mq-dir vs Path Finder (discontinued): your migration options in 2026

Path Finder shipped its first build in 2002 and its last in 2023. Twenty-one years of accumulated features and a dedicated userbase that hasn't found a real successor. This is the honest assessment of mq-dir as one option for migrating off it.

TL;DR

• mq-dir replaces Path Finder's core 80% (panes, tabs, preview, persistence) cleanly and exceeds it in some areas (quad-pane, state depth).
• mq-dir doesn't replace Path Finder's tail 20% (Drop Stack, modules, custom commands, hex viewer). For those, you'll use companion tools.
• Don't expect 1:1 migration. Path Finder accumulated features for 21 years; no 2026 successor matches it feature-for-feature.

What you keep going from Path Finder to mq-dir

Dual / multi-pane navigation

Path Finder had dual-pane; mq-dir has 1/2/4-pane. The basic shape transfers. mq-dir's 4-pane mode is genuinely a step beyond Path Finder.

Tabs

Path Finder had tabs per window. mq-dir has tabs per pane. Slight upgrade for parallel work.

Per-tab preview

Path Finder had a preview pane. mq-dir's preview is per-tab and handles full GFM Markdown plus images/video/audio/PDF.

Sidebar with favorites

Path Finder's sidebar pattern transfers cleanly. mq-dir's sidebar adds Projects (named workspaces) and a CMUX section for cmux session integration.

Tree view

Path Finder had a tree view; mq-dir has a per-tab VS Code-style tree (toggleable inside any tab). Slight upgrade in flexibility.

What you lose

Drop Stack

Path Finder's Drop Stack collected files from anywhere as you browsed, then let you operate on them as a batch (move, copy, compress). It was distinctive and genuinely useful for "gathering" workflows.

mq-dir doesn't have this. Roadmap discusses batch operations for v0.2, which would cover some of the use case. For now: select multiple files in one pane and drag — works for simple cases but lacks the cross-folder accumulation.

Modules / Tools

Path Finder bundled a terminal pane, a hex viewer, an image viewer with editing tools, a process viewer. mq-dir is opinionated about scope — it's a file manager, period.

Replace with: Terminal.app (or your choice — Warp, iTerm), Hex Fiend (free, open-source), Preview, Activity Monitor.

Custom commands

Path Finder let users add custom toolbar buttons that ran shell scripts. mq-dir has none of this — no plugin/scripting API in v0.x. Roadmap mentions plugins for v0.3+.

Path bar history

Path Finder's path bar had rich back/forward history. mq-dir's breadcrumb is simpler today; history navigation is ⌘[ / ⌘] per tab.

Granular column controls

Path Finder let you customize column visibility / order / width per folder. mq-dir customizes columns globally per pane (not per folder). For users who set up specific column layouts for different folder types, this is a step back.

What you gain

Up to 4 panes

Path Finder caps at 2. mq-dir's 4 unlocks parallel work that Path Finder physically couldn't do. For ex-Path-Finder users running AI agents in parallel, this alone justifies migration.

Religious state persistence

Path Finder's persistence was good for its era; mq-dir's is more thorough. Every Codable type, every schema bump, force-quit-survival-tested.

Modern security model

Path Finder's last builds aren't notarized for current macOS. mq-dir's notarization is part of every release; the security posture is current.

Active development

Path Finder is dead. mq-dir is alpha but actively shipping. New features land monthly. The arc is upward.

Open source

Path Finder was always closed. mq-dir is MIT-licensed, source on GitHub. For users who want auditability or potential to contribute, this is a category change, not a feature change.

Zero telemetry

Path Finder's posture was reasonable; mq-dir's is explicit and open-source-verifiable.

Migration playbook

For users currently on Path Finder considering mq-dir:

Day 1 — install + run alongside

Don't uninstall Path Finder. Install mq-dir (brew install --cask mq-dir). Both run side-by-side. Use mq-dir for new tasks; let Path Finder handle the existing flow.

Day 2-7 — port favorites + projects

Drag your Path Finder favorites to mq-dir's sidebar. If you used Path Finder's "Favorites" or "Tags" extensively, replicate the most-used 80%; ignore the long tail.

If you had multiple Path Finder windows for different projects, set them up as named Projects in mq-dir.

Week 2 — exercise the tail

Try the advanced things you did in Path Finder (Drop Stack, custom commands, modules) in mq-dir. You'll find some don't exist; that's expected. Note which ones you actually miss vs which you used once a year.

Week 3 — decide

If the core 80% in mq-dir is working and the tail 20% is either non-essential or replaceable with companion tools, migrate. Otherwise, stay on Path Finder until your tail-feature gap closes.

Use case routing

Verdict

If you used Path Finder for the basic shape — dual-pane, tabs, preview, sidebar — mq-dir is a clean modern successor and a step forward in parallel work and state persistence.

If you used Path Finder's accumulated tail features — Drop Stack, modules, custom commands — mq-dir doesn't fully replace those today. You'll either wait for v0.2/v0.3, switch to companion tools, or stay on Path Finder until the gap closes.

Either way, plan the migration. macOS will eventually hard-block the unnotarized builds, and there will be no Path Finder update.

mq-dir is free, MIT, no telemetry. For Path Finder users, it's the closest spiritual successor among current 2026 options.