A native macOS file manager with a UX inspired by Windows Explorer.
Status: active development — v1.0 in progress.
Explorer is a SwiftUI app that brings the Windows Explorer (Win10/11) mental model to macOS: paneled layout, sidebar with Quick Access and drives, file list with multiple view modes, and — the centerpiece of the product — a hybrid address bar that switches between clickable breadcrumbs and an editable text input (with ⌘+L parity, paste-an-absolute-path, navigate on Enter).
The goal is not pixel-perfect parity with Windows; it is fidelity to the interactions that set Explorer apart from Finder.
Users migrating from Windows to macOS often hit friction with Finder over small things: no real editable address bar, no breadcrumb dropdowns for sibling folders, less flexible view modes. Explorer is built for that audience.
- Hybrid address bar: clickable breadcrumbs with a chevron per segment (lists sibling folders); edit mode via click,
⌘+L, or paste. Accepts absolute paths,~, and relative paths. - Sidebar with Quick Access + This Mac + external drives (mount/unmount detected at runtime).
- File list in Details (sortable table) and Large icons modes for v1.0.
- Windows-parity shortcuts:
⌘+L,⌘+←/→,⌘+↑, F5, F2, etc. - Status bar showing item count, selection, and free disk space.
- macOS 14+ (Sonoma or later).
- Xcode 15+ with Swift 5.9+ toolchain.
git clone https://github.com/<user>/Explorer.git
cd Explorer
open Explorer.xcodeprojThen run the Explorer target from Xcode (⌘+R). Local builds do not require code signing or notarization — only public releases go through that pipeline.
- Not published on the Mac App Store (deliberate decision — no sandbox).
- Releases ship via GitHub Releases as signed (Developer ID) + notarized + stapled builds, so they open cleanly on first launch without a Gatekeeper warning.
- Homebrew Cask distribution is planned for later.
- v1.0 — Full UI shell (address bar, sidebar, file list in Details + Large icons, status bar, shortcuts, read-only navigation).
- v1.1 — Tabs, address bar autocomplete, preview pane, additional view modes, file operations (copy/move/rename/delete), drag & drop.
- v1.2+ — Advanced search, recents, persistent favorites, i18n, Preferences.
Open source project — issues and PRs are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup, branching, commit conventions, and the PR checklist.
Licensed under the Apache License 2.0.