# Edit a folder of video from Finder

Canonical URL: https://getvidiyo.app/finder-quick-action
Last updated: 2026-10-08

> TL;DR: Yes, you can start a video edit from Finder. Right-click a folder of footage, choose Quick Actions → Edit in Vidiyo, and Vidiyo creates a project inside that folder, imports every supported clip, and fills in an edit request for you to adjust. Nothing is sent to the AI until you press send.

Most edits start with a folder: a day of clips off a phone, a screen recording and a talking-head take, a client's drive dump. Vidiyo's Finder Quick Action turns that folder into a project in one step, so you go from "here's my footage" to asking for the edit without opening a file dialog.

## How do I edit a video from Finder?

Select the folder in Finder, right-click it and choose **Quick Actions → Edit in Vidiyo**. Vidiyo opens (or comes to the front if it's already running), creates a project inside that folder and starts importing every supported video, audio and image file in it, including subfolders. The chat composer fills with a starter request: "Here's my new video material. Let's edit this video now."

| Step | What you do | What Vidiyo does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Right-click the folder → Quick Actions → Edit in Vidiyo | Creates a project inside the folder |
| 2 | Edit the request while import runs | Imports supported media, recursively |
| 3 | Send when import finishes | The assistant reads the footage and starts the edit |
| 4 | Add clips later and run it again | Reuses what's imported, adds new or changed files |

Nothing is sent until you submit. The starter request is a placeholder. Replace it with what you actually want.

## What should I ask for after importing a folder?

Be specific about the output, because a folder can hold anything. Good first requests name the format, the length and what matters most:

- "Make a 45-second vertical short from the best moments."
- "Use the screen recording as B-roll over my talking head."
- "Cut the ums and long pauses, then add word-by-word captions."
- "Keep only the best take of each line."
- "Build a 60-second recap with upbeat music under it."

For a bigger edit, switch to plan mode and the assistant shows a plan card first: its steps, what you asked for and what it assumed. Every request undoes in one step. If the folder mixes material, say which file is which ("the .mov is my talking head, the rest is B-roll") so the assistant doesn't have to guess.

## What exactly does the Quick Action import?

It scans the folder recursively and imports supported media. It skips hidden files, symlinks and existing project bundles, so running it on a folder that already holds a Vidiyo project doesn't import the project into itself. The originals are copied into the project, so the project stays complete even if the folder's files move later.

Run it again on the same folder and Vidiyo reopens that project, reuses every file it already imported and adds only new or changed ones. That's useful for ongoing work: drop the next day's clips into the folder, run Edit in Vidiyo, and continue.

If you select several folders at once, each is queued as its own project. Selecting one at a time keeps the handoff clear.

## How is this different from importing inside Vidiyo?

The result is the same media in a project. The difference is where you start and where the project lives. The Quick Action starts from Finder, so you don't open Vidiyo, create a project, pick a format and browse for files first. It also puts the project inside the footage folder, which keeps a shoot and its edit together: back up or move the folder and the project goes with it. And because it remembers what it imported, it's the easiest way to keep adding to an edit over several days. If you'd rather work inside the app, dragging files or folders into the media library works just as well.

## How does it work under the hood?

Edit in Vidiyo is a standard macOS Quick Action, a small Automator workflow that lives in `~/Library/Services`. It accepts folders only and passes each one to Vidiyo with a fixed launch command. It doesn't run anything else. Vidiyo then handles the import with the same engine as dragging files in: it normalises orientation and variable frame rates, creates playback proxies and finds pauses in the audio, all on your Mac. Speech is transcribed locally too.

The Quick Action points at Vidiyo's location. If you move the app out of Applications, the action needs reinstalling to find it. Reinstalling keeps a backup of the previous version, and an unrelated service with the same name is left untouched.

## What if Edit in Vidiyo isn't in the menu?

Right-click any folder and choose **Quick Actions → Customize…**. This opens the macOS settings for Finder extensions, where you can check that Edit in Vidiyo is turned on. If it isn't listed, you can get the same result by dragging the folder onto Vidiyo's media library: folders keep their structure as library folders, and unsupported files are skipped and reported.

## Is it private?

Yes. The Quick Action runs locally and talks only to Vidiyo on your Mac. Import, proxies and transcription all happen on your machine. When you send the request, the assistant works through your Claude or ChatGPT plan and receives your request, transcript excerpts, the edit list and the still frames it inspects, not the files themselves. See [private, local editing](https://getvidiyo.app/features/private-local-editing).

## Who is it for?

People who record first and think about editing later. Creators who shoot a batch of clips on a phone and AirDrop them into one folder. Founders who keep a "launch video" folder with a demo recording and a few takes. Agencies who receive client footage as a folder and want a first cut quickly. Vidiyo runs on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later and is free during its invite-only beta.

## Honest limits

- Folders only. Select one folder at a time for a clear handoff; several are queued as separate projects.
- Hidden files, symlinks and existing project bundles inside the folder are skipped.
- A project holds up to 30 minutes of imported media, and timelines max out at 5 minutes.
- If you move Vidiyo out of Applications, the Quick Action needs reinstalling to find it.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I edit a video straight from Finder on Mac?

Yes. Select a folder of footage in Finder, right-click and choose Quick Actions → Edit in Vidiyo. Vidiyo opens a new project for that folder, imports the media and puts an editing request in the chat for you to review and send.

### Does Edit in Vidiyo send my footage to the AI automatically?

No. The Quick Action only creates the project, imports the media and fills in a starter request. The request stays editable and is sent only when you submit it. Your footage itself stays on your Mac.

### What happens if I run Edit in Vidiyo on the same folder again?

Vidiyo reopens the project, reuses the media it already imported and adds only new or changed files. That makes it easy to drop more clips into the folder and continue the same edit.

### Why doesn't Edit in Vidiyo show up in my Quick Actions menu?

Right-click any folder and choose Quick Actions → Customize… to check that Edit in Vidiyo is turned on. If it isn't listed, drag the folder onto Vidiyo instead, which imports it with its subfolders kept as library folders.

### Does the Quick Action work on single video files?

No. It works on folders. For a single file, open Vidiyo and drag the file in, or attach it to a chat request with the paperclip.

## Related

- [Edit video by chatting](https://getvidiyo.app/features/chat-video-editing)
- [Remove silences and filler words automatically](https://getvidiyo.app/features/silence-and-filler-word-removal)
- [How do I import footage into Vidiyo?](https://getvidiyo.app/docs/import-footage)
- [How to batch a week of short-form content](https://getvidiyo.app/blog/batch-a-week-of-short-form-content)
- [Private, local video editing with AI](https://getvidiyo.app/features/private-local-editing)

Request access to the Vidiyo beta: https://getvidiyo.app/request