FastFolderFinder

Launch apps and find folders, right from your keyboard

Download FastFolderFinder Buy Now
Launch Apps at Light Speed Find and launch your apps instantly
Fast Fuzzy Folder Finding Fuzzy search across all your folders
Super Simple Launchbar Fast, focused, and easy… with Mac-native design
Open Folders in Apps Launch folders right into Visual Studio, Sublime Text, etc.
Command-Shift-Whatever Trigger FastFolderFinder with a keyboard shortcut
Custom Shortcuts Open in Finder, copy path, run shell scripts, and more
Fuzzy Search
then open your folders in…
Finder Visual Studio Code Sublime Text Xcode Terminal And Many More!
Custom Actions
use shortcuts to trigger actions
Keyboard Shortcuts
Choose a custom keyboard shortcut so that you can highlight a result, hit your shortcut, and trigger the associated action.
Available keyboard shortcuts:
  • Return
  • Command-Return
  • Option-Return
  • Shift-Return
  • Option-Shift-Return
  • Shift-Command-Return
Open in Default App
Opens the selected result in the default app
Folders → open in Finder
Files → open in the default app for that file type
Show in Finder
Opens the selected result in a Finder window
Show Parent in Finder
Opens the selected result’s parent folder in a Finder window
Copy Path to Clipboard
Copy the path of the selected result to your clipboard
Open Application
Open the result in the specified app. Common apps people use:
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Sublime Text
  • Terminal
  • Xcode
  • iTerm
  • Google Chrome
Execute Shell Command
Execute the given shell command, passing the selected path as the first argument
Made by the developer of
Rocket Vanilla Horo
Previously featured on The Verge, Business Insider, and LifeHacker.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is FastFolderFinder?

FastFolderFinder is a Mac app that gives you a lightning-fast fuzzy search bar to quickly launch apps and find and open folders on your Mac. It helps you jump around your Mac’s filesystem faster, without taking your hands off the keyboard. It’s way faster than having to click through your entire directory structure in Finder.

What does it do?

Hit your FastFolderFinder keyboard shortcut (like ⇧-⌘-O, though you can customise it), and FastFolderFinder’s launchbar will appear. From there, search for the folder or app you want to open. Hit Return to open your result – or tweak FastFolderFinder to launch any app with a custom shortcut action!

Why should I use it?

FastFolderFinder makes it way faster to navigate your Mac’s folders and apps. You don’t have to futz around clicking through Finder or use the unreliable Finder search behavior.

Plus, you can set up custom shortcut actions within FastFolderFinder. Open folders straight from FastFolderFinder into your code editor, terminal, copy the result’s path, or run bash scripts.

How much does it cost?

FastFolderFinder has a free trial that nags you to upgrade.
Purchase FastFolderFinder here for $10

Can I use it to launch apps?

Yes! Simply add “/Applications” and “/System/Applications” to your Search Locations and apps will be included in your search results.

Why would I use this instead of Spotlight, Alfred, LaunchBar, or Quicksilver?

Spotlight — I don’t know if it’s just me, but lately Spotlight a) has gotten really slow, and b) doesn’t have good file or folder search. FastFolderFinder is way better at that.

LaunchBar/Alfred/Quicksilver — These are great general purpose launcher apps with a tonne of functionality and tweakability. For me, it’s too much tweaking. I just want find my folders and launch apps quickly. So I built FastFolderFinder.

What's a good default setup? What do you use?

You can tweak FastFolderFinder to suit your Mac, but to get started I use and recommend the following preferences:

Keyboard Shortcut – Shift-Command-O (⇧-⌘-O) to launch FastFolderFinder search

Folders > Search Locations
/Users/your_username (your home directory)
/Applications (to launch apps quickly)
/System/Applications (for other system apps)

Shortcut Actions
Return – Open in Default App
Command-Return – Show Parent in Finder
Option-Return – Copy Path to Clipboard
Shift-Return – Open Application with Visual Studio Code
Option-Shift-Return – Open Application with Terminal

Can I include files in my search database?

Yes! Though I’d recommend being selective about which files you include. I find that too many files makes the results junky and slower to navigate.

To include files with a specific file extension, open Preferences > Folders > Search Locations > Click the + button > Include Files with Extension > Enter the file extension you want to include. Then click the button to rebuild your search index.

Why are folders missing from my search after I updated my search locations?

Make sure you rebuild your search index after changing your search locations. Click the Rebuild Search Index button under Preferences > Folders > Rebuild Search Index.

What do I need to know about security and privacy?

FastFolderFinder only searches for folders inside folders specified in your Search Locations. None of the structure of your filesystem or any metadata are transmitted anywhere (unless you click Preferences > Advanced > Create dump of included file tree and send that to someone). FastFolderFinder doesn’t access the contents of any files.

Made by Matthew Palmer
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