Using Rascal.

Quick start

Rascal is one self-contained app — no setup wizard, no sign-in. Install it, learn one keystroke, and you already know how to drive the whole thing.

1 · Install

1. Download the Rascal disk image for your Mac — Apple Silicon or Intel — and drag Rascal to your Applications folder.
2. The first time, right-click → Open (Rascal is self-signed, so Gatekeeper asks once). If macOS calls it “damaged,” clear the quarantine flag:
   Terminal

   xattr -cr /Applications/Rascal.app

3. Prefer source? Clone and run the installer — it builds a release and copies it to /Applications:
   Terminal

   git clone https://github.com/chang-07/rascal.git
   cd rascal
   ./setup-signing.sh   # once, so granted permissions persist
   ./install.sh

2 · One keystroke to rule them all

Press ⌘⇧P anywhere to open the Command Palette and just start typing. Every action, theme, open tab, and favorite folder is a fuzzy match away — it’s the fastest way to discover what Rascal can do without hunting through menus. And in any file list, just start typing to filter live; Esc clears it.

Getting around

Rascal navigates like Finder, but every move has a key. Your hands rarely need to leave the keyboard.

Four ways to see a folder

Flip between Icon, List, Column, and Gallery with ⌥⌘1–⌥⌘4. Each folder remembers the view and sort you left it in. Column view is the fastest way to dive through deep trees; Gallery is for skimming media.

Tabs, panes & navigation

• Tabs — ⌘T opens one, ⌘W closes it, and ⌃⇥ cycles through them.
• Two panes — ⌘\ splits the window so you can drag files from one side to the other. F5/F6 copy and move between panes, orthodox-file-manager style.
• Move through folders — ⌘↑ goes to the enclosing folder, ⌘↓ opens the selection, and ⌘[/⌘] step back and forward through history.
• Jump anywhere — ⌘L edits the path directly, and ⌘⇧G goes to a folder by typing its path. Click any crumb in the path bar to hop up the tree.

Finding files

Three layers of search, from “narrow this folder” to “grep every file in the tree.”

• Live filter — start typing in any list to shrink it to matches as you go. Esc clears.
• Fuzzy file finder — ⌘F ranks every file in the current folder tree by name. Arrow to one and Return to jump there.
• Search contents — ⌘⇧F greps inside files for a string and shows you the matching lines.
• Smart folders — save any search (by name, kind, or tag) and pin it to the sidebar; it keeps itself current.

Working with files

Everything you’d expect from Finder, plus the moves it never gave you — a real cut, undo for file operations, and batch rename with a live preview.

• Rename & peek — Return renames in place; Space is Quick Look; ⌥⌘P toggles an inline preview drawer that follows your selection.
• Copy, move & cut — ⌘C / ⌘V as always, plus a true Cut (⌘X): the files dim in place, then paste moves them. Dragging between two panes works too.
• Tags & Get Info — apply real Finder color tags, and ⌘I opens Get Info with size, permissions, tags, and a checksum.
• New, trash & undo — ⌘⇧N makes a folder, ⌘⌫ moves to Trash, and ⌘Z undoes the last file operation.
• Batch rename — ⌘⇧R renames many files at once with a regex and a live before/after preview.
• See where space went — File ▸ Analyze Disk Usage… draws a live, colour-coded treemap you click to drill into.

Prefer modal keys? Turn on Vim navigation in Settings and drive with hjkl, /, dd, yy, p, gg and G — it works in every view.

Key shortcuts worth knowing