EmpiricCommander Features
Everything you can do with EmpiricCommander, the dual-pane file manager for macOS, iPad, and iPhone. Every feature is unlocked during your 7-day free trial.
File Operations
Copy, move, rename, and transform files with confidence
Copy / Move / Delete
Standard file operations with progress tracking, parallel transfers, and a 10-second undo toast for accidental moves.
iPhone shows a confirmation dialog instead of a passive undo toast.
Cross-provider copy
Drag from S3 to local, SFTP to Google Drive, iCloud to Azure. The same file operation spans every backend with no intermediate downloads visible to you.
New folder, inline rename, multi-select
Create folders, rename in place, and select ranges with Shift-click or rubber-band selection.
Batch rename (operations + regex)
Rename hundreds of files at once with first-class operations - add prefix or suffix, remove text/digits/symbols, change case, number, or change extension - plus regex as a manual escape hatch. No operation can drop a file's extension by accident. Live preview before committing.
On macOS 26 / iPad with Apple Intelligence, an optional command bar lets you describe the rename in plain words - see On-Device AI.
Conflict resolution
Skip, replace, rename, or merge when destinations already exist. Decide once and apply to all conflicts in a transfer.
Parallel transfers with live progress
Multiple files transfer in parallel with per-file progress and cancel-anytime support.
Cloud transfers keep running in the background
Large uploads and downloads over S3, WebDAV and Dropbox, and downloads from Google Drive, are handed to the system: they continue when the app is closed or the screen is locked, and finish on their own. On by default since 2.4, with a Settings toggle to turn it off. On macOS nothing interrupts a transfer anyway - the app keeps running behind other windows.
SFTP, FTP and SMB are socket protocols the system cannot carry, so those transfers still pause when you leave the app and start again when you reopen it - as do Google Drive uploads. Dropbox uses the background lane for uploads up to 150 MB.
Step into ZIP archives as folders
Browse ZIP archives like regular folders. Drill into nested archives, extract individual entries, drag files out into other panes.
Accented filenames read correctly as of 2.2 - archives made by Finder or the zip command store UTF-8 names without flagging them, and earlier versions followed the format and showed them as line noise. The fix applies when the archive is read, so files an older version already extracted keep their mangled names on disk.
Step into 7z and RAR archives
Same drill-in experience for 7z and RAR formats. macOS only, because the extraction toolchain uses subprocess calls unavailable on iOS.
Create and extract ZIP
Compress selections into a new ZIP, or extract one in place. Pure-Swift implementation, works on every platform.
Password-protected archives use classic ZipCrypto. An AES-encrypted ZIP - what Keka and 7-Zip produce by default - will not open. On macOS, an encrypted ZIP sitting on a server can be extracted directly since 2.4, with the password prompt on the remote path too; on iPhone and iPad that archive still reports as unsupported.
Get Info, with folder sizes
Size, dates and permissions for anything you select. A folder on this device is measured automatically; a folder on a server is measured on request, so browsing a remote tree never turns into a silent crawl.
Folder sizes arrived in 2.4.
Remote Connections
Eight storage backends, one consistent interface
Local filesystem
Full disk access on macOS. On iOS, sandboxed access via the Files app, document picker, and share extensions.
iCloud Drive
Native iCloud integration. Your iCloud folders appear as a regular connection, including offline-on-demand files.
SFTP
Pure-Swift SFTP via Citadel. Host key verification, fingerprint display, password and key authentication. No OpenSSH dependency.
FTP and FTPS
Classic FTP with optional TLS. Credentials stored in Keychain.
WebDAV
Connect to Nextcloud, Apache mod_dav, Box, and any WebDAV-compatible server.
Amazon S3 and S3-compatible
Native S3 API with manual SigV4 signing. Works with MinIO, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2 (via S3 API), Wasabi, and any S3-compatible endpoint.
Azure Blob Storage
Connect with SAS tokens or shared keys. Manage blobs as if they were local files.
Google Drive
OAuth-authenticated Google Drive access with resumable uploads: an interrupted upload continues from where it stopped the next time it runs, so a large file never starts over.
Dropbox
Sign in with your Dropbox account and browse, upload, download, and sync files side by side with every other connection. Files larger than 150 MB are sent in pieces instead of in one request, so a big upload completes in the app rather than failing partway through. Sessions renew automatically in the background.
Uploads over 150 MB are chunked on the Mac as of 2.5; iPad and iPhone get the same with their own 2.5 update. The chunked path runs in the app, not the background lane, and it does not resume across launches - quitting the app during a large upload starts it over.
SMB network shares
Connect to your NAS, Mac, or Windows PC over SMB 2 with message signing - on Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Servers on your network are auto-discovered via Bonjour; sign in with a password (stored in the Keychain) or as guest. Insecure SMB1-only servers are refused.
SMB 2 today; SMB 3 is a planned follow-up. AFP and NFS are not supported.
Photos library as a source
Your photo library browses like a folder tree beside your connections - All Photos, Recents, Favourites, Screenshots, Videos, Albums and Years - and anything in it copies to any destination EmpiricCommander reaches: a server, a NAS, a bucket, or a folder on the device. It is read-only, so nothing is ever written back into the library. You choose the folder layout and the file naming before the copy starts, and each option shows an example of its own output; a summary then says how many photos and videos you picked, how many files that becomes, and the dates they span. Because nothing is re-encoded, what lands is the original file byte for byte, so dates and locations travel with it.
New in 2.7 on iPhone and iPad, and on the Mac in 2.7.1. Files.app cannot browse the photo library at all, which is why copying photos straight to a server has never been possible from a file manager on iOS. Originals stored only in iCloud are downloaded first, on their own progress line. Running the same album again copies only what is new for that destination, remembered on the device - a second run, not a backup and not a sync: there is no schedule and nothing runs in the background. Deleting after a copy is offered only for files that were read back from the destination and matched by byte count, and the offer is withdrawn if a single file does not match. An optional JPEG conversion is off by default and never touches video. Limited library access is supported, using the system picker to choose what the app can see. On a Mac, grant access when the app asks for it and then reopen the app once - the pane picks the grant up on the next launch.
Docker, Lima, and Colima containers
Browse running container filesystems read-only. EmpiricCommander auto-discovers Docker Desktop, Colima, and every Lima instance, and lists their containers in a toolbar menu. Click any container to open a tab at its root.
Read-only browse in v1; write-back, container logs, and distroless support are planned follow-ups. macOS only - Docker does not run on iOS.
Workflow
Navigate, preview, and stage files the way you think
Dual-pane browsing
Two independent panels with their own paths, sort orders, and view modes. Copy or move with one drag across panes.
iPad falls back to single-pane at compact width unless force-toggled.
Single-pane browsing on iPhone
iPhone uses a focused single-pane layout with bottom tabs: Browse, Shelf, Cloud, Settings. Optimized for one-handed use.
iPad falls back to single-pane when the window is compact.
Tabs (up to 10 per side)
Open multiple tabs per pane to keep frequent folders one tap away.
Workspaces
Save the current pane layout, paths, tabs, and sort orders as a workspace. Restore the exact setup with one click. Unlimited workspaces for different projects or clients.
Drag and drop between panes
Drag a selection from one pane to the other to copy or move it. Hold Option to force copy or Command to force move. Drop onto folders to place files inside.
Breadcrumb navigation
Click any path segment to jump back up the tree. Right-click for sibling navigation.
View modes (list, grid, tree)
Switch between list, grid, and tree views per pane.
iPhone is list-only. Grid and tree are designed for dual-pane layouts.
Hidden files toggle
Show or hide dotfiles and system items with a single shortcut. Per-pane preference.
Filter and search
Filter (Cmd+F) narrows the current folder live. Search recurses into subfolders.
Quick Look preview
Cmd+Y or Space to preview any file without leaving the file manager. Navigate through siblings with arrow keys.
Rich preview for code and data
Code, CSV, YAML, TOML, JSON, and Markdown get a structured preview with syntax highlighting and table rendering. On Apple Intelligence devices, an on-device AI Summarize action explains the file inline without modifying it.
Drag and drop with Files / Finder
Drag files into EmpiricCommander from the Files app on iPadOS or Finder on macOS. Drop them on a pane or a folder.
iPhone uses Import from Files; cross-app paste is not exposed by the iOS sandbox.
Shelf (cross-source clipboard)
Stage files from any source on a floating shelf. Move them across panes, connections, or devices without juggling.
Shelf iCloud sync
Drop a file on the shelf from your Mac, pick it up on your iPad. Same shelf, all your devices.
Locked Shelf (encrypted vault)
An encrypted compartment inside the Shelf for highly sensitive items. Files at rest are AES-GCM encrypted with a key derived from your passphrase via PBKDF2; only the unlock screen ever holds the plaintext key in memory.
iOS Files app integration
EmpiricCommander connections appear under Locations in the system Files app. All six remote providers (WebDAV, SFTP, S3, Google Drive, Azure, FTP) enumerate against the live backend through EmpiricCommander's File Provider extension.
Other apps can share, import, and export through EmpiricCommander's providers without leaving the Files app.
On-Device AI
Optional Apple Foundation Models features - on-device, free, and private. Requires macOS 26 / iOS 26 with Apple Intelligence on Apple Silicon; hidden otherwise, and every action has a manual equivalent.
Natural-language batch rename
Describe the rename in plain words - "prefix source files with code_" - and the model maps it to a safe, bounded rename operation and fills in the arguments. It never writes raw patterns, so a destructive rule is structurally impossible; the live preview, conflict detection, and 10-second undo are the final net.
Rides the existing batch-rename engine, so it follows the same platform support. Requires Apple Intelligence.
Summarize & explain files in preview
On a text, code, Markdown, or log file, an AI Summarize action renders an inline summary - or, for code, an explanation - above the content in Rich Preview. Read-only: the file is never modified, and truncation of very large files is always disclosed.
Input is capped to stay within the on-device model's context window; truncation is disclosed, never silent. Requires Apple Intelligence.
Draft a commit message from staged changes
In Git Projects, generate a commit message from what you have staged. It fills in immediately and refines itself as the on-device model reads the diff - and anything you type wins over the suggestion.
Shipped in 2.4. The diff never leaves the device. Requires Apple Intelligence.
100% on-device and private
Powered by Apple's Foundation Models running locally. No API keys, no accounts, no usage cost, and no network - your filenames and file contents never leave the device. Nothing to add to a privacy policy because nothing is sent anywhere.
Power Tools
Built-in utilities for power users
Disk Usage treemap with drill-down
Squarified treemap color-coded by file kind. Double-click or Enter Folder to drill into subfolders; the path stack + breadcrumb + Up button navigate the tree. Top-10 sidebar lists the largest items in the current scan. Right-click → Delete with confirmation works in both bar-list and treemap modes.
Drill-down navigation and Top-10 sidebar are macOS and iPad only; iPhone shows the flat treemap view.
Git Projects (Status, Commit, Log graph, Stash, Pull/Push)
When the active pane is inside a Git repository, EmpiricCommander surfaces a branch chip, a Git toolbar menu (Status, Commit with Stage All, Discard, Stash save/list, Switch Branch, Pull/Push/Fetch), a Log master-detail with a branch/merge topology graph (Canvas-rendered lanes, dots, and merge rings), a per-file context menu (Stage / Unstage / Discard / Show Diff), and SF Symbol status badges on file rows.
Built on AsyncSwiftGit and a forked static-libgit2 with libgit2 1.9.1, libssh2 1.11.1, OpenSSL 3.0.16. Since 2.1 the whole menu is on all three platforms - on iPhone it has its own toolbar entry rather than the dual-pane one - and clone, fetch and push work over HTTPS with a personal access token from the Keychain or over SSH with the host key confirmed once and pinned. Private repositories included, confirmed on all three platforms. A merge conflict is resolved in the app, per file: take either side, or abort. Per-hunk resolution does not exist.
Auto-Organize folder
Group files by type, date, or custom rules into new subfolders. Live preview before committing.
Duplicate Finder
Find duplicates by name, size, or content hash. Review groups before deleting.
Folder Sync (one-way and two-way)
Sync two folders with configurable conflict policy and a SHA-256 check after each copy - on remote backends too, where a mismatch removes the bad copy.
On iPhone since 2.2, running the same sync engine as the Mac. A banner names which side is which, so the direction of a copy is always visible.
Folder Compare and File Diff
Highlight differences between two folders. Open individual files in a side-by-side text diff.
On iPhone since 2.2. The Verify contents (SHA-256) mode reads bytes off the filesystem, so it needs both sides local - comparing two remote folders is Folder Sync's job.
Checksum view (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256)
Compute hashes for files or selections. Useful for verifying downloads or detecting tampering.
On iPhone since 2.2, on local and remote files alike.
Full Terminal (SwiftTerm)
An xterm-compatible local terminal built on SwiftTerm. Your dotfiles, aliases, completions, and preferred shell.
SSH terminal (remote shell)
A real SSH session against the server in the other pane, rendered by SwiftTerm, with host-key verification on first connect. Not a command box that shells out to something else.
New in 2.0, on all three platforms.
SSH key authentication
Ed25519, RSA (signed rsa-sha2-512/256, so modern OpenSSH accepts it) and ECDSA P-256/384/521, with passphrase support. Used by both the SSH terminal and SFTP transfers. Keys and passphrases live in the Keychain, never in the connection record.
New in 2.0. A server that refuses SHA-1 signatures and rejected EmpiricCommander 1.9.0 will accept 2.0.
OmniShell (in-app shell on iOS)
A lightweight built-in shell for iPad and iPhone with Unix-like commands. Type `help` inside the app to list supported commands.
Built-in text editor (syntax highlighting + line numbers)
A native in-app editor: open a file, edit with syntax highlighting and line numbers, and save it back through any connection - local or remote. Oversized and binary files are handled safely, and unsaved changes are protected against accidental loss. On macOS, external editors remain the default.
Shipped in 1.9.0, and on iPhone since 2.1. This is the editor behind the on-device Git workflow on iPad and iPhone (edit a cloned file, then commit and push).
External editor integration
Open files in BBEdit, VS Code, Sublime, or any registered macOS app with per-extension defaults. NSWorkspace handles the handoff.
F-key toolbar
Norton Commander muscle memory: F5 Copy, F6 Move, F7 New, F8 Delete, F9 Terminal. macOS only.
Open in external app
Hand a file to another app via NSWorkspace on macOS or the share sheet on iOS.
Trust, Privacy, License
How EmpiricCommander handles your credentials, devices, and data
Credentials in Keychain
Every connection password, OAuth token, and private key is stored in the system Keychain. Never in plain files, never in UserDefaults.
Zero tracking, opt-in diagnostics
No analytics by default. Optional diagnostics share only API error metadata (status, latency, endpoint), never bodies, with tokens redacted at record time.
Pro license: up to 3 devices
One Pro license covers 1 Mac plus 1 iPad plus 1 iPhone. Server-enforced. Adding a 2nd Mac auto-replaces the 1st in the same transaction.
7-day free trial
Full access to every feature for 7 days. The trial is per user, not per device, so signing in on Mac + iPad + iPhone shares one 7-day window.
External-keyboard support on iPad
Attach a hardware keyboard to iPad and the standard iPadOS shortcuts overlay surfaces every Cmd-key combo. iPhone supports physical keyboards but with a narrower shortcut surface.
Localized UI
English, Romanian, German, French, Spanish.
Themes
Light, dark, and accent variants follow your system appearance.