Slashgrab

Slashgrab is a tiny macOS menu bar utility that turns dropped files and folders into copied path text.

Drop something on the menu bar icon, then paste the path wherever you need it.

Why

I built Slashgrab because getting a file path was always more work than it should be.

When I needed to paste a path into an AI agent, a chat, a terminal command, a bug report, or a config file, I usually had to find the file in Finder, drag the folder into Terminal or use another copy-path flow, copy the result, then switch back to the app where I actually needed it.

Slashgrab removes that detour:

1. Drag a file or folder.
2. Drop it on the Slashgrab menu bar icon.
3. Paste the copied path.

No command palette, no temporary shelf, and no extra window to manage.

Features

• Menu bar drop target: drop files or folders directly on the Slashgrab icon.
• Finder Copy Path: right-click selected files or folders in Finder and choose Copy Path.
• Instant clipboard copy: the formatted path is copied as soon as the drop succeeds.
• Multiple path formats:
  • Shell Escaped
  • Path
  • Quoted Path
  • File URL
  • Home-relative Path
• Multi-item support: drop more than one item and Slashgrab formats the full set for the selected output style.
• Recent paths: reopen the menu to copy recently grabbed paths again.
• Drop feedback: quick visual confirmation when a path was copied.
• Launch at login: keep Slashgrab ready without starting it manually.
• Sparkle updates: release builds include update checking support.

How It Works

Slashgrab lives in the macOS menu bar. Click the icon to change the output format, copy recent paths again, open Settings, or quit. Launch-at-login, Finder integration, updates, and app information live in the Settings window.

The bundled Finder extension adds Copy Path to Finder's contextual menu. It uses the same Copy As format selected in Slashgrab, including its multi-item separator. macOS requires Finder extensions to be enabled by the user: open Slashgrab's menu, choose Settings…, then open the Finder Extension settings from the General tab and enable Slashgrab.

The default workflow is intentionally small:

Drop file -> copy path -> paste path

That makes it useful for developers, designers, QA, support, and anyone else who repeatedly sends local file references to terminals, scripts, docs, chats, or AI tools.

Get Slashgrab

• macOS 13 or newer
• Website: slashgrab.app

Download the latest Slashgrab.dmg directly from GitHub Releases.

The zip asset is used for Sparkle automatic updates.

Build Locally

Local builds are meant for development and testing. They create a separate Slashgrab Dev.app, so you can run it without sharing settings or history with the eventual production app.

Requirements:

• macOS 13 or newer
• Xcode 26 or newer
• XcodeGen 2.46 or newer (brew install xcodegen)
• An Apple Development signing identity for running the Finder extension

project.yml is the source of truth for the Xcode project. Generate it manually with:

./Scripts/generate_project.sh

Build and verify the side-by-side dev app:

./Scripts/build_and_run.sh --verify --test

Run it locally:

./Scripts/build_and_run.sh

The dev build packages as Slashgrab Dev.app with bundle identifier com.prof18.slashgrab.dev, separate settings/history, Sparkle disabled, a DEV menu bar label, and a dev-badged app icon. When launched, the script signs it with an Apple Development identity, installs it to ~/Applications, registers the Finder extension from that stable location, and opens the installed copy. Set DEV_APP_IDENTITY or DEV_INSTALL_DIR in .env to override those defaults.

Run the full SwiftPM and Xcode test suite with:

./Scripts/test.sh

Development Gate

Run the local CI gate:

./ci.sh

License

Copyright 2026 Marco Gomiero.

Slashgrab is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE for the full license text.