Download Airflow for Mac

In the edit

Airflow runs on macOS 10.12 or later and is built for 64-bit Intel Macs, so if you’ve got an older machine that still handles a day’s editing, it’ll fit right in. The main window is straightforward: pick a Chromecast device from the list, then add videos by dragging them straight in. Playback starts without fuss, and the interface stays in English throughout. Here are a few things to try first:

• Drag a video file directly onto the Airflow window to queue it up.
• Click the device list to refresh available Chromecasts on your network.
• Use the volume slider in the playback bar to adjust from your Mac.
• Try dropping multiple files — they’ll play one after another.
• If a video doesn’t appear, check that your Chromecast and Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network.

Once you’ve added a video and selected a device, playback begins within a few seconds. That’s really all there is to it — no settings to hunt through, just drag, pick and watch.

Runs on almost any Mac from the last few years

Because Airflow is built for 64-bit Intel architecture and requires macOS 10.12 or later, it runs on most Macs from the last several years — including ones that never saw a macOS 13 update. The disk image is small and the app itself doesn’t demand a powerful GPU, so you won’t lose a lot of storage space or processing power to the streaming software itself. That matters if you’re running it alongside other apps on a machine that’s already pulling weight for photo editing or design work.

After that, drag the app into your Applications folder. It’s a one-time step that takes about thirty seconds. The app opens without further warnings once it’s in place.

A workflow: queuing a few clips for a casual watch

Let’s say you’ve got three short video files on your desktop — a holiday clip, a trailer and a recipe tutorial — and you want to send them to the living room TV through a Chromecast. Open Airflow. The device list populates automatically if your Chromecast is on the same Wi-Fi network. Select the device you want to use.

Now drag the first video onto the Airflow window. It appears in the queue. Drag the second and third files the same way. Each one stacks behind the last. When you’re ready, start playback. The first video begins on the TV; the others play in sequence after it finishes. You don’t need to touch the Mac again unless you want to skip a track or adjust the volume using the slider in the playback bar. That’s the whole workflow: select a device, drag files, press play.

Dragging videos straight from Finder works anywhere

Airflow doesn’t bury its useful bits behind menus. A few things worth knowing:

• Drag and drop works from anywhere. You can pull a video straight from Finder, from your desktop or from a folder — the app accepts the file wherever you drop it on the window.
• The device list refreshes when you click it. If your Chromecast doesn’t appear immediately, clicking the list triggers a new scan of the network. No need to restart the app or fiddle with network settings.
• Multiple files queue automatically. Drop three videos at once and they’ll play in the order you dropped them. No extra setup, no playlist to configure.
• The volume slider is right there. Instead of reaching for the TV remote, you can adjust the volume from the playback bar on your Mac. It’s a small thing, but it keeps you in one place.

If a video doesn’t show up on the TV, the most common reason is that the Mac and the Chromecast aren’t on the same Wi-Fi network. That’s worth checking first — it’s almost always the fix.

Mac it needs

• macOS 10.12 or later
• 64-bit Intel processor
• English interface