Published: October 8, 2025
Last updated: October 4, 2026
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Run FileBrowser Quantum v2.0.x (stable) natively on macOS.

Download

  1. Go to releases page
  2. Download the beta darwin-amd64-filebrowser (Intel) or darwin-arm64-filebrowser (Apple Silicon) release
  3. Save to a folder

Enable Permissions

Step 1: Make Executable

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chmod +x darwin-arm64-filebrowser

Step 2: Allow in Security Settings

On first run, macOS will block the app:

  1. Try to run: ./darwin-arm64-filebrowser
  2. Go to System Preferences → Security & Privacy
  3. Click Allow for FileBrowser

Optional: Install FFmpeg

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brew install ffmpeg

Create Configuration

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./darwin-arm64-filebrowser setup

Or create config.yaml:

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http:
  port: 80
server:
  sources:
    - path: "/Users/yourname/Documents"
      config:
        defaultEnabled: true
auth:
  adminUsername: admin

v2.0.0 and later read the listen port from http.port. A server.port key is rejected at startup.

Run FileBrowser

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./darwin-arm64-filebrowser -c config.yaml

Access at http://localhost:80.

On v2.x (v2.0.0+), if adminPassword is unset or left as admin, a random admin password is generated, logged once, and a password reset is required on first login. Any other value of auth.methods.password.adminPassword or auth.adminPassword is used as-is.

Run as Service (launchd)

Create /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.filebrowser.plist:

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.filebrowser</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/local/bin/filebrowser</string>
        <string>-c</string>
        <string>/usr/local/etc/filebrowser/config.yaml</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

Load service:

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sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.filebrowser.plist

Next Steps