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Open Ghostty from Finder Right-Click on macOS in 5 Minutes

2/20/2026

If you work in Finder and frequently need a terminal in the current folder, opening Ghostty first and then running cd every time is unnecessary friction. A Finder right-click action is faster.

Why Ghostty

Ghostty is a modern terminal emulator with:

  • GPU-accelerated rendering
  • macOS and Linux support
  • simple configuration
  • strong native experience on macOS

Install it with Homebrew if needed:

brew install --cask ghostty

Approach

Use Automator to create a Finder Quick Action that receives a folder path and runs a shell script to open Ghostty in that directory.

Step-by-step setup

1. Create a Quick Action in Automator

  1. Open Automator.
  2. Choose New Document.
  3. Select Quick Action.

2. Configure the input source

At the top of the workflow, set:

  • Workflow receives current: files or folders
  • in: Finder

This ensures the action appears in Finder context menus.

3. Add “Run Shell Script”

  1. Search for Run Shell Script.
  2. Drag it into the workflow.
  3. Set:
  • Shell: /bin/zsh
  • Pass input: as arguments

Important: as arguments is required so the selected path is passed to $1.

4. Use this script

Replace default content with:

cd "$1"
open -a "Ghostty" .

What it does:

  • cd "$1": enter the selected folder
  • open -a "Ghostty" .: launch Ghostty in that folder

5. Save it

Press Command + S and name it:

Open Ghostty Here

Test

In Finder, right-click any folder and choose:

Quick Actions -> Open Ghostty Here

Ghostty should open directly in that folder.

Optional improvements

Always open a new window

Use this variant:

open -na "Ghostty" "$1"

-n forces a new app instance/window.

Add a keyboard shortcut

Assign one in System Settings:

  1. System Settings -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts
  2. Open Services
  3. Find Open Ghostty Here
  4. Bind a shortcut (for example Ctrl + Option + G)

Summary

This is a lightweight system-level workflow: no third-party extension, just Automator plus a tiny shell script. Set it once and you remove repeated directory-switching overhead from daily work.