DragShift

Convert and edit files on Windows, Mac and Linux with a liquid-glass radial menu. Start dragging any file, press Shift, and drop it on a slice.

From the latest release:

• DragShift-Setup.exe (recommended): installs for your user only, so no admin rights are needed. It adds a Start menu entry, an option to start with Windows, a right-click DragShift… entry and a Send to → DragShift entry. It uninstalls cleanly from Settings → Apps.
• DragShift.exe: a portable version you can run from anywhere.

Mac (easiest, no security warning): paste this into Terminal:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/llamaboi55/DragShift/main/install-mac.sh | bash

It picks the right build for your Mac, installs it to Applications and opens it (see what it does). Run the same line again to update.

Or download the .dmg yourself:

• DragShift-mac-apple-silicon.dmg: for Macs with M1, M2, M3 or M4 chips (macOS 11 or later).
• DragShift-mac-intel.dmg: for Intel Macs.

Open the .dmg and drag DragShift into Applications. DragShift lives in the menu bar and has no Dock icon. You can also right-click any file → Open With → DragShift.

Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, MX… with XFCE, MATE, Cinnamon or any X11 desktop): download DragShift-linux-amd64.deb, then run:

sudo apt install ./DragShift-linux-amd64.deb

Open DragShift from the app menu. It sits in the panel's notification area, and you can turn on Start at login in Settings. It works in Thunar, Nautilus, Nemo, Caja, Dolphin and on the desktop, and it also adds Open With → DragShift to file right-click menus. It works with or without a compositor: when compositing is off (common on XFCE), the menu and windows are cut to their exact shape, so you won't see black boxes. Builds target Debian 12 or newer (Ubuntu 23.04+).

Wayland: Wayland doesn't let apps read the global Shift and mouse state, so the Shift + drag trigger only works in X11 sessions (XFCE is X11). On GNOME/KDE Wayland, use right-click → Open With → DragShift, or pick "Ubuntu on Xorg" / "Plasma (X11)" at the login screen.

First launch on Windows: SmartScreen may warn because the app isn't code-signed yet. Click More info → Run anyway.

First launch on Mac, if you used the .dmg instead of the Terminal line: macOS says "Apple could not verify 'DragShift' is free of malware." This happens with any app that hasn't paid for Apple's notarization; DragShift's code is all public in this repo. To open it:

1. Open DragShift once and click Done on the warning.
2. Go to → System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to "DragShift was blocked…" and click Open Anyway. Enter your password and confirm.
3. That's it. macOS remembers the choice.

Or, in Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/DragShift.app (On macOS 15 and later, the old right-click → Open shortcut no longer skips this warning.)

Mac, optional: allow Screen Recording when DragShift asks, so the glass can refract the windows behind it. Without it, the glass shows your wallpaper. Nothing is ever saved or sent.

1. Start dragging a file (an image, PDF, Word or text file; desktop shortcuts to one work too) in File Explorer, Finder, your Linux file manager or on the desktop.
2. Press Shift. The menu opens under your cursor.
3. Drop the file on a slice. The result is saved next to the original, and the original is never changed.
4. To switch between Convert and Tools, tap Shift again.

Each action ends with a notification that shows what changed, for example "2.4 MB → 610 KB · 75% smaller" or "2400×1600 → 1200×800", with Open, Show in folder and Undo. Undo moves the new file to the Recycle Bin (Trash on Mac and Linux).

You can also right-click a file → DragShift…, use Send to → DragShift, or double-click the tray icon to pick a file.

Settings (tray menu): trigger key (Shift, Ctrl or Alt), where results go (next to the original or a DragShift subfolder), JPG/WebP quality, PDF → image resolution, and start at login.

The menu, notifications and windows use real liquid-glass rendering. DragShift captures the screen behind each surface and refracts it through the shape. A curved edge bends light, R, G and B bend by slightly different amounts (which gives the rainbow fringe), a highlight runs along the rim facing the light, and the tint adapts to what's behind it so text stays readable. The menu renders on a background thread while it pops in, so it still opens instantly.

Every push runs these jobs on GitHub's Windows, Mac and Linux machines:

• Build: unit tests, the portable exe and installer builds, a self-test of each build, and a silent install → run → uninstall check.
• End-to-end: a script moves the real mouse to drag files from File Explorer and the Desktop, presses Shift, drops on every conversion and tool, drives each tool window, and checks every output file (format, dimensions, page counts, encryption, metadata removed). The results table and a screen recording are saved to the e2e-output branch.
• Mac end-to-end: real Finder drags with Shift (Quartz mouse and keyboard events) through conversions, PDF tools, merging and the tool windows. Every output is checked, and the run is recorded to the e2e-mac-output branch.
• Mac builds: DragShift.app and the .dmg for Apple Silicon and Intel, each self-tested inside the app bundle.
• Debian/XFCE: builds the .deb on Debian 12, installs it, and runs the same kind of end-to-end test in Thunar under XFCE's window manager with the compositor off. Real XTest drags with Shift go through conversions, PDF tools, merging, the tool windows and Open With. The results and a recording are saved to the e2e-linux-output branch.
• Demo video: pushing to the demo branch records a showcase video.

DragShift is free. If it saves you time, you can leave a tip on Cash App: $AtikaKadesha. Thank you!

MIT: free to use, modify and share.

pip install -r requirements.txt
python -m dragshift

On Linux, PySide6 also needs the Qt XCB libraries: sudo apt install libxcb-cursor0 libxkbcommon-x11-0.

Tests: python -m pytest -q. Logs are written to %LOCALAPPDATA%\DragShift\log.txt on Windows, ~/Library/Logs/DragShift/log.txt on Mac and ~/.local/share/DragShift/log.txt on Linux.

Windows builds will be code-signed by the SignPath Foundation, which provides free code signing for open-source projects.