New File
New File, in Finder’s right-click menu.
The one thing Windows Explorer has that Finder doesn’t. Right-click a folder, or the empty space in one, pick a file type, and start typing the name.
For macOS 13 or later. Notarized by Apple. Free for 30 days. Buying a license opens soon.
What it does
Any folder, including the background
Right-click the empty space in a folder window or on the Desktop and the file lands there. Right-click a file and the new one lands next to it.
The file types you actually use
Text, Markdown, JSON, YAML, CSV, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Shell, Swift or an empty file, added with one click. Add any other extension, with starting contents of your own.
Ready to be named
The new file is selected in Finder the moment it exists, so pressing Return renames it. Or let New File press Return for you.
A shortcut as well
Control-Option-N creates your default file in the front Finder window, or on the Desktop. Pick other keys in Settings.
Out of the way
No Dock icon, no menu bar item. It runs in the background so Finder gets the file instantly, and it asks for your disk once.
Set up in a minute
- Open the disk image and drag New File to Applications. Open it once.
- In its Setup window, turn on the Finder extension. The button opens the right pane of System Settings.
- Grant access to your disk when asked: select Macintosh HD and click Grant Access. macOS mentions once that New File runs in the background.
That’s it. Right-click in any folder.
Questions
Something else? Write to support.
Why does it need access to my whole disk?
So the file can be created in whichever folder you right-click. macOS keeps the app in a sandbox, so it asks once for your startup disk and stores that permission on your Mac. Nothing is read or uploaded; the app only writes the file you asked for. You can withdraw the permission in System Settings at any time.
The menu item is missing.
Check that the extension is switched on in System Settings; the button in the app’s Setup window opens the right pane. If it is on and the item still does not show, relaunch Finder from the Force Quit window (Option-Command-Escape). Folders managed by another Finder extension, such as Dropbox or OneDrive, may show that extension’s menu instead.
Which file types can it create?
Text, Markdown, JSON, YAML, CSV, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Shell, Swift and empty files are one click away in Settings, and you can add any other extension. One template is the default: it gets its own item in the menu and the keyboard shortcut.
What is the new file called?
untitled with the template’s extension: untitled.txt, untitled.md. If that name is taken you get untitled-2.txt, and so on. The file is selected in Finder as soon as it exists, so press Return to give it a real name.
What does it cost?
Nothing while New File is in early access: this version works in full while the store is being set up. Once it goes on sale, a license costs €5, once, after a 30-day trial.
Is it on the Mac App Store?
No. New File is distributed directly, signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so macOS opens it like any other app. That is what lets the extension work in every folder on your disk.
What does it send over the internet?
An update check: once a day it asks newfilemac.com for the latest version number, which you can turn off in Settings. Nothing else at the moment: this version has no license check. The app has no sign-in, no analytics and no tracking. The privacy page has the details.