// A macOS System Extension

Quick Look,
Highlighted.

Preview code files instantly, with your favorite themes.

Download on the Mac App Store 100% private. One-time purchase.
The macOS Quick Look panel previewing a Swift file with full syntax highlighting and line numbers

Quick Look with CodeLook's built-in UtilityDark theme.

// deep theming

Same look, same taste.

Every color comes from the theme: background, gutter, line numbers, separator - not just the text colors. So previews look just like your text editor. Plus optional wrap & line number settings.

CodeLook's General settings in light mode, showing line number and wrapping options CodeLook's General settings in dark mode, showing line number and wrapping options

700+ themes.Or make your own.

Installable in one click.

// appearance

Mode for the mood.

You can just pick one dark or light theme... but why not both?

With 'System' mode, CodeLook auto-switches based on your macOS appearance.

CodeLook's Theme settings in light mode with system mode set and both light and dark theme selected CodeLook's Theme settings in dark mode with system mode set and both light and dark theme selected

// fonts

If you got it, flaunt it.

Pick any font on your Mac and customize the size. CodeLook renders regular, bold, italic, and bold italic automatically.

CodeLook's Font tab in light mode with a font picker and size slider CodeLook's Font tab in dark mode with a font picker and size slider
The Quick Look panel previewing a Swift source file with syntax highlighting

// speed

Big files? Big deal...

Instantly see code highlighted the second you press space. No file size left behind. Powered by Tree-sitter and a fully native engine written in Swift.

The Quick Look panel deep inside a 260,000-line C file, fully highlighted at line 260,494

// languages

Seventeen types.

Supported file types, each with a dedicated grammar.

Rust .rs
C .c
C++ .cpp
Swift .swift
Go .go
Ruby .rb
Python .py
CSS .css
JavaScript .js
JSX .jsx
TSX .tsx
Shell .sh
Lua .lua
JSON .json
JSONC .jsonc
JSONL .jsonl
YAML .yml

// accuracy

Parsed, not matched.

Every language is parsed with the same tree-sitter grammars behind Zed and Neovim. Every token is colored by what it actually is, not what it looks like.

The Quick Look panel previewing Swift regex literals, correctly highlighted

Swift regex literals, parsed correctly.

// faq

CodeLook does have an app to help you with settings and theming. Since CodeLook is a system extension, you can quit the app and previews just work.

Yea, CodeLook works anywhere macOS shows file previews via Quick Look. Select a file and press Space in Spotlight, Open and Save dialogs, for example. Also renders in any third-party app that uses the Quick Look framework, including Raycast.

Themes come from Zed's public extension registry, the same catalog the Zed editor uses, with 700+ theme extensions. You can browse and preview them online via zed-themes.com, a community-driven gallery. Themes are small JSON color definitions; installing one downloads only colors, never code.

You can also build your own with Zed's theme builder, or write a simplified JSON file by hand. CodeLook supports a slimmed-down format with documented token mappings.

CodeLook does not collect any data. No analytics, no tracking, no accounts. Files are read locally to render the preview and never leave your Mac. The only network requests are the theme catalog and theme downloads you ask for. The whole policy fits on one page: privacy.

.html and .ts files don't show a preview because macOS reserves those two extensions for its own built-in Quick Look handlers, and third-party apps can't override that.

Really large files open just as fast. CodeLook uses a tree-sitter-powered highlighting engine via dog, and the rendering is streamed. So the second previews appear, code is already highlighted.

To turn it on, launch CodeLook once after installing. If previews don't switch over immediately, check System Settings → Login Items & Extensions → Quick Look, and make sure CodeLook is enabled. The same switch turns it off.

There is no subscription and no in-app purchase. It's just a one-time paid purchase to own the app forever.

CodeLook app icon

Quick Look with CodeLook

Now on the Mac App Store.

Download on the Mac App Store $4.99. 100% private. One-time purchase.