Properties: the details a file name can’t hold
A property is a named field you add to files, like Status or Due date. Because every property has a type, values stay consistent: a date is always a date, and a status is always one of the options you defined. Foldbase has six property types:
- Text. Notes, a client name or a short summary.
- Select. One option from a list you define, such as In progress, Review or Planned.
- Date. Deadlines, meeting days or the day something arrived.
- Number. Version numbers, page counts, estimates or amounts.
- Checkbox. Simple yes-or-no flags, like Approved or Sent.
- URL. A link to the related ticket, document or website.
Views: one folder, several ways to look at it
A view decides how files and their properties are shown. Foldbase has two kinds of saved views, and each can filter and sort by your properties:
- Table. Files in rows, properties in columns. Good for scanning details and comparing values.
- Board. Files as cards in columns, grouped by a select property such as Status. Good for following work as it moves along.
Views are saved, so one folder can have a detailed table for reviews and a status board for daily work, and you can switch between them at any time. Tabs and up to four split panes let you keep more than one folder or view open side by side.
Live groups go one step further: pin one to the sidebar, and it collects every file whose Status is Review, for example, from any folder.
Organise files without moving them
Foldbase does not move your files into a database or a hidden library. Your folders stay the source of truth, and properties and views are layered on top of them.
That also means the rest of your Mac keeps working as usual. Finder and your other apps open and save the same files, in the same places, under the same names.
And if you ever stop using Foldbase, there is nothing to undo in your folders: every file is still where you put it.
An example: a small project folder
Picture a folder called Studio with research notes, a project brief, an interview plan and a moodboard. Add three properties: Status (select), Project (select) and Due date (date). A table view shows every file with its status, project and due date at a glance. Switch to a board grouped by Status, and the same files appear in In progress, Review and Planned columns. Change a file’s status and its card moves to the matching column, while the file itself stays where it is on disk.
The home page has an interactive concept preview of exactly this, using fictional files.
Where it works first
The first release is planned with a clear scope:
- macOS 15 or newer, on Macs with Apple silicon only.
- Files on your Mac’s local APFS disk and in iCloud Drive.
- Network shares and third-party cloud drives are not supported at first.
- English and German.
Foldbase is in development, and first access is planned for invited testers. Everything described here is the plan for that release and may still change.