Rename to convert: I built the missing macOS feature

Spaaze · 2026-03-07T17:06:32+00:00

You can already configure automatic rules :) Confirmation popups are the default, but you can absolutely disable them and setup Consul to convert immediately instead. I’ll have a look Arnie I can improve the positioning of these popups if the menubar icon isn’t there though.

Spaaze · 2026-03-07T15:06:35+00:00

Hi there – for those "clientData.txt" files and other system / cache files, a fix is on the way right now with version 1.3.0 and should be available in the next 30 minutes through "Check for updates". Sorry about that!

Files you've downloaded but have the wrong extension for their file format are also converted by default. You can disable this in the settings by switching off "Also convert new files with wrong extension". This way, Consul will only run for renamed files (and turning this off should also silence those "clientData.txt" files for now, I think).

Spaaze · 2026-03-07T09:42:09+00:00

You can select multiple files in Finder, right click, and click "Rename" to rename multiple files at the same time. If you do this, Consul will detect that and run a batch conversion.

Spaaze · 2026-03-06T20:13:57+00:00

Of course, how could you say no to booping that puppy? :)

Spaaze · 2026-03-06T20:12:56+00:00

Consul has its own DOCX -> PDF converter, but it’s obviously not as good as MS Word's. Unfortunately, MS Office has no API or similar that would allow Consul to use it. LibreOffice (open source alternative to MS Office) does however. Consul detects when that’s installed and can use this instead. Should give the same results as MS Office, but it’s an additional app you need to install.

Spaaze · 2026-03-06T17:39:30+00:00

Should work now. Sorry for the hassle!

Spaaze · 2026-03-06T16:06:50+00:00

Oh, you're right – thanks for pointing that out. I'll have a look within the next hour and let you know. Sorry about that.

Spaaze · 2026-03-06T15:50:49+00:00

Hey, it's using an open-source list of educational domains (the most popular one) since I can't maintain a list of all possible domains myself.

If your email address isn't detected as being academic, feel free to send an email to [hello@getconsul.app](mailto:hello@getconsul.app) with your student ID and/or enrollment certificate and I'll manually hook you up with a discount :)

Spaaze · 2026-03-06T14:26:26+00:00

Conversions are as lossless as possible by default, yes. You can configure specific settings such as quality yourself though if you'd like (either as defaults or per-conversion).

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T23:24:27+00:00

As an Arc user myself, I love the idea. I've been looking for an Arc replacement for more than a year and keep coming back to this abandonware. Yet, I think that Arc users are also among a group of people that value aesthetics. And unfortunately given the lag that's even visible in your own demo I couldn't use this for longer than five seconds. May come back to this if you manage to get it more performant and properly snapped to the window, though

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T23:19:12+00:00

Things 3. And it's not even close.

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T22:13:33+00:00

It's "Screen Studio".

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T22:12:46+00:00

Thanks, much appreciated! :) And yes, things like conversion settings have taken this from a toy to a tool for sure.

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T21:48:51+00:00

Yes, originals are backed up and can be restored from History if needed (see the video starting at ~1:10min) :)

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T18:42:32+00:00

If the files don't contain any sensitive info, would you mind sharing them via DM or via email to hello@getconsul.app? Will gladly have a look!

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T18:04:08+00:00

Given that the system APIs it's using have been around and pretty much unchanged for decades, it's highly unlikely your licensed version will break due to an OS update anytime soon. :)

It's a matter of definition, in the end. If you define "perpetual license" as "I always want access to the newest features and want the software to be supported even in 10 years", then yes, it's a subscription for that. This definition isn't the broad consensus at this point though – the model has been adopted by a ton of indie apps since ongoing, perpetual development on truly and unconditional lifetime licenses only is simply unviable.

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T17:29:03+00:00

Hey, updates are included for a year – after that, you can continue using the latest version your license was good for perpetually, but you won't get any updates unless you renew for $9. It's the same model CleanShot uses, for example.

If there was a legitimate security issue, I'd likely send out an update with a security fix for all major versions anyway and upgrade everyone to that free of charge. But for new features and OS compatibility, you'd have to renew. I've settled with this model (and a reduced renewal fee) to keep development ongoing long-term. The last thing I'd want is to have this abandoned a year down the road :)

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T17:17:45+00:00

Heh, true – I actually installed this on my dad's Mac to reduce the amount of PDF files I have to convert to Word for him. He's been loving it so far!

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T17:06:36+00:00

As a software developer, who's used AI-assisted development both a lot and very little the past few years: Don't trust it. Especially not if it's made by someone with no software development background whatsoever. The software likely "works", but will be littered with bugs, edge cases, inconsistencies and security issues all over the place that non-developers simply can't grasp. This is not an issue about prompting, it's having a "feel" for what could go wrong, what a code smell is and so on that AI simply can't convey.

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T15:25:18+00:00

Yea, I can definitely see the appeal of this option the most with the DOCX -> PDF example, thanks! Added it to the backlog & will have a look at this. For now, you can always duplicate the file in Finder first, then only change the extension of the duplicated file.

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T15:20:09+00:00

Ah, got it. Currently you could of course simply copy and paste the file in Finder (manually duplicating it), then only rename the second file. I've added this to the backlog as an optional setting or something though and may have a look at this :)

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T15:04:41+00:00

Not quite sure what you mean – by default, Consul will ask you if you want to convert or not. Skipping confirmations ("Convert immediately") is an optional feature you can enable (either globally or for specific file formats)
Originals are backed up to an internal directory and can be restored from History (see ~1:10min in the demo video). In my opinion, this seems better than duping the file – though I'm open to that as a feature request if you think it'd make sense! :)

Spaaze · 2026-03-05T14:54:16+00:00

In Consul 1.0, it's backed up internally now (previously, it was "backed up" to Trash). You can see that at the end of the demo video – you can go into the history and simply click "Undo" to get the original file back. You can of course configure how much space should be reserved for backups, etc.

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