Share your app

16explorer

A small native macOS file explorer that measures folder sizes on demand.

Z · v5.1.6

Personal use
Visit website

Overview

16explorer is a productivity app for macOS, made by Z. A small native macOS file explorer that measures folder sizes on demand. It’s made for Mac users who want to see what is taking up space, and want a few things Finder does not do. The latest version is 5.1.6, released Oct 2, 2026. It was built with help from Claude Code.

16explorer is a small native macOS file explorer I built for myself, mainly because I wanted to see folder sizes without waiting for Finder. It has grown into the file manager I use every day.

What it does

  • Folder sizes on demand. Turn it on and folders are measured recursively in the background, four at a time, with cached results. Or right-click one folder and choose Calculate Size.
  • One click to open, like Windows Explorer: click a folder to go in, a file to open it. Browser-style Back / Forward / Up (⌘[ ⌘] ⌘↑), opening on Downloads.
  • Encrypted folders. Right-click → Encrypt… turns a folder into a password-protected one (gocryptfs). Unlock it with the password, Lock it when you're done, or Remove Encryption… to get an ordinary folder back.
  • Drives and the Trash in the sidebar. USB sticks, SD cards, disk images and network shares appear the moment they mount, with Eject. The Trash sits below them, with Empty Trash.
  • Get Info for any item: size, created and modified dates, permissions, owner, link target.
  • Sidebar tree plus a Name / Size / Modified table. The folder on screen is watched, so new files show up on their own.
  • New File from the context menu (.txt, .py, .sql, .docx, .xlsx, .pptx). The Office files come from real blank templates, so Word, Excel and WPS open them cleanly.
  • Drag-to-move onto any folder, row or path segment, with every drop confirmed. Copy / Cut / Paste work with Finder in both directions. Delete always goes to the Trash.
  • Pins for folders, files and apps. A pinned app opens the selected files with that app.
  • An Applications popover: type to filter, press Return to launch
  • A Preview column for images and text, with Quick Look thumbnails for PDFs, video and Office files
  • Hidden files toggle (⇧⌘.)

Install

No public download yet; email [email protected] for a build. Open the DMG and drag 16explorer to Applications. It's ad-hoc signed, not notarized, so right-click → Open the first time. Requires macOS 14; universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel. Encrypted folders also need brew install gocryptfs and FUSE-T.

Why people use it

Made for: Mac users who want to see what is taking up space, and want a few things Finder does not do.

  • Folder sizes, on demand

    Recursive sizes computed in the background and cached, so Finder never makes you wait.

  • One click to open

    Click a folder to go in, a file to open it, with Back, Forward and Up like a browser.

  • Encrypted folders

    Turn any folder into a password-protected one, lock it, or take the encryption off again.

  • Drives and Trash in the sidebar

    USB sticks appear the moment they're plugged in, with Eject; the Trash comes with Empty Trash.

  • Pins that do more

    Pin a folder, file or app. A pinned app opens your selected files.

  • Safe by default

    Every drag-move is confirmed, and delete always goes to the Trash.

Version history

  1. v5.1.6 Encrypted folders, drives and one-click open

    · Latest

    Why this version

    I kept switching back to Finder for a few things: USB drives, the Trash, a quick Get Info, and folders I wanted to keep private. 5.1.6 brings them into the app, and makes a single click open things, the way I was used to on Windows.

    • Encrypted folders: Encrypt…, unlock with a password, Lock, and Remove Encryption… (gocryptfs + FUSE-T)
    • One click opens a folder or file, like Windows Explorer
    • USB drives, SD cards and disk images appear in the sidebar as they're plugged in, with Eject
    • Trash in the sidebar, with Empty Trash
    • Get Info: size, dates, permissions, owner and link target
    • Universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel

  2. v1.0 First build

    • Folder sizes on demand, hidden files, Back / Forward / Up
    • Live folder watching
    • Pins, Applications popover, Preview column
    • Drag-to-move, Copy / Cut / Paste with Finder
    • Its own app icon; build number taken from the commit count

Dev notes

How Z built 16explorer: progress, problems, and working with AI.

No dev notes published yet.

Comments

Loading comments…