So how can apps and users preserve file metadata using these xattr flags? Part of the solution is straightforward, but there’s a major limitation.
metadata
For the last six years, extended attributes have had flags to determine how they’re handled when copied. Here are the details, and how this affects iCloud.
Seven updated apps covering iCloud, Spotlight searching, checking permissions, and more. Mostly for Mojave fixes, but worth it for other users too.
First full releases of two free tools to edit metadata which can greatly help Spotlight search. Complete with docs and Help books.
I claimed (from a guess) that there might be 0.8 GB of xattrs in my Home folder. I was wildly wrong: there are actually over 3.8 GB. Here’s how xattrs are distributed.
Many files in macOS are more than just their data, and contain metadata in extended attributes. Does macOS know the true size of any file, taking into account those attributes?
My screenshots are now tagged with metadata supporting Spotlight search, and Hazel uses that to sort them into folders automatically.
Families of types covering most forms of metadata, published in open source in 2009. Now largely superseded by com.apple.metadata equivalents.
The Desktop and Finder illusions are held together by Launch Services, which associates file types with apps. This and more now hinge on the UTI.
What metadata you are likely to encounter, where it is stored, and how you can view and edit it. A grand tour of the Finder’s Get Info dialog.
The Eclectic Light Company 