After checking it out in macOS 11 Beta 4 and Xcode 12 Beta 4: There is no option to add a File Provider extension target to a macOS app
The documentation has a macOS support section - https://developer.apple.com/documentation/fileprovider/macos_support but lacks actual documentation on how it should be used
The documentation says the NSFileProviderExtension class is only available on iOS
Do you have any working sample code? Can someone confirm if this new macOS 11 API is something we can use to build file provider extensions?
I also updated my feedback with the latest info: FB7262787
Laszlo
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I managed to get the File Provider extension working with some tricks with Xcode 12.2 RC (Version 12.2 beta 4 (12B5044c)) and macOS 11.0.1 RC (Version 11.0.1 Beta (20B5022a))
You cannot add a File Provider Extension target in Xcode (FB8889071). However it can be worked around by adding a different extension target then modifying the info.plist file accordingly. E.g. I added a Finder Sync Extension then modified the NSExtension part of the info.plist similar to an iOS File Provider Extension:
<key>NSExtension</key>
<dict>
<key>NSExtensionFileProviderDocumentGroup</key>
<string>group.com.yourappgroup</string>
<key>NSExtensionFileProviderSupportsEnumeration</key>
<true/>
<key>NSExtensionPointIdentifier</key>
<string>com.apple.fileprovider-nonui</string>
<key>NSExtensionPrincipalClass</key>
<string>$(PRODUCT_MODULE_NAME).FileProvider</string>
</dict>
I’m not sure if all these keys are needed, but I guess the NSExtensionPointIdentifier and NSExtensionPrincipalClass must be set. The NSExtensionPrincipalClass value must be set to the class that implements the NSFileProviderReplicatedExtension protocol in your extension target.
Then in my app I do the following after launch to set up a file provider:
let domain = NSFileProviderDomain(identifier: NSFileProviderDomainIdentifier("com.myapp.fileprovider"), displayName: "MyAppFileProvider")
NSFileProviderManager.add(domain) { error in
		print("Add file provider domain: \(error as NSError?)")
		let manager = NSFileProviderManager(for: domain)
		manager?.signalEnumerator(for: .rootContainer, completionHandler: { error in
				print("Signal change error: \(error as NSError?)")
		})
}
This will add the file provider to the sidebar in Finder.
I got this so far, can enumerate items similar to iOS file provider.
The way the File Provider Extension should be set up, and how we should work with it is still lacking documentation and an example project.
If your are using Swift, then you must also include module name when you specify the principal class in the info.plist like this:
<key>NSExtensionPrincipalClass</key>
<string>$(PRODUCT_MODULE_NAME).FileProvider</string>
I also did what you described above and it works for me: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/122351?answerId=645095022#645095022
Hello, this is how I got it to launch: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/122351?answerId=645095022#645095022
Hi @nslx,
You have to add a file provider domain from your app using the NSFileProviderManager class. See the example in my previous comment, I believe it has all the details: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/122351?answerId=645095022#645095022
Also be sure to keep the Console.app open as it can be very informative with errors.