Tusk is a Mac app that automatically backs up your project folders to multiple locations and tracks where every file lives — even when your drives aren't connected.
The best disk cataloging apps for Mac in 2026 are NeoFinder, DiskCatalogMaker, and Tusk. NeoFinder is the deepest, most established option: metadata, keywords, and thumbnails for anything you throw at it. DiskCatalogMaker is the lighter, cheaper alternative with a Finder-like interface. Tusk catalogs a drive the same way the other two do, and also verifies every file and folds it into an actual backup system, so the index it builds doesn't go stale the moment you change something.
None of this is optional once you own more than two or three external drives. macOS has no memory of a disconnected volume. Eject a drive and Finder forgets it exists; Spotlight stops indexing it too. If you want to know what's on ARCHIVE_03 without plugging it in, something else has to remember for you.
TL;DR: NeoFinder ($39.99, Private License for up to 3 Macs) is the most complete cataloger: rich metadata, keywords, and an optional MD5 integrity check (FileCheck) you have to turn on and run yourself. DiskCatalogMaker ($38.99 single user) is a lighter, cheaper index with duplicate detection but no integrity checking at all. Tusk ($49 for the first 100 licenses, $79 after, one-time) catalogs a drive you already have the same way, then keeps verifying it with a BLAKE3 checksum and treats it as a normal backup from that point on, not a snapshot that ages.
What Disk Cataloging Software Actually Does
Indexes a drive once, keeps the record after you disconnect it. Connect the drive, the app scans it, and the resulting catalog is browsable and searchable without the drive plugged in.
Integrity checking is not the same as indexing. A catalog can store a file name, size, and thumbnail without ever confirming the bytes are intact. Only some tools check this, and usually only if you turn it on.
Freshness depends on rescans. A catalog is accurate as of the last time you scanned that drive. Rename, delete, or add files afterward and the catalog silently drifts out of date until you scan again.
Folder-based vs. fully flat. Some tools need files organized into folders to be useful (Tusk works this way). Others will index a drive that's just years of loose, unsorted files with no structure at all (NeoFinder and DiskCatalogMaker both do this).
Cost is usually a one-time app purchase, separate from whatever you already pay for backup or cloud storage.
NeoFinder
Price: $39.99 (Private License, up to 3 Macs), one-time. 30-day free demo (limited to 10 catalogs, not a time limit).
NeoFinder is the oldest and deepest tool in this category, going back to its earlier name CDFinder. It catalogs internal and external drives, network volumes, and optical media, and it doesn't stop at file names: thumbnails for photos and video, hierarchical keywords, ratings, people, copyright, and location metadata all get stored per file. If you shoot RAW and want a searchable archive with real photo metadata, this is the deepest option available.
Its FileCheck feature can generate an MD5 checksum per file and later verify files against it, which is more than most catalogers offer. It's off by default, and running a verification pass is something you do manually with the drive connected, not something NeoFinder checks on its own schedule.
Best for: archivists and photographers who want the richest possible index of drives they'll never fully reorganize, and are willing to opt into integrity checking themselves.
DiskCatalogMaker
Price: $38.99 (single user), $79.99 (family license). 30-day free trial.
DiskCatalogMaker covers the same core job with a lighter interface: drag a disc or folder in, it builds a Finder-like browsable catalog with thumbnails, and you can search with boolean expressions or find duplicates across catalogs. "Select Original" jumps straight to the file in Finder if the source is connected.
It doesn't do any integrity or checksum verification. A catalog entry confirms a file was there when you scanned it, not that it's still intact.
Best for: people who want a straightforward, cheaper index without NeoFinder's depth of metadata tagging.
Tusk
Price: $49 for the first 100 licenses, $79 afterward, one-time. 14-day free trial, no card required.
Tusk isn't built as a cataloger first. It's backup software that happens to catalog a drive as a side effect of tracking it. Choose Track an existing drive, connect the drive, and select the folders you want indexed. Tusk hashes every file already on the drive with a BLAKE3 checksum and creates a verified project for each folder, without moving or reorganizing anything on the drive itself.
The difference shows up after the initial scan. NeoFinder and DiskCatalogMaker give you a snapshot: accurate until the next time you change something on the drive, at which point you have to remember to rescan. A drive you bring into Tusk becomes a normal Tusk project, so its file table stays current the same way any of your other backups do, and you can connect more destinations to it later (another drive, S3, Google Drive) the same way you would for a project you started from scratch.
The honest limit: each folder you select becomes a project, and each project holds up to 100,000 files, the most Tusk has been tested with. That's not a whole-drive ceiling. A drive with 400,000 files across four shoot folders becomes four projects, since there's no cap on how many projects you create. What Tusk won't do is treat an entire disk as one flat index the way NeoFinder or DiskCatalogMaker will. A drive that's genuinely just years of unsorted downloads with no folder structure at all is still their territory, not Tusk's.
Best for: anyone who wants a drive cataloged and doesn't want a second, separate backup tool once it is.
The Free Option
If you just want a one-time answer for a drive that's currently connected, rather than a saved, ongoing catalog, the free disk cataloging tool runs entirely in your browser: file count, total size, a type breakdown, and a CSV export. Nothing uploads anywhere. It's a snapshot, not a database, so it's better suited to "what's actually on this thing" than to building a permanent archive index.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| NeoFinder | DiskCatalogMaker | Tusk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.99, one-time | $38.99, one-time | $49 first 100 / $79 after, one-time |
| Free trial | 10-catalog demo | 30 days | 14 days |
| Metadata & thumbnails | Yes, extensive | Yes, basic | File status per destination, not media metadata |
| Duplicate detection | Yes | Yes | Yes, when scanning for local copies during import |
| Integrity checking | Manual, opt-in (MD5, FileCheck) | No | Automatic, every file (BLAKE3) |
| Stays current automatically | No, rescan required | No, rescan required | Yes, syncs in the background |
| Creates backup copies | No | No | Yes |
| Works on fully unstructured drives | Yes | Yes | No, folder/project-based |
Which One Should You Pick?
You want the deepest possible index of drives you'll never reorganize, with rich photo/video metadata: NeoFinder.
You want a straightforward, cheaper catalog and don't need extensive metadata tagging: DiskCatalogMaker.
You want a drive you already have cataloged and don't want a separate backup tool once it is: Tusk.
You just need a one-time answer for a drive that's plugged in right now: the free disk cataloging tool.
Nothing here is mutually exclusive. A cataloger for the drives you'll genuinely never touch again, and Tusk for the projects you're still actively shooting, editing, or delivering, covers both ends of the drawer.
FAQ
NeoFinder ($39.99) is the most complete option, with rich metadata, keywords, and an opt-in MD5 integrity check. DiskCatalogMaker ($38.99) is a lighter, cheaper alternative with duplicate detection but no integrity checking. Tusk ($49 for the first 100 licenses, $79 after) catalogs a drive the same way, then verifies every file with a BLAKE3 checksum and keeps the index current automatically as part of a normal backup system, instead of going stale until the next manual rescan.
DiskCatalogMaker is the closest like-for-like alternative: a cheaper, lighter cataloger without NeoFinder's metadata depth or its opt-in integrity checking. If what you actually need isn't just an index but files that are also verified and backed up, Tusk is the alternative worth considering instead of a straight swap: it catalogs a drive you already have and treats it as a real backup from that point on, though it works at the folder level rather than indexing a fully unstructured disk the way NeoFinder does.
There's no full free cataloger with a permanent database, but Tusk's free disk cataloging tool runs in your browser for a one-time snapshot: file count, size, type breakdown, and CSV export, with nothing uploaded. NeoFinder and DiskCatalogMaker both offer free trials (a 10-catalog demo and 30 days respectively) if you want to test a full, saved catalog before buying.
Not for every use case. NeoFinder can index a completely unstructured drive, thousands of loose files with no folder logic, and store rich per-file metadata like keywords and ratings. Tusk works at the folder level: you select folders to track, and each becomes a verified, backed-up project. If your drives are already organized into shoot or client folders, or you're willing to organize them that way, Tusk covers the cataloging job and adds verified backup on top. If you need a flat, no-structure-required index with deep metadata tagging, NeoFinder is still the better fit.
Mostly no, or only if you ask them to. DiskCatalogMaker doesn't check file integrity at all, an entry in the catalog just means the file existed at scan time. NeoFinder's FileCheck can generate and later verify an MD5 checksum, but it's off by default and you run the verification pass yourself. Tusk verifies every file with a BLAKE3 checksum automatically as part of backing it up, so 'this file is on that drive' means the bytes were confirmed intact, not just that a name appears in an index.
NeoFinder's Private License is $39.99 for up to 3 Macs. DiskCatalogMaker is $38.99 for a single-user license or $79.99 for a family license. Tusk is $49 for the first 100 licenses and $79 afterward, one-time, which also includes backup to external drives, S3-compatible storage, Google Drive, and Dropbox rather than cataloging alone. All three are one-time purchases, not subscriptions.