spacebarQuick Look Not Working On Mac
What to try when Space in Finder shows nothing, a blank window or the wrong preview
When Space shows nothing, Finder isn’t taking the key, Quick Look’s previewer list is stale, or another previewer claimed the type. Try these in order, pressing Space after each.
Try These In Order
- Space⌘YSelect one file. While you rename or search, Space types a space.
qlmanage -rReload Quick Look. It re-reads its previewers and deletes nothing.qlmanage -r cacheReset thumbnails if Finder’s icons are blank or stale.- ⌥⌃ clickRelaunch Finder from its Dock icon.
- Check extensions in Login Items & Extensions › Quick Look.
- Restart the Mac to restart all of Quick Look.
On macOS 13 and 14 the extensions are in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Extensions › Quick Look. Untick one you suspect and try again.
New to Quick Look? Space bar preview on Mac covers its keys and what it shows.
Find Which Previewers Claim A File
When two previewers claim a type, one wins and macOS doesn’t say which; turn the others off to be sure.
| Command | Shows |
|---|---|
pluginkit -mA -p com.apple.quicklook.preview | Preview extensions: + on, - off, no mark for the default |
mdls -name kMDItemContentType and a path | The file’s type. An extension previews only types it claims. |
macOS keeps text, HTML, CSV, PDFs, images, most audio and video, and Office files for itself; Apple’s preview there means nothing is broken.
A Plugin Stopped Working After An Update
Old .qlgenerator plugins stopped loading in macOS 15 Sequoia, and no reset brings them back; use an app with a Quick Look extension. See Quick Look plugins on Sequoia.
Where spacebar Helps
spacebar is a free, open-source Quick Look extension for Markdown, folders, code, config, archives and more. Its Terminal installer runs qlmanage -r and lists other previewers that claim the same types, with how to turn them off; it never turns anything off itself. Settings lists each one with a Turn Off button.
For the types macOS keeps
Turn on Use spacebar for every file and the optional Space helper opens PDFs, images, CSV and text in spacebar. It needs Accessibility (as spacebar Helper) and runs at login. Apps, packages and .rtfd stay with Apple’s Quick Look, and ⌘Y still opens Apple’s. See The Space helper, or Help if it isn’t opening files.
Questions
Is it safe to run qlmanage -r?
Yes. It reloads Quick Look’s list of previewers and changes no files or settings. qlmanage -r cache only empties the thumbnail cache, which Finder refills.
Why does Space show Apple’s preview when I installed another app?
Quick Look uses one previewer per type, and macOS keeps text, HTML, CSV, PDFs and images for itself. Check the app’s extension is ticked and that no other one claims the type.
Why does Space type a space instead of opening a preview?
Finder is renaming a file, its search field has the keyboard, or Finder isn’t in front. Click the file once and press Space again.
Install It
Or paste this in Terminal
curl -fsSL https://spacebar.patebryant.com/install.sh | sh
The script downloads the latest notarized release from GitHub, checks its SHA-256 and installs to ~/Applications, no sudo. Read the script.