FileSift
A closer look at FileSift.
Everything FileSift does to help you clear a folder fast — moving files into folders, or tagging them in place.
Requires macOS 14 or later · Now on the Mac App Store
Two ways to sort
Move files into folders, tag them where they are, or do both in a single pass.
Move into folders
Send each file to the right place — Keep, Delete, a project folder, wherever. Turn a camera dump or Downloads pile into a tidy folder structure.
Tag in place
Leave files where they are and apply a macOS Finder tag. Categorize and color-code your files where they live, so they stay findable without rearranging a thing.
The right view for the job
Work one file at a time, or scan a whole folder at once. Switch whenever you like.
Focus
One image or video at a time in a large preview, with a filmstrip of what's next. For when detail matters before you decide.
Grid
Your whole folder at once, every file as a thumbnail. Resize the thumbnails, and fit or fill the frame to see more at a glance.
One folder, both views
Flip between Focus and Grid anytime. The same folder, destinations, and progress carry across — it's a density choice, not two apps.
Clear a backlog quickly
Assign with a keystroke and keep moving. FileSift jumps to the next file for you.
Sort with number keys
Press 1 through 9 to send a file to a destination, in both views. The next file comes up automatically, so you can clear a whole pile at a rhythm.
Grab many at once
In Grid, select a whole group — drag a box around them, shift-click a range, or move with the arrow keys — then file them in one move.
See where everything went
Each press files the file that instant — and the tile stays on screen, dimmed, with a badge showing where it went. Wrong folder? Press another number and it hops.
Sort it automatically
Auto-sort organizes a folder by type, date, month, size, orientation, or extension. You preview the plan before anything moves — confirm to file it all, cancel and it leaves no trace.
By type
Images, videos, documents, audio, archives, code, and more.
By extension
One group per file extension, for finer separation.
By date
Group by year or month, using a photo's capture date when it has one.
By size
Separate the big files from the small ones.
By orientation
Portrait, landscape, and square, sorted apart.
Set up where things go
Build your set of destinations once, and reuse it on the next folder.
Add or drag in folders
Create a destination in the app, or drag folders straight from Finder — several at once if you like.
Suggested folders
FileSift spots the subfolders already inside your source and offers them as destinations, so existing structure is one click to reuse.
Presets
Save a set of destinations as a preset and apply it to the next folder, so a routine cleanup starts ready to go.
Step inside
A destination is just a folder — "Sort Inside" opens it to keep sorting within, and Back retraces your steps all the way out.
Know what you're filing
Enough detail to decide, without leaving the app.
Quick Look
Press Space to preview any file full-size, the same way Finder does.
Play video in Focus
Watch a clip right in the preview with native controls; volume carries to the next one.
Details panel
Name, size, dimensions, and date for the file in front of you.
Track progress honestly
The header counts files that have actually landed, and sorted tiles stay visible, marking where everything went.
Handles your whole folder
Every file type in the folder — sorted safely.
Every file type
Photos and video with rich previews, plus PDFs, audio, text, documents, and anything else on your Mac — all in one pass.
Works with network drives
Sorting from a NAS or file share? Choose to move files, or copy them and keep the original where it is.
Safe by default
Every move is checked the moment it happens — the destination must exist, be writable, and never be the Trash. Same-named files get a unique name instead of overwriting, and every move can be physically undone.
Private and native
A real Mac app that keeps your files to itself.
Everything on-device
No account, no uploads, no tracking. Your files never leave your Mac.
A real Mac app
Light and dark mode, your system accent color, full keyboard control, and Increase Contrast support.
Honest bug reports
Reporting a problem includes only non-identifying diagnostics, and nothing is sent until you review and approve it.
The small stuff, too
Conveniences that add up over a long sorting session.
Your destinations are remembered
Reopen a folder and its destination set comes back — hotkeys, colors, and tags included.
Close the folder anytime
Files stay where you put them, and your presets and destinations are kept for next time.
Resize the grid
Scale the thumbnails up or down, and fit or fill the frame.
Never overwrites
If a name already exists in the destination, FileSift gives the file a unique one.
Folders anywhere
Sort a folder anywhere on your Mac, with destinations inside or outside it.
Undo really undoes
⌘Z moves the file back where it came from — as many steps back as you need. "Put Back All Moves" reverses a whole session.
Keyboard cheat sheet
Forget a shortcut? A full reference is a keypress away inside the app.
Settings that fit your setup
Tune behavior like move-vs-copy for network volumes from a standard Settings window.
Sort the folder that's been bugging you.
Into folders, or with tags. On your Mac, in one sitting.
macOS 14 or later · One-time purchase · Now on the Mac App Store