Do I need to give it Full Disk Access?

No. The app is sandboxed and never asks for it. macOS hands the extension only the item you are previewing.

Why do I have to turn something on after installing?

macOS ships every third-party Quick Look extension switched off, and no app is allowed to enable its own. The setup guide walks you through it, and each file type has its own switch.

Does it replace Finder's built-in preview?

No, it extends it. Files macOS already previews keep working exactly as before; the formats above simply start working too. Where macOS has its own preview, such as plain .txt, .html or .webarchive, the system preview is kept.

Why doesn't the app show the extensions as enabled straight away?

macOS gives apps no way to read those toggles. The status turns green the first time each extension actually renders a preview, which is why the guide asks you to press Space on a folder or archive to confirm.

Can I use only some of the previews?

Yes. Each of the 13 extensions has its own switch under System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions → Quick Look. Leave off anything you do not use.

Can I copy text out of a preview?

Yes. Code and text previews use real, selectable text. Select it and press ⌘C, or use the Copy button in the header.

Does it work in Spotlight?

Yes. Spotlight uses the same Quick Look extensions, so press Space on a Spotlight result and you get the same preview.

How long is the trial, and what happens after?

14 days, with every feature unlocked. When it ends, previews show an activation prompt until you enter the license key from your purchase email. Reinstalling does not reset the trial.

How much does it cost?

$4.99, paid once. That is a lifetime license covering every future update, with no subscription and no renewal. Every feature is free to try for the first 14 days.

The app checks for updates on its own and can download and install them in the background. Every update is signature-verified before it is applied. All of it can be switched off in Preferences → General → Updates.

What do I need to run it?

macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. The app is signed with a Developer ID certificate and notarized by Apple, so there is no Gatekeeper warning on first launch.

Press Space
on almost anything.

Quick X Folder Preview extends macOS Quick Look with 13 extensions: folders, archives, source code, Markdown, notebooks, data, subtitles, torrents, web archives, ebooks and comics. Each one switchable on its own. Look inside an archive, then take one file out of it without unpacking the rest.

Download for macOS, free for 14 days How it works

macOS 13.0 or later · Apple notarized · 14-day free trial

Quick X Folder Preview setup window listing the keyboard shortcuts and the supported archive formats

What's new in 1.6

Pull one file out of an archive, and leave the rest packed

Get one file out of an archive without unpacking it. Select a file inside a ZIP, RAR, 7Z or TAR preview and choose Copy, then paste it in Finder, on the Desktop, anywhere. Or choose Extract Selected… to send it to a folder you pick. Only that one file is unpacked, however big the archive is.
Open archives in the app. Press ⌘O, use Finder's Open With, or drop an archive on the window. Each archive gets its own window with a breadcrumb, a filter and sortable columns, and you can drag files straight out to the Desktop.
Extract to Downloads in one click. For when you do not want to pick a folder.

Earlier updates

1.5: When the trial ends, the app says so. A window explains that previews have stopped and offers the lifetime license, even if the app was sitting in the background.
1.4: No more keychain password prompts, because the license now lives with the app's own settings. Updates found in the background appear in the main window instead of hiding in a menu.
1.3: The lifetime price and a buy button in the app. The setup panel disappears once the first preview works, and the extension list folds away once you are set up.
1.2: 11 new previews (source code, plain text, Markdown, Jupyter notebooks, LaTeX, CSV/TSV, subtitles, torrents, web archives, ebooks and comics), open files inside archives, filter as you type, show hidden files, a Native layout, .app bundles, XZ archives, live reload, and the 14-day free trial.

Everything Quick Look leaves out

Finder already previews files. Quick X Folder Preview adds 13 more Quick Look extensions on top, each one switchable on its own.

Look inside folders without opening them

Select a folder or .app bundle in Finder, press Space, and see what is in it: names, sizes, and dates. No new window, no digging through nested folders.

Preview archives without extracting

Look inside a ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR or XZ before you unpack it. Filter the file list, and double-click any file inside to open or Quick Look just that one, no need to extract the whole archive.

Find it fast

Type in the filter field to narrow a folder or archive to matching names. Subfolders that contain a match stay visible, so you keep the context.

Image thumbnails, not just file names

Folders full of photos render as a thumbnail grid instead of a list of filenames, so you can find the shot you are after by looking at it.

Grid, list or Native

Switch between a thumbnail grid, a detailed list, and a Native layout that looks like Finder's icon view. Set the thumbnail size and how items are sorted.

Source code you can select and copy

Around 85 languages, highlighted in GitHub's light and dark colors, with line numbers and real, selectable text. Minified JSON is re-indented; binary plists show as XML.

Markdown, notebooks and LaTeX

Markdown with a table-of-contents sidebar, Mermaid diagrams and math. Jupyter notebooks with outputs, tracebacks and plots. LaTeX rendered, with BibTeX as a searchable list. All of them reload live as you save.

Data, subtitles, torrents and web archives

CSV and TSV as sortable columns. Ten subtitle formats as a cue list. Torrents with their file tree and a Copy Magnet Link button. MHT web archives rendered offline.

Ebooks and comics

EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and FB2 with a contents sidebar. CBZ, CBR, CB7 and CBT in a comic reader with thumbnails, two-page spreads and right-to-left manga mode.

Take one file out, leave the rest packed

Copy a file from inside an archive and paste it into Finder like any other file, or send it to a folder with Extract Selected…. Only the file you asked for is unpacked, so pulling one photo out of a 4 GB archive takes as long as that one photo.

Archives open in the app too

Press ⌘O, use Finder's Open With, or drop an archive on the window. It opens in its own window with a breadcrumb, a filter and sortable columns, and you can drag files straight out to the Desktop.

Open, copy and peek without leaving the preview

Double-click a file to open it in its usual app, or a folder to step into it, with a clickable breadcrumb to jump back. Right-click for Open With, Reveal in Finder, Copy, Copy Path or Quick Look, which shows the file in the same window and returns you to the folder exactly where you left off.

App bundles and hidden files

Press Space on an .app to see its contents. Show hidden files with one switch, and pick a Native layout that looks like Finder's icon view.

Works in Spotlight

Quick Look extensions power Spotlight's preview too, so everything above also works when you press Space on a Spotlight result.

Nothing leaves your Mac

Sandboxed like any App Store app. No Full Disk Access, no account, no analytics, no network calls for previews. When you press Space, macOS hands the extension that one item, nothing else is readable.

Fast on the second look

Previews are cached, so returning to a folder or archive is instant. Cache limits and expiry are yours to set, and you can clear the cache any time.

Guided setup

macOS ships every Quick Look extension switched off. The app walks you through turning them on, with a small guide window that floats over System Settings and confirms when each one goes live.

Stays current on its own

Updates are checked, downloaded and installed in the background, each one verified against a signing key before it is applied. Turn any of that off in Preferences.

The 13 extensions

Each one has its own switch in System Settings, so turn on only what you use.

Extension	What it previews
Folders	Any folder or .app bundle, in list, grid or Native layout
Archives	ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, JAR, WAR, IPA, APK
Source Code	Around 85 languages, plus JSON, YAML, TOML, XML, plist
Plain Text	Logs, config files, NFO/DIZ art, READMEs
Markdown	MD, RMD, QMD, MDX, and Mermaid files
Jupyter Notebooks	IPYNB, with outputs, tracebacks and plots
LaTeX	TEX, STY, CLS, BIB
Tables	CSV, TSV, PSV as sortable columns
Subtitles	SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SBV, LRC, TTML, SAMI
Torrents	.torrent, with its file tree and a Copy Magnet Link button
Web Archives	MHT, MHTML, rendered offline
Ebooks	EPUB, MOBI, AZW, AZW3, FB2, with a contents sidebar
Comics	CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT, in a two-page or manga reader

Up and running in three steps

1
Install
Drag Quick X Folder Preview to your Applications folder.
2
Switch it on
Open the app once and follow the setup guide. It opens the right System Settings pane for you and shows which extensions to enable.
3
Press Space
Select any file or folder in Finder. That's it.

Formats it opens up

Containers

JAR · WAR · IPA · APK

Code & text

Around 85 languages, JSON, YAML, TOML, plist, logs, config files, NFO

Documents

Markdown (MD, RMD, QMD, MDX) · Mermaid · Jupyter (IPYNB) · TeX · STY/CLS · BIB

Data & subtitles

CSV · TSV · PSV · SRT · VTT · ASS · SSA · SUB · SBV · LRC · TTML/DFXP · SAMI

Other

Torrent · MHT/MHTML

Ebooks

EPUB · MOBI · AZW · AZW3 · FB2

Comics

CBZ · CBR · CB7 · CBT

Folders

Any folder or .app bundle, including nested contents up to a depth you choose.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keys	Action
`Space`	Preview the item selected in Finder
`⌘ Y`	Preview from the Finder menu bar
`⌥ Space`	Preview full screen
`← →`	Step through items while previewing
`Esc`	Close the preview
`Double-click`	Open a file, or step into a folder
`Right-click`	Open With, Quick Look, Reveal in Finder, Copy, Copy Path
`⌘ O`	Open an archive in its own window

One price. Yours for good.

Try every feature free for 14 days. Buy it once after that and every future update is included: no subscription, no renewal, no upgrade fee.

Lifetime license

$4.99

One-time payment, after a 14-day free trial

All 13 extensions and all future updates included, forever
Folders, archives, code, Markdown, notebooks, data, ebooks and more
No license key needed for the first 14 days
Use it on your own Macs
No subscription, no account, no tracking

Secure checkout by Paddle. Your license key is issued right after payment.

Or start the free trial first

Stop opening things just to see what's inside

One press of the space bar and you know. Works alongside everything Finder already previews.

Download for macOS, free for 14 days

$4.99 one-time after the trial, all future updates included · macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later · Apple silicon or Intel · Signed and notarized by Apple

Frequently Asked Questions

Want the full picture on Mac file previews? Read our complete guide to previewing files on Mac without opening them.

Press Space on almost anything.