Improvements
- Photos grid performance overhaul. The grid no longer floods PhotoKit or thrashes the connection under a fast scroll or zoom flood on large libraries, thumbnails already seen stay in memory, on disk, and warmed with measured native batch preheating instead of reloading, and zooming all the way out on an iCloud-optimized library stays local-only instead of downloading full-resolution originals you can't see at that size. Measured on a 12k-asset library: queue submissions dropped from 3,602 to 2,492, stalled queue wakeups from 6 to 1, and folder-load p95 from 4.17s to 0.46s.
- Faster file operations and folder switching. Rename, New Folder, Move, Trash, and Batch Rename no longer pause to re-check unrelated saved folder permissions before acting, and switching between sibling folders under an already-granted parent no longer probes bookmark access on the main thread. Batch Rename dropped from 4.03s to 0.07s in the measured trace.
- "Include Subfolders" (deep scan) mode now live-updates. A file added, renamed, deleted, or moved anywhere in the tree from Finder or another app refreshes the grid automatically within about a second, instead of requiring a manual Refresh after every external change.
- Apply-Template completion toast now reports the real outcome, for example "Applied template to 10 files, 2 skipped" instead of always counting every selected file as applied.
- Quitting mid-batch now asks before discarding progress. ⌘Q while a batch or long export is running prompts instead of silently tearing down in-progress work, with Resume Later where supported and an honest Cancel & Quit or Keep Open otherwise. A write already in flight is always allowed to finish.
Fixes
- Metadata writes now verify what they wrote. Quick rating writes report success only after MetaScope reads the value back from disk, and same-file saves are now serialized so two overlapping saves can no longer corrupt each other or their backups.
- A bad custom field configuration can no longer break metadata reading and writing for every field. A freshly generated configuration is validated before it takes effect; an invalid one is rejected and the previous working configuration stays live.
- Custom Fields: the one field whose config fails to compile is now automatically identified and quarantined (flagged inline with a reason) instead of blocking every other field, and a field can no longer be named after an internal MetaScope property.
- Large or binary metadata reads (large JSON, or binary data like an embedded thumbnail) are now always reassembled in the order they arrived, closing a rare corruption window.
- Fixed a rare extraction-slot leak that could gradually shrink the metadata-read pool over a long session and eventually stall reads.
- Reserved system shortcuts (like ⇧⌘N or ⌘1) can no longer be silently shadowed by a customization, and every shortcut label now consistently follows the standard macOS ⌃⌥⇧⌘ modifier order.
- Field-based metadata redaction is now fully recoverable, including on RAW, TIFF, and video. Clearing individual fields keeps a backup so ⌘Z restores originals, matching Strip All, and location redaction now clears GPS from videos too.
- Strip All Metadata now correctly reports a rare write failure instead of silently succeeding.
- All four metadata field editors (the Inspector and the Edit EXIF Metadata window, Editor and Favorites tabs) now validate input consistently, filtering as you type and checking format or range only when you save.
- Batch rename undo and redo are now unified under a single undo record shared by the panel's Undo button and ⌘Z, and batch renames now support Redo.
- Grid star-click ratings are now reliable in both flat and Masonry layouts.
- The date editor no longer silently overwrites a date with the current time on an unparseable or empty entry.
- A no-op save is now a true no-op: no transformation rules fire and no free-tier edit is consumed.
- Auxiliary windows (Batch, Search, Analytics, the Metadata Editor) now follow the window you invoked them from instead of staying bound to whichever window opened them first, and "Open With MetaScope" reuses your existing window instead of risking closing the wrong one.
- A damaged embedded ExifTool is now detected and reported, with automatic fallback to the extracted working copy where possible.
- Metadata search results and dependent surfaces (Compare Tray, smart-collection counts, Keyword Inspector usage count, recents and saved-set lists) now self-heal after a momentary re-index failure.
- Video metadata editing works again: the Edit Video Data window's Save button no longer stays greyed out for a typed edit.
- Your custom cover-page logo now reliably appears on exported portfolios and their previews.
- RAW previews now render correctly for stubborn formats (RAF, GPR) in internal-drive folders you've granted, not only external volumes.
MetaScope 1.4.2 (Build 48)
July 2026, Build 48
MetaScope 1.4.2 is a focused quality and performance release ahead of the next feature milestone. There’s no new headline feature this time (instead, a large backlog-clear cycle): the Photos grid gets a genuine performance overhaul, everyday file operations get noticeably faster, multiple windows behave correctly together, and a long list of write-safety and reliability fixes lands across the app.
Photos Browsing, Reworked
The Photos grid now scrolls the way Apple’s own Photos app does.
Thumbnails Stay Put
Thumbnails you’ve already seen stay put instead of reloading, kept in memory, on disk, and warmed with measured native batch preheating, so the grid comes back instantly the next time you open MetaScope.
Smooth at Every Zoom
Zoom all the way out on a large iCloud-optimized library and it stays smooth: at the smallest zoom, thumbnails come from your Mac’s local copies instead of pulling full-resolution originals down from iCloud that you couldn’t see at that size anyway. Under a fast scroll or zoom flood, thumbnails now fill the cells you’re actually looking at, instead of trickling in behind an older backlog of requests for cells that scrolled away.
Everyday File Operations, Faster
Switching between folders under a parent you’ve already granted MetaScope access to, and routine operations like Rename, New Folder, Move, Trash, and Batch Rename, no longer pause to re-check unrelated saved permissions before they act. In measured testing, Batch Rename dropped from around four seconds to well under a tenth of a second on the same test set. Nothing changes about how MetaScope recovers a folder you’ve moved or renamed since granting access.
Multiple Windows, Behaving Correctly
If you like working with more than one MetaScope window open, this release fixes a real source of confusion.
Auxiliary Windows Follow You
The Batch window, Metadata Search, the Analytics Dashboard, and the Edit EXIF Metadata window used to stay bound to whichever window first opened them. Now they follow the window you’re actually working in. Most importantly, if you have unsaved edits open in the Metadata Editor from one window and try to edit a different file from another, MetaScope now asks before switching (Save, Discard, or Cancel) instead of silently dropping your changes.
Open With MetaScope
“Open With MetaScope” from Finder now reuses your existing window rather than briefly creating an extra one.
Stronger Write Safety
A handful of fixes tighten what “saved” means. Quick star ratings now report success only after MetaScope reads the value back off disk, so the grid can’t show a rating that was never actually written. Saves to the same file that happen to overlap are now processed one at a time instead of racing.
Custom Field Quarantine
A Custom Field whose internal configuration can’t compile can no longer take down metadata reading and writing for every other field. MetaScope automatically identifies the one specific field responsible and quarantines just it, flagging it right on its own row, while every other field, including new ones you add afterward, keeps working normally.
Keyboard Shortcuts You Can Trust
Reserved shortcuts like ⇧⌘N can no longer be silently overridden by a customization, and every shortcut label in the app (the customizable grid, the reserved list, and rejection messages) now consistently follows the same modifier ordering macOS itself uses.
Recoverable Field Redaction, Including RAW
Clearing individual fields (Remove Location Data, Client Delivery Cleanup, Remove Personal Data, or any custom redaction template) now keeps a backup of every file it changes, so ⌘Z restores the originals within the retention window, matching Strip All. Because it’s recoverable, redaction now works on any writable file, including RAW, TIFF, and video, with embedded GPS cleared too.
Bug Fixes
- “Include Subfolders” mode now updates live when a file changes anywhere in the tree, instead of requiring a manual Refresh.
- Quitting mid-batch now asks first instead of silently discarding in-progress work; a write already underway is always allowed to finish.
- Applying a template reports the real outcome, for example “Applied to 10 files, 2 skipped” instead of always counting every selected file.
- All four metadata field editors validate input consistently, filtering as you type and checking range or format only when you save.
- Batch rename gained full Redo support, alongside a unified undo shared by the panel’s button and ⌘Z.
- Grid star-click ratings are now reliable in both flat and Masonry layouts.
- The date editor no longer silently overwrites a date with the current time on an unparseable or empty entry.
- A damaged embedded ExifTool engine is now detected and reported, with automatic fallback recovery where possible.
- Metadata search results self-heal after a momentary background re-index failure.
- Your custom cover-page logo now reliably appears on exported portfolios and their previews.
- Video metadata editing works again, after the Edit Video Data window’s Save button stayed greyed out for a typed edit.
- RAW previews now render correctly for stubborn formats in internal-drive folders you’ve granted, not only external volumes.
Requirements
- macOS 15.4 Sequoia or later
- Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
Get MetaScope
MetaScope is available on the Mac App Store. Free tier includes 5 edits per day. MetaScope Pro unlocks unlimited edits and all professional features.