Get started

Install & first run

One command installs Mac Explorer, the macx CLI and the Finder Quick Action. The welcome flow then asks for file access and builds your search index.

Requirements

macOS on Apple Silicon or Intel. The installer detects your chip and downloads the matching build.
Bun, which powers search and indexing. The installer adds it if it’s missing.

Install

Paste this into Terminal:

$curl -fsSL "https://explore.brightmotion.io/install.sh" | bash

The installer:

Checks you’re on macOS and detects your chip (arm64 or Intel).
Installs Bun if it isn’t already there.
Downloads the app, verifies its checksum, and copies it to /Applications.
Writes the macx command to ~/.local/bin/macx.
Adds the Finder Quick Action Open in Mac Explorer and the Services item Go to Path in Mac Explorer.
On a fresh machine, adds a login item so Mac Explorer is running when you need it.
Clears the quarantine flag and ad-hoc signs the app, then opens it.

Installer options

Pass options after bash -s --, for example:

$curl -fsSL "https://explore.brightmotion.io/install.sh" | bash -s -- --file-viewer

Option	What it does
`--file-viewer`	Send every app’s Reveal in Finder to Mac Explorer. See Finder integration.
`--no-launch`	Install without opening the app.
`--no-login-item`	Don’t add a login item on a fresh install.
`--login-item`	Point the login item at the installed app.
`--no-quick-actions`	Skip the Finder Quick Action and Services item.
`--uninstall`	Remove the app (your data is kept).

First run

The welcome flow has three steps:

What’s different. A quick look at ⌘K search, tabs and the tree, and sharing.
Grant file access. macOS asks for permission to read Downloads, Desktop and Documents. There are links to Privacy settings and to Full Disk Access, which lets Disk Usage measure folders macOS otherwise hides.
Turn on fast search. Choose Index my Home folder (recommended) or Choose a folder…. A live counter shows progress, and the app is usable while it works.

If you skip indexing, a banner at the top of the window offers it again: Index my Home folder, Choose folders… or Not now. You can add or remove folders later in Settings ▸ Search Index. You can replay the welcome flow from Settings ▸ Appearance ▸ Show welcome again.

Updating

Mac Explorer checks for updates shortly after launch and every six hours after that. When one is available, a banner shows the release notes and an Update now button. It downloads the installer, verifies it, runs it and relaunches the app. You can also run:

macx update

or simply re-run the install command, which replaces the app in place.

Uninstalling

$curl -fsSL "https://explore.brightmotion.io/install.sh" | bash -s -- --uninstall

This puts Reveal in Finder back on Finder, removes the Quick Actions, the login item, the macx wrapper and the app itself. Your index and settings in ~/Library/Application Support/mac-explorer/ are left in place. Delete that folder too if you want a clean slate.