macOS protects Documents, Desktop and Downloads in particular. You decide separately whether Balise can browse each location, and Permissions in Settings shows the last verified result.
Welcome and personal folders
At launch, Welcome to Balise offers a free trial with no time limit. Until activation, this welcome returns on each launch, but only once while the application remains open.
The first time you choose Try Balise, a sheet explains the three access requests. Allow Documents, Desktop and Downloads then triggers standard macOS confirmations one after another. Accept or deny each location in the macOS confirmation; there is no folder to find or select in Finder.
This is not full disk access. It covers neither other protected folders nor other applications' data. Network and removable volumes and file-provider locations keep their own macOS confirmation on the first deliberate browse. Balise uses a location when you open a file, workspace or Files navigation there. It does not upload the content automatically.
Choose Later to continue normally. Balise does not probe the three folders or show a confirmation on the next launch. Use Settings > Permissions to request access later.
When opening a file elsewhere on its own, Balise does not silently browse all its neighbors. The Files view offers Browse This Folder: a click directly activates the parent folder without opening a Finder chooser. This deliberate action is sufficient because the main application is not restricted by App Sandbox. macOS Files and Folders protections still apply.
What the table contains
Settings > Permissions shows system access to Documents, Desktop and Downloads. Their states — Not requested, Access granted, Access denied in macOS or Folder unavailable — describe the last explicit check. macOS does not provide Balise with a permission state it can read without attempting access.
To review saved folders, click Manage Folder Access…. The sheet includes favorite folders and Markdown workspaces; Add Folder… lets you select another one. File access remains in the Saved file access section of the Permissions tab.
Each row states where access came from, when it last served, its state and the features depending on it. Needs renewal means macOS no longer honors the access, often because the file moved or was renamed.
Viewing this table never requests access to these folders again. Check Again performs the check only when you ask.
Available actions
Copy Path puts the target’s absolute path on the clipboard.
For an existing local text file, Copy File Contents reads the saved disk version without saving pending changes. The action is hidden for a folder, missing file or non-text resource. Content over 8 MiB is refused without replacing the clipboard.
Reveal opens the target in Finder, helping you identify the file.
Renew asks you to select the same target again. Use it on a row marked Needs renewal.
Forget removes the access saved by Balise; the file stays on disk. This does not revoke permission granted by macOS.
Forgetting deletes and moves nothing. The file or folder stays where it is; only the reference saved in Balise is removed.
A window already open on the target keeps access until it closes.
For Documents, Desktop and Downloads, Request Access retries a check that may show the macOS confirmation. After a denial, System Settings… opens Privacy & Security > Files and Folders; return to Balise and choose Check Again. These three rows have neither Renew nor Forget, because only macOS can change this choice.
Rows Balise does not control
Some capabilities appear in the table but cannot be revoked through Balise: Documents, Desktop and Downloads.
macOS manages them in System Settings. Balise displays them to make the table complete, without claiming to administer them.
What this surface does not do
- Balise never requests access to your entire disk.
- Balise does not request or recheck Documents, Desktop or Downloads on its own.
- Forgetting permission deletes, moves or modifies no files.
If a file will not open despite an entry in the table, see When Balise can no longer read a file or folder.