Folders & Library

Beaver's library is built from the folders you link. Your files stay exactly where they are. Beaver reads them, makes thumbnails and keeps its own record of tags, ratings and notes.

Supported file types

Beaver indexes these file types. Anything else in a linked folder is ignored.

Type	Extensions	Preview
Images	.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .webp, .gif, .svg	Thumbnail. GIFs animate when you hover over them. SVGs are drawn directly.
Video	.mp4, .mov, .webm, .mkv, .ogg	A still frame. The video plays silently while you hover over the card.
Vectors	.eps, .ai	EPS files get a rendered preview. AI files show a file icon.
Documents	.pdf	File icon.
Audio	.mp3, .wav, .aac, .flac, .m4a, .opus	Music icon, with a player in the inspector and viewer.

Video stills and EPS previews are made with macOS Quick Look, so they look the same as they do in Finder.

Linking folders

To link a folder, hover over the Folders heading in the sidebar and click +, or click Link Folder when the library is empty. Pick a folder and Beaver indexes everything inside it, including all subfolders.

• Beaver skips subfolders named node_modules, .git, dist and build.
• You can't link the same folder twice. Beaver shows Directory already linked if you try.
• Each folder shows its asset count next to its name.

Live sync

After the first scan, Beaver watches each linked folder. When you add, edit or delete a supported file in Finder or another app, the library updates on its own. An edited file gets a fresh thumbnail.

WARNING

If you rename or move a file outside Beaver, Beaver sees it as one file removed and a new file added. The new entry starts without its tags, rating, title or notes. Use Beaver's own Rename and Move actions to keep that information. See Managing Files.

Subfolders

Subfolders that contain indexed files appear indented under their linked folder. Click a subfolder to see the assets in it and in any folders inside it.

To make a new subfolder on disk, hover over a linked folder and click Create subfolder, type a name and confirm. A new, empty subfolder appears in the sidebar once it contains a supported file.

Renaming a folder in the sidebar

Hover over a linked folder and click Rename alias, or double-click its name. Type a new name and press Return. This only changes the name shown in Beaver. The folder on disk keeps its name. Hover over the name to see the original path.

Unlinking a folder

Hover over a linked folder and click Remove folder, then confirm. Beaver removes the folder's assets, thumbnails, tag assignments, ratings and notes from its library. Your files on disk aren't touched.

Views

The top of the sidebar has views that work across all your folders.

View	Shows
All Assets	Everything Beaver has indexed. The number is the total count.
Favorites	Assets you've marked with the heart.
Recently Added	Assets Beaver indexed in the last 7 days. You can change the number of days in Settings.
Untagged	Assets with no tags. The number is how many are left to tag.

Click a folder, subfolder or tag in the sidebar to show only those assets. Choosing a view resets the type filter to All.

Search

Type in the search box at the top of the window, or press ⌘F to jump to it. Search matches the file name, title, notes and source URL of each asset, and works within the view you have selected. Characters like % and _ are matched literally.

Type filter

The buttons next to the search box narrow the current view by file type.

Filter	Includes
All	Every type
Images	PNG, JPG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, SVG
Video	MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, OGG
Vectors	EPS, AI
Docs	PDF and audio files

Sorting

Use the sort menu on the left of the toolbar to sort by Date Added, Name, File Size, Type or Rating. Choosing the current sort again flips the direction, and the arrow button next to the menu does the same. Beaver sorts newest first by default.

Layout

The two buttons on the right of the toolbar switch between Grid view, with equal square cells, and Masonry view, which keeps each image's shape. The toolbar also shows how many items are in the current view. More layout options are in Settings.