Copy exactly what you need with Kaleidoscope 6.2

Whether you’re syncing code, backing up photos, or pruning big directories, folder diff just got both smarter and safer.

Ever since we changed the folder comparison to show an outline that presents all changes at every level in one glance, many of you have requested more flexibility in copying items between A and B along with that change.

We’ve been listening. Getting the implementation right required careful consideration of many edge cases, but we’re excited to share the results. Today, we proudly present Kaleidoscope 6.2, which adds powerful new capabilities to folder comparisons.

Find & Filter

Ignored Items

The summary in the document subtitle now also shows how many items have been ignored when comparing folders. See Kaleidoscope > Settings > Folders to control what gets ignored.

Filter by Name

The toolbar now features a search field. Enter text to filter both folder outlines by your text. Folders will automatically expand to show all filtered results. Enter partial item names or file extensions, whatever you need.

If you used the Filter toolbar buttons before, you’ll notice that switching them is now almost instant. Previously a rescan was required.

Copy Anything

The most obvious change is the removal of a limitation: you can now select any item on any level to be copied from one side to the other. Trivial update you say? Far from it. Folders are a major part of that.

Two Options for Folders

Historically, copying meant complete replacement: if an item existed in both locations, the destination version would be deleted and replaced. For files, this makes sense. But for folders, it’s more complicated. Do you really want everything in folder A to overwrite folder B, potentially deleting files that don’t exist in A— probably not. It gets even trickier when you consider that Kaleidoscope can hide certain items by default—build folders, hidden system files, … Should those invisible items be copied too?

That’s why we introduced separate options for copying and cloning folders, each designed for different scenarios.

Copy

Copy preserves your destination folder’s existing content while bringing over only the changes you see and want. This is now the default behavior because it’s safer—no surprises, no accidental deletions of files you didn’t even know were there.

When you copy a folder from A to B, all the items that you see in Kaleidoscope’s outline will be copied over, at any depth. Items that only exist in the destination but not the source side will however remain untouched. And, if there’s stuff in the source that is not being shown (invisible or ignored items), those won’t be copied. Only what you see will be copied.

Actually, when you select a folder to be copied, a copy operation will be applied to all those visible items, but not to the folder itself, as the folder will not really be copied, only its contents. This approach has two important visual cues:

1. The folder will not show a “real” copy arrow. Instead you will see a greyed out arrow. This means that something inside that folder will be copied from one side to the other.
2. You can fine-tune the operation by deselecting specific items or even copying some items in the opposite direction. The arrows will update to show what will happen.

Clone

Clone completely replaces the destination folder—useful when you want an exact replica but potentially destructive.

If you select a folder to be cloned from one side to the other, the old behavior will apply: if a folder with the same name exists in the destination, it will first be deleted. Then the folder will be copied over in its entirety, with all its potentially hidden and ignored items. As a result, whatever was in the folder on the destination side has been deleted and will be gone forever.

This behavior makes sense in certain scenarios, but it’s far more dangerous and should be used with caution. Trigger clone in three ways:

1. Hold down the ⌥ (option) key while clicking in the gutter between side A and B. A filled and stroked arrow will indicate the clone mode.
2. Bring up the menu next to the A to B or B to A button in the bottom toolbar. There you will find a separate entry for cloning.
3. Hold down ⌥ (option) while looking at either the Merge menu or the context menu of an item in the folder outline.

After you select a folder for cloning, you can still drill down in the outline and inspect all visible changes. But you will not be able to deselect any items within that folder, or even reverse the direction. Need more flexibility? Choose Copy instead.

The visual clues when cloning a folder are very different from copying:

• The cloned folder has an arrow wich is filled and has a border.
• Items to be copied within that folder will show a lighter solid arrow, indicating that those items will be copied, but cannot be modified.
• You’ll see a trash icon for items on the destination side that will be deleted when cloning from the source.

Cloning is great when you want to make an exact replica of a folder on a different drive, otherwise stick with copying as it preserves existing files and allows overrides.

Review & Confirm

Copying items in a folder comparison is a potentially very destructive operation with no possibility to undo, so we want you to review your choices before starting the copy. With all the added power, we knew we needed to provide you with a clear overview of all operations in advance, particularly warning you about items to be implicitly deleted.

Unlike the regular comparison outline, the new Confirmation View groups changes by operation, showing you a clear picture of what will happen when you start copying.

What’s Next?

Whether you’re syncing projects, backing up photos, or managing complex directory structures, these improvements give you the precision and safety you’ve been asking for. As always, we’d love to hear how these changes improve your workflow—or if there’s anything else we can do better.

Update to Kaleidoscope  6.2 today

Get the latest version and try the new folder comparison features.