Kyeum

ceum — Scottish Gaelic for "step, footstep, pace"

A lightweight macOS 14+ menu bar utility that surfaces your recently visited Finder folders for instant keyboard-driven access.

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What it does

Every time you navigate to a folder in Finder, Kyeum remembers it. Open the menu from the menu bar (or with a global hotkey) and jump straight back — no Finder window hunting, no Spotlight query. Number keys open recent folders; ⌘-number keys open your starred favorites.

Features

• Recent folders pulled directly from Finder navigation history (FXRecentFolders)
• Star any folder as a Favorite — click ☆ on any item in the menu; it pins without closing the menu
• Keyboard shortcuts — press 1–9 to open recent folders, ⌘1–⌘4 for favorites
• Global hotkey — open the menu from any app (default ⌥F; fully configurable)
• Left/right-hand shortcuts — switch favorite shortcuts between ⌘1–4 and ⌘8–9–0–⌘−
• Compact or detail mode — show folder paths below names, or keep the menu narrow
• Path tooltips — hover any item to see the full untruncated path
• Limit to home folder — filter out system and application-internal paths
• Manual pin by path — type any ~/ path in Settings to pin a folder that isn't in your recents
• No Dock icon, no menu bar clutter beyond a single clock symbol

Screenshots

Requirements

• macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
• No Accessibility permission required

Installation

Kyeum is distributed as a direct-download app (not on the Mac App Store).

Build from source

1. Clone the repo:

   git clone https://github.com/afluffywaffle/kyeum.git
   cd kyeum

2. Open Kyeum.xcodeproj in Xcode 15 or later
3. Set the scheme's build configuration to Release (Edit Scheme → Run → Build Configuration)
4. ⌘B to build
5. In the Project navigator, right-click Kyeum.app under Products → Show in Finder
6. Drag Kyeum.app to /Applications

First launch

Kyeum is not notarized, so Gatekeeper will block it on first run. To open it:

1. Right-click Kyeum.app in Finder → Open
2. Click Open in the warning dialog

You only need to do this once. After that it launches normally.

To remove the quarantine flag instead:

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

Usage

Menu

Action	How
Open menu	Click the clock icon in the menu bar
Open menu (anywhere)	Press the global hotkey (default ⌥F)
Open a recent folder	Press its number key (1–9) or click it
Open a favorite	Press ⌘1–⌘4 or click it
Star / unstar a folder	Click ☆ / ★ on the right side of any item

Settings

Open via the menu → Settings… (⌘,)

Setting	Description
Show (slider)	Number of recent folders to display (1–9)
Limit to home folder	Hides folders outside ~/, except iCloud Drive
Show pathnames	Toggle between detail (with path) and compact (name only) mode
Max favorites	Maximum number of starred favorites (1–4)
Right-hand shortcuts	Switches favorite shortcuts to ⌘8 ⌘9 ⌘0 ⌘−
Launch at login	Start Kyeum automatically when you log in
Open Kyeum hotkey	Record a new global hotkey
Add path…	Manually pin any folder by typing its path (~/ supported)

Architecture

See CLAUDE.md for a full architecture reference, key decisions, and build instructions used during development.

File	Responsibility
KyeumApp.swift	@main, AppDelegate, singleton wiring
MenuBarManager.swift	NSStatusItem, NSMenu lifecycle, custom FolderItemView
RecentFoldersProvider.swift	Reads FXRecentFolders bookmarks, RecentMoveAndCopyDestinations, deduplicates
PinnedFoldersStore.swift	Favorites CRUD, UserDefaults persistence
GlobalHotkeyManager.swift	Carbon RegisterEventHotKey, user-configurable key + modifiers
FolderItem.swift	Value type: url, name, truncatedPath
SettingsView.swift	SwiftUI settings window

Notes

• Uses FXRecentFolders (Finder navigation history), not NSNavRecentPlaces (open/save panel). The latter is typically empty on machines that use iCloud-aware open dialogs.
• The shared-preference.read-only entitlement for com.apple.finder is required to read Finder's preferences from the sandbox. This entitlement is approved for notarized direct-distribution apps but is not allowed on the Mac App Store.
• The global hotkey uses Carbon's RegisterEventHotKey rather than NSEvent.addGlobalMonitorForEvents — this means no Accessibility permission is needed, and the keystroke is consumed (no character is typed in the focused app).

License

MIT — see LICENSE