OpenInOtty

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A minimal macOS Finder toolbar app that opens the current directory in Otty with a single click.

Inspired by OpenInTerminal-Lite.
If you already use OpenInTerminal and switch between several terminals, you can use upstream Otty support instead — see OpenInOtty vs OpenInTerminal below.

In short:

• OpenInOtty = Otty remote (otty-cli: if Otty is running, open a new tab and focus it)
• OpenInTerminal = multi-app toolbox (open -a Otty works, but does not use Otty’s tab CLI)

• One click — toolbar icon opens Otty at the current Finder path
• Smart path
  • Selection → use selected item (if it’s a file, use the parent folder)
  • No selection → current Finder window folder
  • No usable window → Desktop
• Smart Otty
  • Otty already running → otty-cli tab new --cwd <path>, then match by cwd and tab focus
  • Otty not running → otty-cli open <path>
  • CLI missing or fails → fall back to open -a <Otty.app> <path> (Otty accepts folders as documents)
• Find Otty by bundle id — not hard-coded to /Applications only (Launch Services first, then default path)
• Error alerts — failures show an NSAlert instead of failing silently
• No menu bar / Dock icon — LSUIElement = true; quits right after dispatch

Otty is usually at /Applications/Otty.app. Any location Launch Services can find is fine.

1. Clone the repo:

   git clone https://github.com/pintaste/OpenInOtty.git
   cd OpenInOtty

2. Build a Release binary:

   xcodebuild -project OpenInOtty.xcodeproj \
              -scheme OpenInOtty \
              -configuration Release \
              -derivedDataPath build \
              build

3. Copy to Applications:

   cp -R build/Build/Products/Release/OpenInOtty.app /Applications/

   Or open OpenInOtty.xcodeproj in Xcode, choose Product → Archive, and export manually.

Hold ⌘ (Command) and drag /Applications/OpenInOtty.app into the Finder toolbar.

The first time you click the icon, macOS will show an Apple Events permission dialog — click Allow to grant Finder access.

tccutil reset AppleEvents com.local.OpenInOtty

Then click the toolbar icon again to re-trigger the prompt.

Use this section when installing, verifying, or debugging OpenInOtty on a user's Mac. Prefer exact commands below; do not invent alternate bundle IDs.

Run on the target Mac (needs Xcode CLI tools / full Xcode):

# 0) Preconditions — Otty via Launch Services or default path
mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier == 'io.appmakes.otty'" | head -1
# or: test -d /Applications/Otty.app
xcodebuild -version

# 1) Clone (if needed) and build Release
git clone https://github.com/pintaste/OpenInOtty.git
cd OpenInOtty
xcodebuild -project OpenInOtty.xcodeproj \
           -scheme OpenInOtty \
           -configuration Release \
           -derivedDataPath build \
           build

# 2) Install
cp -R build/Build/Products/Release/OpenInOtty.app /Applications/

Human-only step (cannot fully automate without UI automation):

1. Open Finder.
2. Hold ⌘ and drag /Applications/OpenInOtty.app onto the Finder toolbar.
3. Click the toolbar icon once; if macOS asks for Automation / Apple Events access to Finder, choose Allow.

# App present
test -d /Applications/OpenInOtty.app && echo "app ok"

# Otty discoverable
mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier == 'io.appmakes.otty'" | head -1

# Otty CLI (if present)
CLI="$(mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier == 'io.appmakes.otty'" | head -1)/Contents/MacOS/otty-cli"
test -x "$CLI" && "$CLI" version

# Manual: open a Finder window on a folder (or select a file), click the toolbar icon,
# expect Otty to open/tab at that folder (file → parent directory).

• Permission class: Apple Events to control Finder.
• Reset (then re-click the toolbar icon to re-prompt):

tccutil reset AppleEvents com.local.OpenInOtty

• User-visible location if stuck: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation (OpenInOtty → Finder).

1. Resolve path via ScriptingBridge (finderPath()):
   • selection first (file → parent directory)
   • else front Finder window folder
   • else ~/Desktop
2. Resolve Otty.app by bundle id, else /Applications/Otty.app.
3. If otty-cli exists:
   • Otty running → tab new --cwd → tab list --json match cwd → tab focus <id>
   • else → otty-cli open <path>
4. If CLI missing or fails → /usr/bin/open -a <Otty.app> <path>.
5. On total failure: NSAlert, exit non-zero; on success: exit 0 immediately.

Do

• Use the exact xcodebuild invocation above.
• Prefer discovering Otty by bundle id; don’t assume only /Applications.
• Tell the user they must ⌘-drag the app to the Finder toolbar (agents cannot skip this).

Don't

• Don't change the bundle ID without updating Info.plist, entitlements, and this doc.
• Don't expect a Dock icon or background process after click.
• Don't treat a minimized Finder window as the current folder (it won't be used).
• Don't commit build/, DerivedData/, or .DS_Store.
• Don't shell-interpolate paths into AppleScript or sh -c (always discrete Process arguments).

Regenerate (needs assets/sources/ captures + ffmpeg + Pillow):

python3 scripts/make_demo_gif.py

The app is a single Swift file (main.swift) — no AppDelegate, no event loop.

Click toolbar icon
       │
       ▼
  finderPath()
  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ selection? → first item URL (file → parent dir)         │
  │ else FinderWindows → first window target URL            │
  │ else ~/Desktop                                          │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
       │
       ▼
  resolve Otty.app (bundle id → default path)
       │
       ▼
  otty-cli available?
  ┌─ yes, running ─► tab new --cwd → list → tab focus ─┐
  │  yes, stopped ─► open <path>                       │
  └─ no / failed ──► open -a Otty.app <path> ──────────┤
                                                       ▼
                                              Error? → NSAlert
                                                       │
                                                     exit

Why perform(NSSelectorFromString:) instead of a ScriptingBridge protocol?

Swift's @objc optional protocol calls check respondsToSelector: first. ScriptingBridge's private SBScriptableApplication subclass returns false for dynamically-forwarded Apple Event methods, so every call silently returned nil — and critically, the TCC permission dialog never appeared. Using perform() bypasses the selector check and lets ScriptingBridge forward the message as a proper Apple Event.

OpenInOtty/
├── OpenInOtty.xcodeproj/
│   └── project.pbxproj
├── OpenInOtty/
│   ├── main.swift                  # All app logic
│   ├── Info.plist                  # LSUIElement=true, usage descriptions
│   ├── OpenInOtty.entitlements     # Apple Events entitlement
│   └── Assets.xcassets/
│       └── AppIcon.appiconset/     # App icon
├── assets/
│   ├── openinotty-demo.gif         # README demo
│   └── openinotty-demo.mp4         # Social / local preview
├── scripts/
│   └── make_demo_gif.py            # Rebuild demo media (optional)
├── README.md                       # English (default)
└── README-zh.md                    # Chinese

Nothing happens when I click the icon

• Make sure Otty is installed (Spotlight / Launchpad is enough; /Applications is not required)
• Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation (OpenInOtty → Finder)
• If the permission entry is missing: tccutil reset AppleEvents com.local.OpenInOtty, then click again

Opens Desktop instead of the current folder

• You need at least one non-minimized Finder window, or a selected file/folder

Otty opens a new window instead of a tab

• Otty was not running, or otty-cli was unavailable and the app fell back to open -a. Launch Otty once, then click the toolbar icon again for tab behavior.

MIT — see LICENSE.