Drop Router

About Drop Router

Information

Developer

SiliconDevKit (generated by AI from a prompt)

Category

Productivity

Compatibility

macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon. Apple silicon Macs only (M1 or later), not Intel

Size

0.5 MB (.dmg)

Latest version

1.0

Price

Free

Signing

Ad-hoc signed, not notarized

The prompt behind it

This app was generated from the prompt below. Paste it into SiliconDevKit to build your own version, then change it however you like.

Build a simple, beautiful Mac app called Drop Router. You drop any file on it, and it opens the file in the right app, decided by rules you set (for example md files open in Sublime Text, csv in Numbers, mkv in IINA). It can also change your Mac's default app for a file type, so a double-click in Finder opens the same app. It is a free, lightweight file-type router. THE MAIN WINDOW - A compact window with two parts: a big drop zone on top and the rules list below. - The drop zone is a large dashed rounded rectangle that says "Drop files here" and highlights when a drag is over it. Dropping one or many files and folders opens each file with the app its rule names, then shows a small confirmation ("Opened 3 files in Sublime Text") that fades away. Group several dropped files by app so each app is launched once with all of its files (NSWorkspace.shared.open(_:withApplicationAt:configuration:completionHandler:)). - Files with no rule: show a small sheet with the file name, the list of apps that can open it (NSWorkspace.shared.urlsForApplications(toOpen:), each with its icon and name), a "Choose another app" button (an open panel on /Applications) and a check box "Always use this app for .ext" (on by default). Choosing makes a rule and opens the file. - Folders: a setting says what to do with a dropped folder (Open in Finder, which is the default, Reveal in Finder, or Ignore). - Hold Shift while dropping to open the files in their normal default app instead, and hold Option to just reveal them in Finder. Show these hints in a quiet line at the bottom of the window. THE RULES - A table of rules: an on/off switch, the extensions (comma separated, with or without the dot, case-insensitive, for example "md, markdown, mdown"), the app (its icon and name), and a delete button. Add Rule opens a row to fill in: type the extensions, then choose the app from a menu of the apps that can open that kind of file (found with the system) or pick any app with the open panel. - Rules are matched by extension first. Also let a rule match a type group (Text, Images, Audio, Video, Archives, Code) chosen from a menu, using UTType conformance (UniformTypeIdentifiers), checked after the extension rules. The first matching enabled rule wins; extension rules beat group rules. Rules can be reordered by dragging. - First launch: if Sublime Text is installed (bundle identifiers com.sublimetext.4 or com.sublimetext.3, or found by name in /Applications), create the rule "md, markdown, mdown, txt" for it, switched on. Do not make up other rules, and do not assume any app is installed. Rules whose app is missing show a warning triangle and "App not found" with a Choose button. - Save the rules as JSON in Application Support/Drop Router, remember each app by its bundle identifier and re-resolve it with NSWorkspace.shared.urlForApplication(withBundleIdentifier:). Import and Export buttons read and write that JSON so rules can be shared. MAKING IT THE DEFAULT (optional per rule) - Each rule row has a "Make default" button. It sets the default app for every extension of the rule using NSWorkspace.shared.setDefaultApplication(at:toOpen:) with the UTType made from the extension (UTType(filenameExtension:)), and tells the user plainly what happened for each extension: done, macOS asked for confirmation, or not possible (some types cannot be changed). Treat macOS showing its own confirmation as normal. Never edit LaunchServices files directly, and never write Apple's private defaults. - Show next to each extension the current default app (NSWorkspace.shared.urlForApplication(toOpen:)) so the user can see what is set now. A "Restore" button sets the previous default back for the types this app changed (remember the previous default app when changing it). MORE WAYS TO USE IT - A menu bar icon is also a drop target: dragging files onto it opens them with the rules, the same as the window. The menu has Show Window, Open File... (an open panel, routed through the rules), Recent (the last 10 files routed, which open again when clicked) and Quit. Add a setting to hide the Dock icon. - A Settings window: folder behaviour, Launch at Login (SMAppService.mainApp, macOS 13), show in the menu bar, keep the Dock icon. - Dropping files must work from Finder, the Desktop, a browser's downloads and other apps, including file promises from apps that create the file on demand (accept both file URLs and NSFilePromiseReceiver). QUALITY - No special macOS permission may be needed. Do not read the contents of the dropped files. Use arguments and URLs only, never a shell or a command line. - A bad rule, a missing app, a file that vanished or an app that fails to open a file show a short friendly message, never a crash. Keep the UI smooth and never block the main thread. - Keep the code modular: a rule model and store, a router (match a file to an app), an opener, a default-app manager, the views and the menu bar controller. Use only Apple frameworks and no Xcode project or asset catalog. Target macOS 13. - Do not fake anything. In your reply, say in a few sentences what the app does and what may not work, especially changing system default apps, which macOS may ask the user to confirm.

What it cost

The cost of this demo was not recorded in our usage log. Demos built through the live build system show every run with its tokens and cost.

Version tree

Every change to this app is a new version. Use any build as a template to start your own copy from it; forks that their makers shared appear as branches.