Two panes, one folder each
Each pane has its own path, history and search. Tab switches between them. New windows and tabs (⌘N, ⌘T) get two panes of their own.
File manager for macOS
Two panes. One flow.
Open two folders side by side and drag files from one to the other. ZExplorer follows Finder's rules, copies in the background and shows the progress right in the destination pane.
- macOS 13 or later · Apple Silicon and Intel
- No analytics, no data collection
- Developer ID signed, notarized by Apple
Why ZExplorer
Work with files faster on your Mac
Drag and drop, the Finder way
Same drive moves, another drive copies. Hold ⌥ to copy, ⌘ to move. Drop on a folder to put the files inside it.
In the background, and undoable
Copy and move run in the background with progress and Cancel. On APFS, copies are instant clones. ⌘Z undoes rename, Trash, copy, move, compress and extract.
Copy
Copy to another drive, even when names clash
Drag three files to a backup drive. ZExplorer asks once about the name that is already taken, then copies in the background with progress by bytes.
- Click brand-guide.pdf, then ⌘-click hero-banner.png and palette-v2.ase.
- Drag them to the right pane. Backup Drive is another drive, so this copies: the cursor shows a green +.
- Drop. palette-v2.ase is already there, so ZExplorer asks: Keep Both, Replace, Skip or Stop.
- Progress shows in the destination pane, by bytes. The new copy is named “palette-v2 2.ase”.
- Done. The copies arrive selected and the originals stay where they were. Tab switches panes.
Move
Drop into a folder in the other pane
On one drive, a drag is a move. To copy instead, hold ⌥ — the cursor shows a + so you know before you let go.
- Click contract-draft.pdf, then ⇧-click invoice-0412.pdf to select the range.
- Drag onto the Approved folder in the right pane. Same drive, no modifier key: this is a move.
- Hold ⌥ and the drop becomes a copy (green +). Let go and it moves again. ⌘ always forces a move.
- Drop. On one drive a move is just a rename, so it finishes almost at once.
- Open Approved: both files are inside.
Or use the keyboard: ⌘C in one pane, then ⌥⌘V in the other to move, or ⌘V to copy.
Favorites
Pin the folders you use to the sidebar
Drag a folder onto Favorites to get back to it in one click. Drag to reorder; right-click to remove.
- Drag the Field Recordings folder out of the pane.
- Drop it on Favorites: the list lights up and the folder goes in just above the favorite under the cursor.
- Try a file: nothing is added. Only folders become favorites.
- Drag a favorite to reorder. The others make room as you pass over them.
- Click a favorite to open it in the active pane.
iPhone and iPad
Copy photos from your iPhone to the other pane
Plug in an iPhone, iPad or camera and it appears under Devices in the sidebar. Click it to see its photos and videos right in the pane, pick some and import them into the folder open in the other pane.
- Pick from thumbnailsNewest first, with the date taken; videos are marked. Select one by one, Select All, or Import All.
- Copy rules you already knowA name clash asks Keep Both, Replace or Skip. When the import ends, the other pane selects the new files.
- Over the cable, not the networkUses the Image Capture framework built into macOS — no driver, no account. The first time, unlock the iPhone and tap Trust.
Search
Search this folder, its subfolders or the whole Mac
Press ⌘F and type: the open folder is filtered as you go. Switch the scope to Subfolders or This Mac to search by name with Spotlight.
- Results as you typeUp to 5,000, live. The footer shows where the selected result lives.
- Even where Spotlight does not lookExternal drives and /tmp are searched by walking the folders.
- Jump to a result's folderRight-click a result and choose Show in Enclosing Folder.
Terminal
A terminal right under your files
The built-in terminal runs your login shell with colours, history and full-screen programs such as vim and top. cd Here moves the shell to the active pane's folder.
- Terminal tabs⌥⌘T opens a tab, ⌃⌘W closes it. Right-click a folder and choose Open in Terminal to start a shell there.
- SSH and SFTP⌘K to connect. Sessions open in the built-in terminal, with OpenSSH's own keys and ~/.ssh/config.
- Or the macOS TerminalThe macOS Terminal button opens Terminal.app in the same folder.
Inspector
Details without another window
The Inspector (⌥⌘I) shows a large preview, created and modified dates, the location and a folder's total size — worked out in the background.
- Quick Look with SpacePreview images, PDFs and movies just as in Finder.
- Folder sizes on requestClick Calculate for the total size of a folder or package without slowing the list.
- Compress and extractCompress to name.zip or Archive.zip. Extract zip, tar, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar.xz, 7z and rar — never overwriting.
Details
The small things you use every day
Big folders stay smooth
Listings load in the background and show their first entries early; a newer click cancels the pending one.
Lists update themselves
Added, removed and renamed items appear at once. A file being downloaded updates only its own row.
Pin apps to the top bar
Click to launch; drop files on an icon to open them with that app.
Drives and iCloud Drive
The sidebar lists mounted volumes, follows them as they come and go, and ejects removable or network drives.
Four languages
English, Tiếng Việt, 日本語, 한국어, or Automatic to follow macOS. The offline help follows the same language.
A native Mac app
Built with SwiftUI, with real macOS file icons, following the system's light and dark appearance.
Shortcuts
The Finder keys you already know
While the file list has focus, Finder's keys do what you expect.
| Keys | Action | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘C/⌘V | Copy / paste | Pastes into the open folder; the copies arrive selected |
| ⌥⌘V | Move here | After ⌘C in the other pane |
| Tab | Switch pane | Menu commands and the terminal follow the active pane |
| Space | Quick Look | |
| ⌘Z/⇧⌘Z | Undo / redo | Rename, Trash, duplicate, new folder, copy, move, compress, extract |
| ⌘F | Find | Filters the open folder; switch the scope to Subfolders or This Mac |
| ⌘\ | Second pane on or off | |
| ⇧⌘T | Terminal here |
Privacy
Your files stay on your Mac
Only an update check
The one connection ZExplorer makes on its own is a daily check for a new version, and you can turn it off. It sends nothing about your files. The terminal and SSH run only what you type.
No data collection
No ads, no account. File names, paths and contents never leave the Mac.
You decide on access
macOS asks before ZExplorer opens Desktop, Documents, Downloads or external drives. Review it any time in System Settings.
Download
ZExplorer for macOS
One .pkg installer for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It puts ZExplorer in your Applications folder.
Download ZExplorer for macOSVersion 0.2.0 · macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon & IntelDeveloper ID signed and notarized by Apple
- Version
- 0.2.0 (build 20)
- Installer
- ZExplorer-0.2.0-universal.pkg
- Size
- 3.9 MB
- Requires
- macOS 13 Ventura or later
- SHA-256
de18ab00761fd957e4219047122fd1cfd44885dda4f4f07f6c58d3b85f9dfbcd
- No need to turn off Gatekeeper
- Install over the old version to upgrade
- No data collection
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does ZExplorer replace Finder completely?
You use ZExplorer to browse and manage files; Finder keeps running for the desktop and system tasks. If you like, ZExplorer › Default File Viewer… makes ZExplorer receive “Show in Finder” requests from other apps; choose it again to go back to Finder.
When is a drag a move, and when a copy?
As in Finder: on the same drive it moves, to another drive it copies. Hold ⌥ to always copy, ⌘ to always move. The cursor shows a green + when the drop will copy.
What if the destination already has a file with that name?
ZExplorer asks: Keep Both (the new one becomes “name 2”), Replace (the old item goes to the Trash rather than being deleted), Skip or Stop. Tick “Apply to all” to use the same answer for the rest.
Does ZExplorer send any data anywhere?
No file data. The only connection ZExplorer makes on its own is the update check: once a day it downloads a small release description from cdn.z-cms.org, sending only its version number. Turn it off in ZExplorer › Settings… › Updates. No analytics, no ads, no account; the built-in terminal and SSH run only what you type.
Ready?
Open two folders and start dragging
Download the installer, open ZExplorer from Applications and allow access to the folders you need.