Freeloader 0.2.9 — The “Your Pane, Your Rules” Release

The “Your Pane, Your Rules” Release

Split panes now behave like two capable file browsers instead of one browser and its unpaid intern. Selection, dragging, views, and sorting all respect the pane you are actually using.

Pane and simple

• Makes Command-A select every item in the active directory instead of the path bar
• Moves every selected file and folder when dragging a group between panes
• Moves view and multi-criteria sort controls into each pane’s navigation row
• Keeps view and sorting choices independent for each pane
• Keeps Back, Forward, and Up beside the controls they affect

Freeloader 0.2.8 — The “Folders Have Names Too” Release

The “Folders Have Names Too” Release

Folder renaming now works everywhere, including icon and compact views. A
folder should not need to become a file before Freeloader lets you change its
name.

Name-calling, restored

• Shows the inline rename editor for folders in icon view
• Shows the inline rename editor in compact view
• Makes Return start renaming in every view mode
• Keeps double-click responsible for opening folders
• Adds regression coverage for renaming a folder and keeping it selected

Freeloader is free and open source under the MIT License.

Freeloader 0.2.7

The “Two Panes, Zero Backseat Drivers” Release

Split view now gives both panes the navigation controls they deserve. Each side
gets its own Back, Forward, and Up buttons, so the right pane no longer has to
ask the left pane for directions.

Both panes have the wheel

• Fixes Up Directory so it works independently in both split-view panes
• Adds dedicated Back, Forward, and Up controls to each pane
• Keeps separate browser-style history menus for each pane
• Preserves the shared navigation toolbar in single-pane mode
• Gives the new controls Freeloader’s purple gradient, bounce, and tilt

Freeloader is free and open source under the MIT License.

Freeloader 0.2.6

The “Your Offline Server Can’t Hold Us Hostage” Release

A focused startup hotfix: disconnected SMB shares no longer leave Freeloader
bouncing forever before its first window appears.

Released on good behavior

• Stops restoring transient /Volumes tabs after relaunch
• Falls back to a local Home tab when the previous session ended on a network share
• Keeps SMB addresses available in Recent Servers for quick reconnection
• Avoids synchronous network checks while rebuilding recent locations and Favorites
• Adds regression coverage for disconnected mounted-volume sessions

Freeloader is free and open source under the MIT License.

Freeloader 0.2.4

Freeloader 0.2.4 is the “Select Company Included” release.

Added

• Adds Finder-style marquee selection in icon and compact views
• Shows a live selection rectangle and highlights every intersecting item
• Supports Command-drag to add items to the current selection

Improved

• Clears the current selection when empty space is clicked
• Keeps file drag-and-drop distinct from background marquee selection
• Keeps the image preview pane stable while marquee selection is active

Fixed

• Prevents the adaptive icon grid from jittering when a marquee begins with an image preview open
• Resets the range-selection anchor after clearing a selection

Requires macOS 15 or newer. The DMG is signed, notarized, and universal for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

SHA-256: 183beaa76e7ec78e0bf29d0b24f480a2b303fe36dfe5917493a13dfc526020eb

Freeloader 0.2.3

Freeloader 0.2.3 is the “Links Should Lead Somewhere” release.

Improved

• Makes the preview pane responsive and centers media in the available space
• Expands, highlights, and scrolls to the active folder when Folder Tree opens
• Keeps tree view synchronized with the active folder while navigating

Fixed

• Recognizes symbolic links to folders throughout the file pane, tree, and path autocomplete
• Resolves folder-link targets before loading, watching, or building breadcrumbs
• Keeps directory symlink navigation inside Freeloader instead of falling through to Finder

Requires macOS 15 or newer. The DMG is signed, notarized, and universal for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

SHA-256: f347c24145846ddddf0489adbe986b3e718b77b9d2fe4df34744284ecd88b1be

Freeloader 0.2.2

Freeloader 0.2.2 is the “A Little Less Clicking” release.

Improved

• Automatically expands the home-folder root when Folder Tree is enabled
• Adds a branded toolbar control for List, Compact, and Icons views
• Updates the toolbar button to reflect the active view mode
• Keeps the new view control consistent with Freeloader’s purple toolbar style

Requires macOS 15 or newer. The DMG is signed, notarized, and universal for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

SHA-256: aee293029bbbc6dd0a74fdb95eb2238d6ca04881803cb1ef2af8241e6743aff1

Freeloader 0.2.1

Freeloader 0.2.1 is the “Nobody Invited That Permission Prompt” release.

Fixed

• Removed the unnecessary shared App Group entitlement
• Stopped accessing a cross-app preferences container at startup
• Eliminated the “Freeloader would like to access data from other apps” launch prompt
• Kept the Finder context-menu extension working inside the home folder

No Privacy & Security workaround or extra approval is required.

Requires macOS 15 or newer. The DMG is signed, notarized, and universal for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

SHA-256: 15297272621aba1b48f5a12f1759ee9ed19c52abb6c6891ae21f835d61ef8c89

Freeloader 0.2.0

Freeloader 0.2.0 is the “Fine, We’ll Build the Whole File Manager” release.

See more

• Image thumbnails and a general inline preview pane
• Image dimensions, color profiles, and calculated folder sizes
• Optional Git status badges
• Mounted-drive capacity and safe eject controls

Do more

• Split-pane browsing and pinned or duplicated tabs
• Advanced batch rename with live previews
• ZIP creation and common archive extraction
• Finder tags, templates, aliases, and symbolic links
• Open With, default-app selection, file comparison, and MD5/SHA-1/SHA-256 checksums

Wait less

• Transfer queue concurrency, reordering, retry, and persistent history
• Command palette, configurable toolbar controls, and editable shortcuts
• Recently closed window restoration
• Temporary hidden-file reveal and Show Package Contents
• Browser-style navigation history
• Normal text cut, copy, paste, and select-all behavior in the editable path bar

Requires macOS 15 or newer. The DMG is signed, notarized, and universal for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

SHA-256: b3d0af9d0b8881a272cb446b31dce567028948388fd4c1e52f3af66ecc39cc5e

Freeloader 0.1.0

The first public release of Freeloader — a free, open-source file manager for macOS.\n\nHighlights:\n- Editable address bar with path autocomplete\n- Real cut and paste for files\n- Drag and drop across the file pane, tree, and Favorites\n- Detailed file transfers\n- Tabs, search, multiple views, Quick Look, and Finder integration\n- Signed and notarized universal app for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs\n\nRequires macOS 15 or newer.