (even fixing bugs took many years). I eventually gave up and stopped paying for it. I now use the Finder (column view) and it sucks. At a first glance, I like this app. The problem I have is that I tend to think about the long term: will this app be around in 5 years? There is a plethora of AI-coded apps (this in itself doesn't bother me) where the author loses interest after just a couple of weeks. And (here come the HN downvotes, because this is really unpopular on HN) the one-time pricing model doesn't lend itself to long-term sustainability, unfortunately. I know people hate to hear that, but ask anyone who tried to run a small or solo-founder business whether it's possible to make ends meet with one-time purchases.

cosmic_cheese 2mo ago
Would you mind elaborating on how the Finder isn’t your cup of tea? I’m curious, because at this point I’ve used everything from the spatial Classic Mac OS Finder to to every OS X Finder to every Windows Explorer version since to Windows 95 to Dolphin to the menagerie of Nautilus forks, and I don’t quite understand the discontent with the Finder for the most part. If anything I find the W11 Explorer overall more frustrating these days.
- andrekandre 2mo ago
  i have a theory: all file browsers suck, they just suck in different ways for different people my other theory is that its entirely possible to make a good file browser, but nowadays theres not much investment in them beyond fixing major issues for most users... > I don’t quite understand the discontent with the Finder for the most part its got a lot better over the years (old pathfinder user here) but for me anyways its the constant explosion of new windows and lack of split-view (and also integrated terminal but i know apple will never do that) also, i love column view in finder and that makes every other fileviewer (even the one in kde with the terminal) suck for me...
- jwr 2mo ago
  Mostly because I have to do way too much clicking to see things in the column view. Columns are usually too narrow. Then you have to scroll horizontally to get to see your files. Search is slow. Open windows are kinda-remembered, but not always, it seems. And I'd like some folders to be sorted by date modified (downloads, anyone?) and most others by name. Then there is no quick "fuzzy find in a subtree" fzf-like functionality. I mean, compared to the Windows garbage this is better, but it has seen little love over the last 20 years or so and it shows.

Z4cki 2mo ago

That's a great tool dude! I was looking for similar thing would give it a try

thenthenthen 2mo ago

“Your Downloads folder has 847 files.” Oh no.. do I have a problem? +10k files

kristianp 2mo ago

I'm not familiar with .net on Mac, what binding did you use to make this? .NET MAUI? https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/maui/developer-tools/platform-backends/macos?view=net-maui-10.0 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/maui/developer-tool...

whimbyte 2mo ago
Not MAUI. It's .NET's macOS target (net10.0-macos, the macos workload that descends from Xamarin.Mac), which ships C# bindings for the native Apple frameworks. So the UI is plain AppKit used directly from C#.

mune2gu-chan 2mo ago

The 9MB size alone got my attention. It's refreshing to see a native macOS app that doesn't pull in Electron for everything.

thx67 2mo ago
Could be pulling in webkit. 9MB doesn't mean it isn't based on a web renderer. It would be awesome if software came with a nutrition label. IO, does it phone home, memory safety, does it use web renderer, memory usage, etc.
- whimbyte 2mo ago
  There's no web renderer at all. The UI is native AppKit (NSTableView, NSOutlineView, NSPanel, etc.) driven from C#/.NET via P/Invoke. It uses real Cocoa controls, not HTML/CSS in a Webview. The app doesn't phone home except for checking if there is a new version (and only does this in the registered version) and the only information sent is the current version number.
  - thx67 2mo ago
    Thank you for supplying all that info. I wasn't implying your app did anything nefarious, just the kinds of things I would like to see on an App Nutrition label. That is cool that you wrote it in .NET, any hiccups with that stack? I did some MacDev using Lua like 15 years ago, it worked out pretty well.
    - whimbyte 2mo ago
      No worries. There were some minor initial setup/hiccups in the beginning of the project but overall I'm very happy with using .NET with Native AOT.
  - anthk 2mo ago
    Could it be compiled with GNUStep?