What Finder already does well
It is worth being fair to Finder. It comes with every Mac, opens instantly and handles every kind of file. It offers icon, list, column and gallery views, Quick Look previews, colour tags, Smart Folders based on Spotlight search, and direct access to iCloud Drive. For browsing, previewing and moving files, it is hard to beat.
Foldbase is not trying to replace those basics. It is being designed for a different job: keeping track of work that lives in files.
Where folders run out of room
A folder tells you where a file is. It cannot tell you whether a draft is in review, which project it belongs to or when it is due. Most people work around that with long file names, numbered prefixes, colour tags, or a spreadsheet next to the folder that slowly drifts out of date.
Finder’s list view shows a fixed set of columns, such as dates, size, kind, tags and comments. You cannot add a column of your own, like a due date or a status with fixed options, and there is no board that groups files by a property you define.
How Foldbase is different
Foldbase adds a structured layer on top of the folders you already have:
- Typed properties. Give files a status, a project, a due date or a link, with six property types: text, select, date, number, checkbox and URL.
- Saved views. See one folder as a table with your properties as columns, or as a board grouped by status. Filter and sort by any property, and save each view to come back to.
- Tabs and up to four panes. Keep several folders or views open side by side, and drag tabs between panes.
- Spaces and a command palette. Give each project its own sidebar with pinned folders and links, and reach any folder or command with ⌘K.
- Made for the Mac. Foldbase is a native macOS app, available in English and German.
Finder annoyances Foldbase already fixes
These work in the current development build:
- Views that forget. Finder keeps view settings in hidden .DS_Store files, so sort orders can seem random. Foldbase keeps named views in its own database.
- Search that misses files. Foldbase searches its own index of names, paths, properties and the text of small files, instead of relying on Spotlight.
- No real cut and paste. ⌘X and then ⌘V moves files, with undo.
- Hidden folder sizes. One View menu setting calculates them in the background.
- Small things missing. New File, Copy as Pathname, batch rename with a live example and Open in Terminal.
What stays the same
Your files remain ordinary files in ordinary folders. Foldbase does not move them into a database or a hidden library, so Finder and the apps you already use keep opening and saving them as before. If you stop using Foldbase, your files are still exactly where you left them.
Honest limits, for now
Foldbase is in development, and the first release is deliberately focused:
- There is no download and no release date yet. First access is planned for invited testers from the waitlist.
- It requires macOS 15 or newer on a Mac with Apple silicon.
- It works with files on your Mac’s local APFS disk and in iCloud Drive. Network shares and third-party cloud drives are not supported at first.
- The previews on this website are concepts with fictional files. Details can still change.
Is Foldbase the right Finder alternative for you?
If Finder does everything you need, keep using it. Foldbase is for people who already organise projects, research, coursework or client work in folders and want those folders to carry more context, without moving everything into another tool. If that sounds like you, the waitlist is the best way to follow along and tell us what matters to you.