CardPorter Help & Support
Version 1.0.0 · macOS 15.0+
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System Requirements
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Where is CardPorter's icon? I don't see a Dock icon or a window.
CardPorter lives entirely in the menu bar (top-right of your screen) and has no Dock icon by design. Look for its status item — it shows a short status label such as "Idle" — and click it to open the app.
Q. Why does CardPorter ask for permission the first time I insert a card?
macOS's App Sandbox requires an explicit, one-time grant before any app can read a removable volume. After you grant access once via the standard file picker, CardPorter remembers it for that specific card and starts automatically on future insertions — no repeated prompts.
Q. Does CardPorter write anything to my memory card?
Never. The bookmark CardPorter creates for a card is explicitly read-only (securityScopeAllowOnlyReadAccess). The app has no technical ability to rename, modify, or delete anything on a card.
Q. What happens if verification fails?
A file is only marked as successfully imported if the copy at the destination is re-read and its hash matches the source exactly. If verification fails, CardPorter reports the failure in the menu bar and does not eject the card — it stays mounted so you can retry or investigate.
Q. Will CardPorter re-copy files I've already imported?
No. CardPorter checks file size, modification time, and — when those aren't conclusive — the actual file content, before deciding a file is already imported. This means reformatting a card and shooting new photos never gets mistaken for content you already have, even if a new file happens to reuse an old file name.
Q. Where is CardPorter's history and settings data stored?
Entirely inside CardPorter's own sandbox container at ~/Library/Application Support/CardPorter. Nothing about your import history is ever stored on the memory card itself or sent anywhere else.
Q. Does CardPorter send any data anywhere?
No. CardPorter makes no network connections at all — it has no network entitlement of any kind. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Q. Can I use a single destination instead of two?
Yes. The Secondary destination is optional. If you only configure a Primary destination, CardPorter copies and verifies to that one location and ejects once it succeeds.