Copy/Move with progress

Clear progress for copy and move operations so you know what’s happening.

Copy / move with progress

Copying and moving files shouldn’t be a mystery. Explorer treats transfers as first-class work:

  • you always see what’s happening
  • you can pause/resume/cancel
  • you can handle conflicts intentionally
  • you can keep working while transfers run

Where transfers come from

Transfers can start from:

  • Paste (after Copy/Cut)
  • drag and drop (inside Explorer)
  • external drop (from Finder or another app)

The transfer UI (progress cards)

When transfer UI is enabled, you’ll see cards in the bottom-right:

  • “Copying items” / “Moving items”
  • bytes or item count progress (depending on what’s known)
  • current file name/path (for large jobs)
  • buttons for Pause/Resume and Cancel

You can also reorder queued jobs (use the drag handle on a queued card).

Conflicts: Side-by-Side SHA-256 Compare & Smart Auto-Resolve

If the destination already contains an item with the same name, Explorer can:

  • Keep both (creates a unique name)
  • Replace (deletes the destination item first)
  • Skip (ignores the conflicting item)
  • Ask (opens the standalone Transfer Conflict Resolver modal)

Inside the Transfer Conflict Resolver (?view=modal · conflict)

  • Side-by-Side Comparison Cards: inspects Incoming File (Source) vs Existing in Destination with automatic Newer, Larger, and Same size badges.
  • 1-Click Compare SHA-256 Verification: hashes both files on demand via fs.checksums and displays an emerald Identical content (SHA-256 match) or amber Different content (SHA-256 differs) badge so you never overwrite different data blindly.
  • Smart Auto-Resolve Bar: 1-click Keep Newer (Replaces if incoming is newer, Skips if older) and Keep Larger buttons.
  • Single-Key Power Shortcuts: press R (Replace), K (Keep Both), S (Skip), Space (Quick Look Incoming), ⇧Space (Quick Look Existing), or ↑/↓ to step through multiple conflicts, plus Apply to all N conflicts.

Dual-Pane Commander Transfers & Folder Diff/Sync (⌘\)

When Dual-Pane Commander is active:

  • Center Action Rail: 1-click Copy Left → Right (F5), Swap Panes (⇄), Copy Right → Left, and 50% split equalizer.
  • 1-Click Diff: compares Left and Right folders by filename, type, and byte size, highlighting differing items in both panes simultaneously.
  • Directional Sync → and ← Sync: automatically selects missing or modified files in the source pane so you can copy them across in one click.

Performance settings (what to tune)

Explorer has a few knobs that change how transfers behave:

  • Concurrency: how many transfers run at once (1–6).
  • Show transfer UI:
    • Always
    • Large only (show UI only when a job is bigger than a threshold)
  • Auto pause on battery: pauses running transfers when your Mac switches to battery power.

Safety guards (common “why did it stop?” cases)

Explorer blocks a few foot-guns:

  • you can’t move a folder into itself (or inside one of its subfolders)
  • moving an item into the same folder is treated as a no-op
  • optional guard to prevent “self drop” mistakes during drag-and-drop

Troubleshooting

If a transfer looks stuck:

  • check if it was auto-paused on battery
  • check conflict strategy (Ask vs Replace vs Skip)
  • confirm you still have permission to the destination folder (Desktop/Documents can be protected by macOS)

Next steps