How do I "cut" a file on OS X?

I'm a newbie on the Mac world and I'd like to know if it's possible to cut a file using a shortcut (like Ctrl+X on Windows).

4 Answers

It is possible to cut-paste files/folders in Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)’s Finder (so, since at least 2011), but the Mac OS X way is slightly different from the Windows way. This method works in other versions of Mac OS X as well.

1. ⌘-C (copy first)
2. ⌘-⌥-V (now move to it’s destination)

So, the steps are very similar to copy-paste, but holding ⌥ (option key) moves the file/folder instead of copies it.

You can also have a look in the edit menu after copying a file - press ⌥ while looking to see the difference: “paste” changes to “move item here.”

I like XtraFinder

It's an enhanced version of Finder. You get Cut & Paste and a bunch of other features.

And it's free.

The method using ⌘-C and ⌘-⌥-V is by far the easiest and arguably the most efficient way to cut / paste files in the Finder if that's all you want.

If you're going for 3rd party extensions or applications and want an awesome Finder replacement, I'd suggest giving Pathfinder () a try.

It's the most feature rich Finder replacement out there...

If you can't miss ⌘X in macOS, then choose ForkLift 3!

This alternative file manager is better than Mac's native 'finder'. In its Menu entry /Edit you can find the needed command to cut selected files, amongst other relevant shortcuts for file operations.

You can get ForkLift 2 it in the official App Store for free.