Mergd
Safe folder merging for your Mac. Finder’s Replace deletes. Mergd doesn’t — preview every file move first, and nothing is ever hard-deleted.
New · copied over
14- IMG_4023.jpg3.1 MB · 12 Jun 2026Copy
- Clips/sunset.mov84 MB · 9 Jun 2026Copy
- Notes/packing.txt2 KB · 28 May 2026Copy
- + 11 more
Identical · skipped
99 files already exist in the destination, byte for byte. Nothing to copy twice.
Conflicts
- IMG_3980.jpgSource wins — older copy → TrashBoth kept — “IMG_3980 (from Holiday 2025).jpg”Destination kept — source skippedSource: 3.4 MB · 2 Jun 2026 · newerDestination: 3.1 MB · 14 May 2026
- Itinerary.pdfDestination wins — source skipped in placeBoth kept — “Itinerary (from Holiday 2025).pdf”Destination kept — source skippedSource: 88 KB · 3 May 2026Destination: 92 KB · 9 Jun 2026 · newer
- Edits.photoslibraryBundle — one sealed unitSource wins — older library → Trash, wholeBoth kept — “Edits (from Holiday 2025).photoslibrary”Destination kept — source skippedSource: 1.2 GB · 8 Jun 2026 · newerDestination: 1.1 GB · 20 Apr 2026
16 copied · 9 identical · 3 conflicts → newest wins ·2 older versions → Trash, 0 deleted17 copied · 9 identical · 3 conflicts → both versions kept ·nothing leaves either folder14 copied · 9 identical · 3 conflicts → destination kept ·sources skipped in place
Try the conflict policy — the plan re-computes before anything runs. Losers go to the Trash, never oblivion.
Why Mergd
Preview first, always
Every copy, every skip, every conflict — laid out before a single file moves. The Merge button is the only thing that makes anything happen.
Nothing is ever deleted
Files that lose a conflict go to the Trash, recoverable as always. On volumes without a Trash, Mergd quarantines them in a folder instead. There is no code path that erases a file.
Bundles stay sealed
Photos libraries, apps, GarageBand projects — anything that is secretly a folder is compared and moved as one unit. Mergd never reaches inside.
How it works
Select two folders in Finder, right-click, and choose Merge Safely… — or drop them onto the app. Mergd walks both folders, works out what’s new, what’s identical, and what genuinely conflicts, then shows you the whole plan. Conflicts resolve by a policy you choose — keep newest, keep both, keep destination, or decide file by file — and whichever version loses goes to the Trash, not oblivion.
Everything runs locally in the Mac App Store sandbox — no network access, no account, and your source folder is never touched until you opt in to tidying it away. One-time purchase. No subscription, no nonsense.
Built for the messy cases
Case-insensitive volumes
Photo.jpg and photo.jpg collide on a default Mac disk but not on a case-sensitive one. Mergd plans against the volume you’re actually merging onto.
iCloud placeholders
An undownloaded file looks like 0 bytes. Mergd flags it instead of letting a ghost win a conflict — silently merging a placeholder is data loss wearing a success dialog.
Symlinks & aliases
Copied as links, never followed — so a merge can’t wander outside the folders you picked.
Interrupted merges
Every operation is journaled as it completes. Sleep, crash, or eject mid-merge and Mergd resumes or rolls back — never a half-merged tree you don’t know about.
APFS clones
Same-volume merges use Apple’s clonefile: near-instant, and the copies take no extra disk space.
Finder noise
.DS_Store, Icon files and .localized don’t count as conflicts. A toggle shows them if you really want them.
Why this exists
Mergd exists because of a Reddit thread: someone dragged a folder onto a same-named folder, clicked Replace, and lost part of a photo library. macOS does have a hidden option-drag merge — but it’s inconsistent, easy to miss, and can’t be made the default. One wrong click is unrecoverable.
We can’t change Finder’s dialog. We can make the safe path one right-click away.