How to change the default app for a file type on Mac

Works on macOS Sonoma, Sequoia and Tahoe.

Every file extension on your Mac has a default app: double-click a .pdf and it opens in Preview, a .json might open in Xcode. You can change that for one file or for every file of that type.

Using Finder

1. In Finder, select any file of the type you want to change, for example a .json file.
2. Choose File → Get Info, or press ⌘ I.
3. Expand the Open with section.
4. Pick the app from the menu. If it isn't listed, choose Other… and find it in Applications.
5. Click Change All…, then confirm. Every file with that extension now opens in the new app.

If you skip Change All…, only that single file changes.

Just once, without changing the default

Right-click (or Control-click) the file, choose Open With, and pick an app. Hold ⌥ Option while the menu is open to turn it into Always Open With, which changes only that file.

Using Defaultify for Mac

Finder works one extension at a time, and you need a file of that type to hand. Defaultify shows 60+ file types and links in one window, with the current app and every app that can open each one.

1. Open Defaultify and pick a category such as Code & Developer, or search for the extension, e.g. .json.
2. Click the app menu on the right of the row and choose the app you want.
3. macOS shows a Finder dialog asking to confirm. Click Use “…”.

You can also drag any file onto the Defaultify window to see and change what opens it, and save a whole set of choices as a profile, for example making Visual Studio Code open all your code and config files in one go.

Troubleshooting

The app I want isn't in the list

Apps declare which file types they can open. If an app doesn't list a type, choose Other… in Finder (or Choose Another App… in Defaultify) and select it anyway.

The default keeps changing back

Some apps claim file types again when they update or launch for the first time. See how to stop apps from changing your defaults.