BetterMSFile

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A lightweight native macOS app for fast, unified access to Microsoft 365 files across OneDrive and SharePoint.

Why

Microsoft's default apps (OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams) scatter files across fragmented interfaces. Finding a file means knowing which app to open and which site to check. BetterMSFile merges everything into a single, fast, keyboard-first file browser.

Features

• Unified file view — OneDrive, SharePoint, and shared files in one place
• Fast search — Global search across all sources via Microsoft Graph Search API
• Scoped search — Filter search to a specific team, site, or your OneDrive
• Favorites — Pin frequently used files and folders for instant access (Cmd+D)
• Frequently Used — Smart suggestions based on your usage patterns (frecency)
• Drag-and-drop reorder — Custom file ordering per folder, persisted across sessions
• Keyboard-first — Navigate entirely with keyboard shortcuts (Cmd+K search, arrow keys, Space for Quick Look)
• Native macOS — Built with SwiftUI, feels like a system app
• Instant startup — Local cache with background refresh
• Quick Look — Preview files without downloading
• Open anywhere — Open in browser, download, copy link, drag & drop

Requirements

• macOS 26.2+
• Microsoft 365 work/school account
• Azure AD app registration with delegated permissions:
  • User.Read
  • Files.ReadWrite.All
  • Sites.Read.All

Setup

1. Clone the repository
2. Copy BetterMSFile/Config.swift.example to BetterMSFile/Config.swift
3. Fill in your Azure AD app registration values (client ID, tenant ID)
4. Open BetterMSFile.xcodeproj in Xcode
5. Build and run

Architecture

SwiftUI Views → ViewModels → Services → GraphClient → Microsoft Graph API
                                ↕
                           SwiftData (cache)
                                ↕
                         MSAL (auth/tokens)

MVVM with service layer:

• Views — SwiftUI, NavigationSplitView (sidebar + file list + detail)
• ViewModels — State management, business logic
• Services — File fetching, search, site discovery
• GraphClient — Authenticated HTTP with pagination and throttle handling
• SwiftData — Local metadata cache for instant startup
• MSAL — Microsoft authentication, token management via Keychain

Project Structure

BetterMSFile/
├── App/              # App entry point, global state
├── Auth/             # MSAL authentication service
├── Networking/       # Graph API client, endpoints, response types
├── Services/         # File, search, and site services
├── Models/           # SwiftData models (UnifiedFile, FileSource)
├── ViewModels/       # View state management
├── Views/            # SwiftUI views (sidebar, file list, search, auth)
└── Extensions/       # Utility extensions

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Cmd+K	Global search
↑ / ↓	Navigate file list
Enter	Open file / enter folder
Cmd+O	Open in browser
Cmd+D	Toggle favorite
Space	Quick Look preview
Escape	Dismiss search / go back
Cmd+[ / Cmd+]	Back / forward

Dependencies

• MSAL for macOS — Microsoft authentication (via SPM)

Graph API Scopes

Scope	Purpose
User.Read	User profile
Files.ReadWrite.All	OneDrive + SharePoint file access + move
Sites.Read.All	SharePoint site discovery