Documentation, by topic.
The reference manual. Every flag, every config key, every API surface. If you want to learn the app instead of look something up, start with the guides.
Getting started
File operations
Remote & cloud
Customisation
Terminal & productivity
Plugin API
System requirements
| OS | macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. |
| Architecture | Universal binary — Apple Silicon (M1+) native, Intel via the same binary. |
| Disk | About 80 MB for the app. |
| Notarisation | Direct-download build is signed with a Developer ID and notarised by Apple. |
| App Store | A separate sandboxed build is on the Mac App Store; some power features (terminal, plugins, admin mode, Process Viewer, fast search via fd / ripgrep) are unavailable in the sandboxed version — see the comparison. |
Trash — Put Back & Empty Trash
Deleting with F8 moves items to the macOS Trash rather than erasing them. The Trash appears in the sidebar with a live icon that fills as items pile up and empties when it’s clear — open it like any folder to see what’s inside.
Select an item in the Trash and choose Put Back to restore it to where it came from. To reclaim the space, choose File > Empty Trash (⇧⌘⌫) or right-click the Trash in the sidebar. Permanent deletes — on network shares or volumes without a Trash — always ask for confirmation first.
Customise keyboard shortcuts
Every action in Captain’s Deck is rebindable. Open Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts, pick an action, and use Record to capture a new key, Add to give one action several shortcuts, or Remove to clear a binding. Multi-key chords — like dd or gg — are supported.
Prefer a whole scheme at once? Switch between the Orthodox, macOS, and Vim layout presets and the entire app follows. The complete shortcut reference lists every default binding.
Plugin quick start
Plugins are JavaScript that runs inside the app via the system JavaScriptCore framework. Each plugin is a folder with a manifest.json and a main.js, packed in a .zip; install via Settings > Plugins > Install Plugin…. Two sample plugins ship in sample-plugins/ — folder-stats and captains-toolkit.
The matching manifest.json lists the plugin’s id, name, version, contributed context-menu items, and required permissions. The full plugin guide is at /plugin-guide.
captain.* API surface
| captain.fs | read, readText, write, stat, ls, exists, mkdir, rm, watch, unwatch |
| captain.ui | notify (toast), showQuickPick, showInputBox |
| captain.contextMenu | register handlers for contributed menu items |
| captain.clipboard | read, write |
| captain.storage | get, set — plugin-scoped persistent storage |
| captain.http | fetch, get, post |
| captain.shell | exec — run shell commands |
| captain.events | on, off, emit |
| captain.commands | register, execute — internal commands |
| captain.statusBar | create, update, remove, onClick — menu bar items |
| captain.settings | get, set, keys |
| captain.providers | register, unregister — read-only VFS providers |
Installing & enabling plugins
- Create a ZIP of your plugin folder (manifest.json + main.js at the root).
- In Captain’s Deck, open Settings > Plugins.
- Click Install Plugin… and select the ZIP.
- Toggle the checkbox to enable. Enabled plugins activate on every launch.
Plugins are a Pro feature in the direct-download build and are not available in the Mac App Store version (sandbox restrictions).
Can’t find what you need?
The guides at /guides walk through every feature in step-by-step form. For anything missing, email [email protected] or open an issue on the public feedback repo.