> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.aspect.inc/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Desktop app

> The full Aspect experience as a native app on your Mac - with faster transfers, tabs, and your projects mounted as a local drive.

The Aspect desktop app gives you everything from the web app at [app.aspect.inc](https://app.aspect.inc), running as a native app on your Mac. Same projects, same search, same viewer - plus capabilities a browser can't offer.

## Why use the desktop app

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Faster, more reliable transfers">
    Uploads and downloads run in the app itself rather than a browser tab, so large files and big folder uploads keep moving in the background while you work.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Mounted drive">
    Open your Aspect projects as a drive in Finder and work with your files in native apps like Premiere Pro. See the [mounted drive guide](/apps/mounted-drive).
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tabs">
    Open multiple projects, folders, or assets side by side in tabs, with the keyboard shortcuts you already know from your browser.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Always up to date">
    The app updates itself automatically, so you're always on the latest version without reinstalling.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Working with tabs

The desktop app has a tab bar, just like a browser. You can:

* Open a new tab and keep several parts of your workspace visible at once - for example, a search in one tab and a review session in another.
* Switch, reorder, and close tabs with familiar keyboard shortcuts (new tab, close tab, jump to a specific tab, jump to the last tab).
* Navigate back and forward within each tab independently.

## Transfers that keep going

Uploading and downloading is where the desktop app really pulls ahead of the browser:

* Drag in entire folders - the app walks through everything inside and uploads it all, keeping the folder structure intact.
* Transfers continue in the background while you browse, search, and review.
* Your transfer history is saved, so you can check what finished and what's still in flight.

## The mounted drive

The desktop app also manages the [mounted drive](/apps/mounted-drive): your Aspect projects appear as a drive in Finder, files download only when you open them, and changes you save sync back to Aspect. You mount and unmount projects, pin files for local access, and control how much disk space Aspect uses - all from inside the desktop app.

## Signing in

When you first open the app, it sends you to your browser to sign in, then brings you straight back. Your desktop session is independent from your browser session - signing out of one doesn't sign you out of the other.

<Note>
  The desktop app is available for macOS.
</Note>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Mounted drive" href="/apps/mounted-drive">
    Browse your whole project in Finder and edit footage directly in your creative tools.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Uploading" href="/guides/uploading">
    All the ways to get files into Aspect.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>