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Actions#

Actions are what ExtraBar executes when you click an item or press its shortcut. Every app in your bar has a menu of actions — open, quit, run a script, open a deep link, and more.

Adding an action#

  1. Open ExtraBar and click Manage on a preset
  2. Click the app settings icon (⚙) on any item
  3. Click + Add to open the Action Library
  4. Choose an action type

If the app has a built-in preset, you will also see app-specific actions at the top of the library with smart defaults ready to use.

Action types#

ExtraBar provides 17 action types. Here is every action and what it does.

Basic

  • Open — Opens the application or folder.
  • Quit — Quits the running application. Only available for apps.
  • Force Quit — Force quits the application. Use when an app is unresponsive.
  • Show in Finder — Reveals the item in Finder.
  • Copy Path — Copies the file path to the clipboard.

Window Management

  • New Window — Opens a new window for the application.
  • Hide — Hides the running application.
  • Show — Shows a previously hidden application.
  • Close All Windows — Closes all windows but keeps the app running.

Open With

  • Open Item With — Opens the item with a specific application. Requires you to choose the target app.
  • Open Using App — Opens a specific file or folder using this application. Useful for IDEs — for example, open a project folder with VS Code.
  • Open In Terminal — Opens the folder in Terminal. Works with folders and applications (opens the app's parent directory).

Deep Links

  • Deep Link — Opens a deep link URL in the target application. Requires a template URL with parameters. See the Deep Links section for details on supported apps and URL formats.

Automation

  • Run Script — Executes a custom script. Supports shell scripts and AppleScript. You can provide a script file or write the script inline. Configure the script source, arguments, shell environment, and output window.
  • Run Shortcut — Runs a macOS Shortcut by name.
  • Keyboard Shortcut — Simulates pressing a keyboard shortcut in the target application. Configure the key, modifiers (Command, Option, Control, Shift), and whether to restore app focus after execution.

File Operations

  • Duplicate — Duplicates the file or folder.

Which actions are available#

Not every action works with every item type:

  • Apps — All actions are available
  • Folders — Open, Show in Finder, Open in Terminal, Duplicate, Copy Path, and automation actions
  • Widgets — Actions depend on the widget type

Some actions require parameters before they can run. The Action Library marks these and guides you through configuration.

Menu search#

Menus with many actions can be made searchable — enable the search toggle in the menu toolbar to get a search field at the top of the action menu.

Trigger actions from outside ExtraBar#

Any configured action can be copied as an extrabar:// deep link from its context menu and triggered from other tools — see Deep Links for details.