All work
Systems Programming

macOS Native Cloud Storage Mounter

A native macOS application that mounts a high-performance cloud object storage tier as a real Finder drive, making cloud storage feel like a local disk instead of requiring a CLI or SDK.

4 (UI, File Provider, XPC, Rust core)

Architecture layers

Zero — Keychain only

Plaintext credentials on disk

On-demand hydration

File access model

The Problem

A low-latency cloud object storage tier is great for performance, but it's only usable through the CLI or an SDK by default. The goal was to make it accessible to any application on the Mac, transparently, through the Finder — with secure, enterprise-grade authentication.

My Approach

  • Designed a clean, layered architecture that deliberately separates concerns across real security boundaries rather than building one monolithic app: a SwiftUI app for setup/permissions/mount control, a macOS File Provider extension for real Finder integration (on-demand directory enumeration and file hydration, so files appear instantly but content only downloads when actually opened), an XPC service that safely bridges the sandboxed File Provider extension to the core engine, and a Rust core engine handling cloud storage session management and object operations, chosen for performance and memory safety in the hot path.
  • Integrated enterprise single sign-on for authentication, storing resulting credentials in the macOS Keychain rather than anywhere on disk in plaintext.
  • Built a guided setup wizard that validates required macOS permissions up front, so failures surface clearly during setup instead of as a confusing runtime error later.

Stack

App/UI

SwiftSwiftUI

System Integration

macOS File Provider frameworkXPC servicesApp Sandbox

Core Engine

Rust (cloud storage session management, object operations)

Cloud

AWS S3 Express One Zone API

Security

macOS KeychainEnterprise SSO (OAuth)

Build Tooling

Swift Package ManagerCargo

Skills Demonstrated

  • ▸Native macOS systems programming, including lower-level system extension frameworks (File Provider, XPC) that most application developers never touch
  • ▸Cross-language architecture: Swift and Rust cooperating cleanly through a well-defined boundary
  • ▸Security-conscious credential handling (Keychain, sandbox boundaries)
  • ▸Cloud storage API integration with real attention to performance characteristics, not just correctness