The Modern Native File Manager for macOS
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Download fileOS.dmg — 908 KB, macOS 14+
Drag fileOS.app to your Applications folder and launch.
fileOS is a high-performance, native macOS file manager built entirely in Swift and SwiftUI. Zero dependencies. Zero web views. Zero Electron. Just pure native macOS.
It is designed as a modern alternative to Finder, with dual-pane browsing, tabbed navigation, a command palette, Quick Look integration, and a premium visual experience — all in under 1 MB.
- Three view modes — List, Icons (grid), Columns (
Cmd+1/2/3) - Dual-pane mode — Side-by-side browsing with independent tabs
- Tabbed navigation — Multiple tabs per pane with pin, close, duplicate
- Quick Look — Spacebar to preview any file
- Drag & Drop — Drag files between panes, to desktop, or from external apps
- Context menus — Full right-click menus on files and background
- Breadcrumb path bar — Click any segment to jump
- Back / Forward / Up — Full history navigation
- Sidebar — Favorites, Locations, Volumes with active location highlighting
- Command Palette —
Shift+Cmd+Pfor instant access to any command
- Copy, Cut, Paste, Duplicate, Rename
- Move to Trash with toast notification
- Compress to ZIP / Extract ZIP
- Create new folders
- Open in Terminal — Right-click any folder
- Real-time search with 250ms debouncing
- Scope: Current folder / Subfolders / This Mac
- Instant results with file path context
- File preview (images, PDFs, text, code)
- Full metadata: size, dates, permissions, type
- Quick actions: Show in Finder, Open in Terminal, Copy Path
- Default view mode
- Default sort field
- Show hidden files by default
- Confirm before Trash
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| CPU at idle | 0% |
| Memory usage | ~70 MB |
| Binary size | 2.2 MB |
| DMG size | 908 KB |
| Launch time | < 0.5s |
| Dependencies | Zero |
| File listing (home dir) | Instant |
| Icon loading | Lazy on render |
Sources/fileOS/
├── FileOSApp.swift # App entry + AppState
├── Models/ # Data models (7 files)
│ ├── FileItem.swift # File metadata
│ ├── ViewMode.swift # List / Grid / Columns
│ ├── TabModel.swift # Tab state
│ ├── PaneModel.swift # Dual-pane state
│ ├── NavigationState.swift # History + breadcrumbs
│ ├── SidebarItem.swift # Sidebar entries
│ └── SortDescriptor.swift # Sort field + order
├── ViewModels/ # State management (7 files)
│ ├── BrowserViewModel.swift # File browser logic
│ ├── TabManager.swift # Tab lifecycle
│ ├── DualPaneManager.swift # Dual-pane orchestration
│ ├── SidebarViewModel.swift # Sidebar state
│ ├── SearchViewModel.swift # Search with debounce
│ ├── InspectorViewModel.swift # File inspector
│ └── ToastManager.swift # Toast notifications
├── Views/ # SwiftUI views (20 files)
│ ├── MainWindow/ # ContentView, ToolbarView, StatusBar
│ ├── Browser/ # BrowserView, FileListView, FileGridView, FileRowView
│ ├── Sidebar/ # SidebarView, SidebarRowView
│ ├── Tabs/ # TabBarView, TabItemView, TabContainerView
│ ├── DualPane/ # DualPaneView, PaneView
│ ├── Inspector/ # InspectorPanel, FilePreview, Metadata
│ ├── Search/ # SearchBar, SearchResults
│ ├── Navigation/ # PathBarView
│ ├── ContextMenu/ # FileContextMenu, BackgroundContextMenu
│ ├── CommandPalette/ # CommandPaletteView
│ ├── Toast/ # ToastOverlayView
│ └── Preferences/ # PreferencesView
├── Services/ # Business logic (4 files)
│ ├── FileSystemService.swift # Directory listing (actor)
│ ├── FileOperationService.swift # CRUD operations (actor)
│ ├── SearchService.swift # File search (actor)
│ ├── PasteboardService.swift # Copy/paste
│ └── QuickLookService.swift # QLPreviewPanel integration
├── Utilities/ # Helpers (2 files)
│ ├── AppCommands.swift # Menu bar + keyboard shortcuts
│ └── FileSizeFormatter.swift # Size formatting + date cache
└── DesignSystem/
└── DesignTokens.swift # Spacing, radius, colors, animations
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New Tab | Cmd+T |
| Close Tab | Cmd+W |
| New Folder | Shift+Cmd+N |
| Quick Look | Space |
| Rename | Enter |
| Delete | Delete |
| Search | Cmd+F |
| Command Palette | Shift+Cmd+P |
| List View | Cmd+1 |
| Icon View | Cmd+2 |
| Column View | Cmd+3 |
| Toggle Inspector | Cmd+I |
| Toggle Hidden Files | Cmd+. |
| Toggle Dual Pane | Shift+Cmd+D |
| Refresh | Cmd+R |
| Go Back | Cmd+[ |
| Go Forward | Cmd+] |
| Enclosing Folder | Cmd+Up |
| Go Home | Shift+Cmd+H |
| Preferences | Cmd+, |
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Language | Swift 5.9 |
| UI Framework | SwiftUI |
| State Management | @Observable (Swift Observation) |
| Concurrency | Swift Concurrency (actors, async/await) |
| Build System | Swift Package Manager |
| Target | macOS 14.0+ (Apple Silicon + Intel) |
| Dependencies | None |
git clone https://github.com/Worth-Doing/fileOS.git
cd fileOS
swift build -c release
open .build/release/fileOSNo Xcode project required. Just swift build.
MIT License. See LICENSE for details.
Built with Swift + SwiftUI by Worth Doing AI