VideoGlance

MKV and WebM previews for Finder

Quick Look finally plays MKV.

VideoGlance extends macOS video previews to MKV, WebM, WMV and other formats Quick Look can’t play on its own. Select a video in Finder, press Space, and it starts right away — no separate player needed.

Download for free See how it works

Free · No account or subscription · Version 1.1

Finder’s Quick Look window playing Spring.mkv: a young shepherd girl and her dog in front of mountains.
An MKV file opened with a single press of Space and playing in Quick Look with VideoGlance.

How it works

Three steps, no app to open.

  1. Install VideoGlance

    Just once. After that, there’s nothing to launch: macOS calls on VideoGlance whenever you preview a video.

  2. Select a video

    An MKV, a WebM, a WMV… in any Finder window. Its thumbnail already shows a frame from the video.

  3. Press Space

    The preview opens and playback starts. Press Space again to close it.

In your Finder

From preview to playback, in the same window.

Press Space. Your video opens.

Select a video and press Space. Playback starts in Quick Look; move the pointer over the image to reveal the progress bar, volume and playback controls. Finder’s shortcuts and full screen work as usual.

A ring to navigate your video.

In Finder’s Preview pane, VideoGlance adds an interactive ring to navigate MKV and WebM videos. Move the pointer over the image to reveal the controls: click the center to play or pause, then click the ring to choose a different moment without interrupting playback.

Excerpts and stills from Spring — © Blender Foundation | cloud.blender.org/spring. CC BY 4.0. Silent excerpts, scaled and shown in Finder recordings, with an added key annotation. No affiliation with Blender Foundation.

Made for the Mac

Everything you need for a quick look. Nothing more.

Formats

The formats macOS doesn’t preview.

From H.264 or HEVC movies to VP9 or AV1 web videos, VideoGlance relies on the playback libraries of FFmpeg and mpv. See formats and codecs in detail.

Availability

Free. Ready for your Mac.

VideoGlance is free for personal and professional use: no account, no subscription, no ads. Download the disk image checked by Apple, or install it with Homebrew.

It requires a Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 15 Sequoia or later.

Download VideoGlance

Frequently asked questions

Before your first preview.

Does VideoGlance need to stay open?

No. Once the app is installed, macOS asks it for previews and thumbnails whenever needed. You can keep its information window closed.

Does VideoGlance replace my video player?

No. It complements Finder so you can check a video quickly. Double-clicking still opens your usual player, such as IINA or VLC, and there’s no library to manage.

Can I choose the audio track or subtitles?

No. VideoGlance plays the file’s default audio track for a quick preview. To switch language or subtitles, open the video in your usual player.

Are my videos sent anywhere?

No. Previews and thumbnails are made on your Mac, inside the macOS sandbox, with read-only access to the file being shown and no network access.

All questions