When comparing Finder.app vs TotalFinder, the Slant community recommends Finder.app for most people. In the question“What are the best Mac file managers?” Finder.app is ranked 19th while TotalFinder is ranked 21st. The most important reason people chose Finder.app is:
Comes with your system, and is updated alongside the rest of it, so it should never break suddenly or lag in terms of supported features. This is the finder most software will expect to find and use.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Built-In
Comes with your system, and is updated alongside the rest of it, so it should never break suddenly or lag in terms of supported features. This is the finder most software will expect to find and use.
Pro Applescript
Finder is well-supported by Applescript and/or Automator.
Pro Adds dual panes to the Mac finder
A great feature of TotalFinder is the ability to have dual panes. This is really handy for moving files around.
Pro Adds cut/paste context menu functionality to Finder
You can cut and paste with just the mouse.
Pro Copy path to file or directory feature
You can copy the path to a directory or file using the context menu in Finder, options include POSIX Path, URL, Windows Path, UNC Path, HFS Path, and Terminal Path.
Cons
Con Very few features
Need for a lot of external tools.
Con No cut option in context menu
Con No right click > create new folder option
Con Write index hidden files to all external storages you connect to
Con Sorts folders between files in some settings
Folders and sorting gets weird in some cases.
Con subfolders side-by-side but no file details
The side-by-side view of several sub folders is useful for many people, but in this view you loose all file details.
Con Requires special installation procedure in El Capitan and later due to "System Integrity Protection"
"System Integrity Protection" (also know as "Rootless") is a feature introduced in El Capitan that, among other things, inhibits applications to inject code on system apps (TotalFinder injects code into Finder).
For TotalFinder to work properly one must disable SIP temporarly to install. After installation a user can turn SIP back on without issue.
Instructions are detailed here.