I built pālana to manage files on my homelab servers from a Mac. It has two
file panes, each showing a folder on your Mac or an SSH server. It uses your
existing SSH config and keys, with no agent to install on the servers.
Before you copy, move, rename, or delete, the app shows the files involved
and the commands it will run. You can review the plan and press Enter to
run it, or Esc to dismiss it. For transfers between servers, it also shows
whether the data travels directly or through your Mac.
On ZFS servers, you can browse datasets and create, delete, or roll back
snapshots through the same command review. Whole-dataset transfers can use
zfs send and zfs receive. These operations use the permissions you’ve
granted with zfs allow. Mounting on Linux needs a separate sudo rule,
which the app shows in settings.
File moves across filesystems use rsync to compare file contents and remove
each source file after transfer. The app then removes empty source folders
and reports anything left behind.
It requires macOS 14 or later. The signed, notarized beta is free through
November 4, 2026. The source is GPL-3.0 and free to build at every version.
At 1.0 the built app will cost $29 once, including 1.x updates.
I’m looking for testers using different servers, NAS systems, and ZFS
versions. Please report connection problems, confusing instructions, or a
plan that doesn’t match what happens. A useful bug report or feedback during
the beta gets you the 1.0 app free.