How to Open Recent Files on Mac, and Pin the Ones You Use Every Day

You want to reopen a file you used a minute or a week ago. macOS has several ways to do that, and they work differently. Here they are, followed by a way to keep the files you open every day in one fixed place.

Short answer: for files you open every day, the best app for pinning them as one-click tiles, in my opinion as its developer, is Jetty: drag files and folders from Finder onto a bar and each becomes a tile. Jetty has no recent-files list of its own. It is a $9.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store and needs macOS 14 or later.

Disclosure: I build Jetty.

How to open recent files with macOS

• Apple menu > Recent Items. Click the Apple logo in the menu bar and choose Recent Items. It lists recently used apps, documents and servers. You can clear the list from the same menu.
• Finder > Recents. Open a Finder window and click Recents in the sidebar. It shows files you opened or changed recently, and you can sort by date.
• File > Open Recent inside an app. Most document apps list the last files they opened. This covers that one app and no others.
• Dock right-click on an app icon. Control-click (or right-click) an app in the Dock, and many apps show their recent documents above the menu.
• Spotlight. Press Command-Space and type part of the file name.

All of these are based on recency. The file you open all week can be pushed down by others you opened once.

When recent lists are not enough

A recent list answers "what did I just use?" It does not answer "what do I use every day?" For that, you want a fixed place that does not change. You can use:

• Finder sidebar favorites for folders you want near.
• A folder dragged into the Dock (on the right side, next to the Trash) that opens as a stack.
• Tags to find files across folders.
• A bar of pinned tiles, which is what Jetty is.

Folders work the same way; see open folders and files in one click.

Pin your daily files in Jetty

Jetty is not a recent-files tool, and it does not show anything automatically. You decide what goes on a bar.

1. Create a bar. Put it on an edge of the main screen, or unlock it and let it float.
2. Drag a file from Finder onto the bar. It becomes a tile. A click opens it in its default app.
3. Drag a folder onto the bar. A folder tile opens a popup that lists the folder's contents, and you click an item to open it.
4. Make tabs to keep things apart, for example "Client A" and "Client B".

A pinned file stays until you remove it by right-clicking the tile and choosing Remove. It is not pushed off by what you open next. You can put the file's app on the same tab, so both are one click away.

The menu-bar item in Jetty lists and manages your bars (show, hide, edit, delete). It does not list files. The tiles are on the bars.

What Jetty does not do

• It does not track which files you opened.
• It has no search and no key to open a bar.
• Bars sit on the main screen.
• It does not change the macOS Dock.

For the Dock side, see how to remove apps from the Dock. To pin websites and Shortcuts too, see organizing a creative workflow.

How we checked

Jetty's details on this page were checked against the app's source code and its App Store listing on 2026-10-10 and are collected on the facts page; I build Jetty. For built-in macOS steps, Apple's Mac User Guide is the reference for your version of macOS.

FAQ

How do I see recent files on a Mac?

Use Apple menu > Recent Items, the Recents section in the Finder sidebar, or File > Open Recent inside an app.

Does Jetty show recent files?

No. Jetty has no recent-files list. You add the files and folders you want as tiles, and they stay on the bar until you remove them.

How do I pin a file for quick access on a Mac?

You can add a folder to the Dock or Finder sidebar. With Jetty you can drag the file itself onto a bar and click it to open.

How do I clear recent items on a Mac?

Choose Apple menu > Recent Items > Clear Menu.

Get Jetty on the Mac App Store. $9.99 one-time purchase, macOS 14 or later.