OpenInTerminal Configurations

Installing Unsigned Apps

On first launch, macOS may refuse to open the app — for example "OpenInTerminal" is damaged and can't be opened, or cannot be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software.

1. Move the app (OpenInTerminal.app, OpenInTerminal-Lite.app or OpenInEditor-Lite.app) into /Applications.

2. Remove the quarantine flag macOS attaches to downloaded or copied apps (repeat for each app, changing the name):

   Copy

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/OpenInTerminal.app
   

   This step matters: besides clearing the "damaged" warning, it stops macOS from running the app from a random read-only location (App Translocation), which would otherwise prevent the Finder extension from registering.

3. Launch the app.

Prefer not to use the command line? Control-click (right-click) the app in Finder, choose Open, and confirm in the dialog. On macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, open System Settings -> Privacy & Security, scroll to the Security section, and click Open Anyway after the first blocked launch.

Finder Extension Configuration

To enable Finder Extension, right click on Finder toolbar, select Customize Toolbar... as shown below:

Then drag the OpenInTerminal icon to the toolbar:

Finder Extension Not Showing Up in System Settings on macOS 15 and later

1) Enable the Finder Extension in Settings (Tahoe)

Go to System Settings -> General -> Login Items & Extensions -> OpenInTerminal Extensions, and enable File Provider.

2) Manually Enable the Finder Extension (macOS 15)

Starting with macOS 15, Apple removed the Finder Sync Extension configuration from System Settings. To enable the Finder Extension, use the pluginkit command-line tool as follows:

$ pluginkit -mAD -p com.apple.FinderSync -vvv

You should see output similar to the following:

wang.jianing.app.OpenInTerminal.OpenInTerminalFinderExtension(2.3.5)
           Path = /Applications/OpenInTerminal.app/Contents/PlugIns/OpenInTerminalFinderExtension.appex
           UUID = F2547F13-4E43-4E88-9D8F-56DF05C020D8
      Timestamp = 2024-09-17 09:34:07 +0000
            SDK = com.apple.FinderSync
  Parent Bundle = /Applications/OpenInTerminal.app
   Display Name = OpenInTerminalFinderExtension
     Short Name = OpenInTerminalFinderExtension
    Parent Name = OpenInTerminal
       Platform = macOS

To manually enable the Finder Extension, run the following command with the UUID from the output:

$ pluginkit -e "use" -u "F2547F13-4E43-4E88-9D8F-56DF05C020D8"

3) Use FinderSyncer

Alternatively, you could use a GUI tool called FinderSyncer to enable the extension.

Checking Finder Extension Permissions on macOS 14 and Earlier

For macOS 14 and earlier, ensure the Finder Extension is enabled via System Preferences:

1. Open the OpenInTerminal app.
2. Navigate to System Preferences -> Extensions -> Finder Extensions.
3. Check the checkbox next to OpenInTerminalFinderExtension, as shown below:

Custom Configuration

For Neovim Users

If you select Neovim as your editor in OpenInTerminal, the app will use Kitty as the default terminal. To switch to a different terminal (supported options: Alacritty, WezTerm, and Kitty), update the configuration with the following command. Replace <Your Name> with your username and adjust the Neovim path (/opt/homebrew/bin/nvim in this example) to match your installation:

defaults write /Users/<Your Name>/Library/Group\ Containers/group.wang.jianing.app.OpenInTerminal/Library/Preferences/group.wang.jianing.app.OpenInTerminal.plist NeovimCommand "open -na wezterm --args start /opt/homebrew/bin/nvim PATH"

Other terminal configurations:

// kitty:
"open -na kitty --args /opt/homebrew/bin/nvim PATH"
// WezTerm:
"open -na wezterm --args start /opt/homebrew/bin/nvim PATH"
// Alacritty:
"open -na Alacritty --args -e /opt/homebrew/bin/nvim PATH"

For Kitty Users

The default launch behavior for kitty is to open a new instance for each command, like the following:

open -na kitty --args --single-instance --instance-group 1 --directory

If you want to customize this behavior, you can run the following command in your terminal. Make sure to replace <Your Name> with your username and adjust the open command as what you want:

defaults write /Users/<Your Name>/Library/Group\ Containers/group.wang.jianing.app.OpenInTerminal/Library/Preferences/group.wang.jianing.app.OpenInTerminal.plist KittyCommand "open -na kitty --args --single-instance --instance-group 1 --directory"

FAQ ❓

<code>tccutil reset AppleEvents wang.jianing.app.OpenInTerminal</code>