PolyDrive Disk
Read and write Windows and Linux drives on your Mac, in Finder.
Plug in a USB drive, SD card or external disk formatted as NTFS, ext4, Btrfs, XFS or F2FS and it appears directly in Finder under Locations, ready to open, edit, copy and delete files. Eject it cleanly in Finder when you're done.
Now available on the Mac App Store
Free download · Apple Silicon · macOS 26 or later · Fully sandboxed
Supported file systems & disks
- Windows NTFS: Read and write NTFS drives from Windows — including drives that were not cleanly unmounted, using a compatible driver with automatic journal replay.
- Linux file systems: Read and write ext4, ext3, ext2, Btrfs (including subvolumes), XFS, and F2FS.
- LVM & NAS RAID: Open LVM volumes (multiple logical volumes appear as folders) and single drives removed from a NAS RAID array; RAID member drives open read-only by default to safeguard array metadata.
- Encrypted drives: Unlock LUKS1 and LUKS2 encrypted Linux volumes with a passphrase (with optional Keychain storage), and unlock BitLocker-encrypted drives from Windows.
- Broad media support: USB thumb drives, SD cards, external HDDs/SSDs, and partitionless raw disk images (.img, .dmg).
- Automatic check & recovery: Recovers journal logs and repairs volumes before mounting if a drive was unplugged without ejecting.
- 100% sandboxed: Runs in Apple's modern File System Extension sandbox. No kernel extensions (.kext), no helper daemons running as root.
- Completely offline: No network access, no accounts, and nothing downloaded at runtime.
Technical specifications
| Feature / File System | Access Mode | Technical Specifications |
|---|---|---|
| Windows NTFS | Read & Write | Native NTFS read/write with automatic journal recovery and unclean unmount replay |
| Linux ext4 / ext3 / ext2 | Read & Write | Full read and write support; journal replay for uncleanly ejected drives |
| Btrfs, XFS, F2FS | Read & Write | Full read and write support; Btrfs subvolumes exposed cleanly in Finder |
| LVM & NAS RAID | Read / Write (RAID read-only) | LVM volumes assembled as folders; RAID single disks opened read-only to preserve array metadata |
| LUKS 1/2 & BitLocker | Decrypted Read/Write | Passphrase prompt on attach; optional storage in macOS Keychain |
| System Security | 100% Sandboxed | Apple FSKit File System Extension; 0 kernel extensions (.kext); SIP unmodified |
| Privacy & Network | Completely Offline | 0 network requests, no telemetry, no tracking, no user accounts required |
Requirements
A Mac with Apple silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4 or later) running macOS 26 or later.
Getting started
- Install and open PolyDrive Disk from the Mac App Store.
- In System Settings, go to General → Login Items & Extensions → Extensions, choose “By Category”, select File System Extensions, and turn on PolyDrive Disk (the app guides you through this on first launch).
- Connect your drive. It appears in Finder under Locations within a few seconds.
More help and setup troubleshooting are on the Support page.
Try it without a drive
Download our sample drive image (PolyDriveDemo.dmg.zip, 0.7 MB), unzip it and double-click PolyDriveDemo.dmg. macOS attaches the disk image and its ext4 partition appears in Finder as “PolyDrive Demo”. Eject it in Finder when you're done.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I write to NTFS drives on Mac without installing kernel extensions?
- Yes. PolyDrive Disk is built entirely on Apple's modern File System Extensions (FSKit) framework. It provides full NTFS read and write capabilities inside a secure sandbox without kernel extensions (.kext) or disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP).
- Does PolyDrive Disk support Linux ext4, Btrfs and XFS drives?
- Yes. PolyDrive Disk provides full read and write support for ext4, ext3, ext2, Btrfs (including subvolumes), XFS, and F2FS external disks, SD cards, and USB drives.
- How do I open an encrypted Linux or Windows drive?
- When you connect a LUKS-encrypted Linux drive or BitLocker-encrypted Windows drive, PolyDrive Disk prompts for its passphrase. You can choose to save the passphrase securely in your Mac's Keychain for automatic unlocking next time.
- Does PolyDrive Disk connect to the internet or send telemetry?
- No. PolyDrive Disk operates completely offline. Neither the app nor its extension has network access permissions, and no user accounts are required.
Open source components
PolyDrive Disk operates alongside independent, GNU GPL-licensed components. These components run in complete isolation from the application’s proprietary modules and communicate solely across standard system interfaces.
In accordance with the GNU GPL, their complete corresponding source code, configurations, and build scripts are freely available from the PolyDrive Disk source releases. The app's Settings → Open source components page identifies the exact release tag and SHA-256 for your build.
Get PolyDrive Disk on the Mac App Store. Free download, fully sandboxed, no kernel extensions.