How To Set VLC As Default App On Mac

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There are a lot of strong arguments in favor of macOS, it is beautiful, robust, well designed, and just works. While it is true, I hate the fact that the default Media Player on macOS is a Quick Time Player. I wanted to use VLC as my default media player for all the video files on my mac. That said, let’s set VLC as the default app.

I use VLC simply because it is more intuitive than Quick Time Player, supports file types such as MKV, and gives you total control of the video playback from the keyboard.

Set VLC As Default App On Mac

1. Open With: The Easy Method

There is an option built into the macOS that lets you set any application as a default. To set VLC as default for a video file, Right-click the file> Click ‘Get Info’.

Also Read: VLC For Apple TV: Fixing 3 Common Problem

Under the ‘Open With‘ section, select VLC from the drop-down menu. Click the ‘Change All’ button. That’s all you need to do, the video file would open with VLC every time you double click it or press CMD+DOWN.

However, the problem with this method is that you would have to repeat the process of setting VLC as a default app for every video file type. If you want a set it and forget it type fix then let’s check out the next method.

2. Swift Default App: The effective Method

To set VLC as a default app for every video file type, we’d install a small utility app, Swift Default Apps. It’s a preference pane app that would let us set any app as default. Download the app from the Github page and install it on your system.

Once installed, you will find this app in System Preferences, Click SwiftDefaultApps icon.

Select Applications from the row of tabs, scroll down to find VLC and check all the media files that you want VLC to play. Now, simply close the System Preferences and that’s it. All of the video files have been set to VLC now.

Read: How to Play MKV Files on Mac

Set VLC as Default App on Mac

These were two simple ways to set VLC as your default media player. I don’t mind using the first method but I consume a lot of video content and setting every format to play with VLC isn’t something I’d want to do. SwiftDefaultApps can do so much more than just setting VLC as the default app. What do you think of these methods, let me know in the comments below or reach out to me on Twitter?

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