Get the macOS Finder to Do Just About Anything by Typing Natural Language Commands

I am not true Of course if big language models – often referred to as “AI” in shorthand – this is the future of computing. But I don’t even think Chattabot How people will use this technology in the coming years.

SubstanceAn Indi Mac app by developer Joseph HumphreyA simple application that points toward a possible option – it’s useful now.

This app is floating at the bottom of every Finder window, which means you see it when you browse it in Macos. You can type the English language sentences on it to make things like re -naming, converting or compressing the files. The application uses a large language model to create a command like what you can run in the terminal. The app then shows you it and asks if you actually want to run it.

Substage in action.

Courtesy of Justin Pot

I have grown up with the app for several days, trying all kinds of things. I highlighted a video and it simply asked to convert to an MP3 with the audio and it was effective. I opened a folder full of photos and asked each photo to convert to PNG and it was effective. I opened the folder where I saved my personal journal and wanted a zip file of each entrance mentioned in the pancakes – I got one (obviously 137 entry).

It may feel a bit like magic but there is a warning: What is possible to do with the command line effectively to use the applications requires an initial understanding of what and what is not.

Humphrey told me, “The goal was to make powerful equipment more accessible – the power of the command line to bring nontechnical users,” Humphrey tells me. “But what I understand is that it really shines in the hands of semi-technical users: people who understand what is possible is fairly appreciated but appreciate the speed.”

If you are reading this article I think you have a good chance of it. You occasionally use the command line after reading some googling or some documentation online. You don’t have to do it with the substance – you can only ask what you want and if there is an order for the job you will probably get it.