Introduction
Meet AppPorts, its philosophy and these guides.
AppPorts is a free, open-source macOS tool for moving applications and data. It helps you put large apps, application data and your own folders on external storage, while managing local entries, reconnection and restoration. Keep the things you need and make room on your Mac's internal drive.
Apps and data can move independently. You can move a large app alone, or keep the app installed locally and move only its eligible data directories. Different content has different limits; AppPorts offers actions appropriate to the selected item.
How to use these docs
These guides are for everyday AppPorts users. They cover preparation, migration, restoration and troubleshooting.
- First time here: follow Quick start to install AppPorts and complete a migration.
- Know what to move: go to Move applications or Move data.
- Need files back or an entry repaired: see Restore, reconnect and unlink.
- Interested in the design: read “How it works”; for experiments and tradeoffs, explore the blog.
- Unfamiliar term or warning: consult the glossary, badges and states, or troubleshooting.
These docs describe the interface and behavior of the AppPorts 2.0.0 (build 50). See the changelog for differences from released versions, and check version notes when using an older build.
You can also consult AppPorts on DeepWiki. The author's blog post explains how AppPorts began.
The blog follows the experiments and failed approaches that shaped AppPorts' migration methods.
AppPorts' product philosophy
| Principle | What it means in use |
|---|---|
| Familiar experience | Preserve familiar ways of opening apps, with a local entry after moving the real app externally. |
| Stable strategies | Prefer validated methods and explain uncertain data, permissions or conflicting destinations. |
| Low system overhead | Avoid unnecessary background work; login and reconnection tasks run according to the state of mounted data. |
| International access | Make AppPorts usable in more languages and keep improving translations. |
| Accessibility | Support accessible controls, status information and assistive technologies. |
These principles also preserve choice. Moving an app does not require studying container data first. When mount requirements are not met, data can stay local. Moved content still depends on the external drive, and important data still needs a backup.
Before you start
Decide whether you are moving the application itself or its data, then check storage and permissions. AppPorts cannot make an unsupported directory eligible or guarantee that every app works on every storage device.
Continue with Quick start, external drives, the privacy policy or licenses.