~/Documents/project/
README.md
# Glance
Quick preview tool...
https://example.com
Glance
Native macOS App
Preview Anything,
Anywhere.
Glance lives in your menu bar. Select any text — a URL, file path, or filename — hold a hotkey, and instantly preview images, videos, documents, and more.
50+
Formats
0ms
Latency
100%
Native
Glance Preview Panel
Media
Content
Core Features
Everything you need for lightning-fast previews, built natively for macOS.
Global Hotkey Trigger
Hold Control or Option (customizable) to instantly trigger a preview from any selected text, in any application.
Cross-App Text Selection
Works seamlessly across all apps using the Accessibility API, with a reliable clipboard fallback for universal compatibility.
Multi-Type Path Detection
Intelligently detects HTTP URLs, local file paths, ~/ home paths, file:// URIs, relative paths, and even bare filenames.
Spotlight File Resolution
Can't find the full path? Glance queries Spotlight to resolve incomplete filenames and locate files anywhere on your Mac.
Media Preview Panel
Images and videos render in a sleek floating panel with an intelligent grid layout that adapts to the number of items.
Content Viewer
Preview Markdown, plain text, code files, PDFs, and even web pages. Edit text and Markdown directly within the preview panel.
File Cards
Other formats — Office docs, design files, archives, audio, fonts, installers — appear as beautiful file cards with metadata and quick-open actions.
Preview History
Access your recent previews directly from the menu bar. Jump back to anything you viewed without re-selecting text.
Permission Guidance
Smart multi-monitor positioning ensures the preview panel appears where you expect. Guided setup helps you grant the right permissions.
Supported Formats
Glance handles a wide range of file types and protocols — if you can select it, you can preview it.
Images
jpg
jpeg
png
gif
webp
heic
heif
bmp
tiff
tif
raw
cr2
nef
arw
Videos
mp4
mov
m4v
webm
mkv
avi
Documents & Text
md
markdown
txt
json
xml
yaml
html
css
js
ts
swift
py
go
rs
sh
sql
log
+ more
Other Formats
pdf
url
docx
xlsx
pptx
psd
sketch
fig
mp3
wav
zip
dmg
pkg
ttf
otf
How It Works
Three simple steps between you and instant previews.
1
Select Text
Highlight any text containing a URL, file path, filename, or domain name in any macOS application.
2
Hold the Hotkey
Press and hold your configured hotkey (default: Control) to trigger the preview instantly.
3
View & Interact
Media appears in a floating preview panel. Click file cards to open files in their default applications.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Control Glance entirely from your keyboard.
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger Preview | Ctrl (hold) | Hold while text is selected to show the preview panel |
| Trigger Preview (Alt) | Option (hold) | Alternative hotkey (configurable in Preferences) |
| Open File | Return / Click | Open the selected file or URL in its default application |
| Close Preview | Esc | Close the preview panel |
| Copy Content | Cmd C | Copy previewed text or file path to clipboard |
| Edit Text | Double-click | Enter edit mode for text and Markdown files |
System Requirements
Everything Glance needs to run smoothly on your Mac.
macOS Version
macOS 12.3 (Monterey) or later. Optimized for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
RequiredInput Monitoring
Required to detect global hotkey presses across all applications while Glance runs in the background.
RequiredAccessibility
Needed to read selected text from other applications using macOS Accessibility APIs.
RequiredFull Disk Access
Optional but recommended. Allows Glance to preview files in protected system directories and resolve paths more reliably.
OptionalNetwork Access
Required for previewing web URLs and fetching remote content. No data is collected or transmitted.
OptionalReady to Glance?
Download Glance and start previewing files, images, and URLs in seconds.
macOS 12.3+ • Universal Binary