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Marginal/QuickLookVideo

A macOS app that adds Finder thumbnails, Quick Look previews and Get Info metadata for many non-native audio and video formats.

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What is it?

QLVideo is a macOS app that extends the system's Finder thumbnails, Quick Look previews and Get Info metadata to audio and video files that macOS cannot handle natively. Out of the box, QuickLook, AVFoundation and Spotlight only understand a limited set of MPEG-based codecs inside ISO containers.

The app covers a broad range of containers such as Matroska (MKV), WebM, AVI, WMV, FLV, Ogg and MXF, along with codecs including VP8, VP9, AV1, HEVC, VVC, Theora, Cinepak and many legacy QuickTime and RealMedia formats. It works through a Spotlight extension and two Media Extensions that add codec support to AVFoundation.

It is a successor in spirit to Perian, which filled the same gap for the QuickTime era. Installation and troubleshooting are documented in the project wiki.

Key features

  • 01Finder thumbnails for MKV, WebM, AVI, WMV, FLV and other non-native containers
  • 02Quick Look previews for supported audio and video files
  • 03Metadata display in Finder's Get Info window
  • 04Codec support for VP9, AV1, HEVC, VVC, Theora and many legacy formats
  • 05Implemented as a Spotlight extension plus two Media Extensions for AVFoundation

Use cases

  • Previewing MKV or WebM downloads in Finder without opening a player
  • Checking codec and metadata of video files from Windows or Linux sources on a Mac
  • Browsing an archive of legacy AVI, WMV or RealMedia files with thumbnails

Topics

#macos#quick-look#video#audio#codecs#media#finder#avfoundation

FAQ

What is QuickLookVideo?
A macOS app that adds Finder thumbnails, Quick Look previews and Get Info metadata for many non-native audio and video formats. QLVideo is a macOS app that extends the system's Finder thumbnails, Quick Look previews and Get Info metadata to audio and video files that macOS cannot handle natively. Out of the box, QuickLook, AVFoundation and Spotlight only understand a limited set of MPEG-based codecs inside ISO containers.
Is QuickLookVideo free to use? What license does it have?
QuickLookVideo is open source under the GPL-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is QuickLookVideo still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to QuickLookVideo was on Oct 8, 2026.
What can I use QuickLookVideo for?
Previewing MKV or WebM downloads in Finder without opening a player Checking codec and metadata of video files from Windows or Linux sources on a Mac Browsing an archive of legacy AVI, WMV or RealMedia files with thumbnails
Where can I get QuickLookVideo?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/Marginal/QuickLookVideo

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