Use the Finder path bar to jump to parent folders

When you are three or four folders deep and want to pop back up, the path bar is the fastest way there. Turn it on with Option+Cmd+P, then double-click any folder in the strip along the bottom — Finder jumps straight to that level. No repeated back-button presses, no reopening the sidebar.

Turn the path bar into a click-up strip

1. In any Finder window, open the View menu and choose Show Path Bar (or press Option+Cmd+P).
2. The bar along the bottom now lists the whole trail — drive, then each enclosing folder, then where you are.
3. Double-click a folder segment to jump up to it. Double-click the drive to land at its root.

A single click just highlights a segment; the double-click is what navigates. Because every parent is on screen at once, jumping four levels up is one gesture instead of four. This works the same across macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia.

Move files while you climb

The path bar is not only for navigating — it is a set of live drop targets. That makes filing quick:

• Drag a file onto a parent segment to move it up two or three folders in one drag, without opening a second window.
• Hold Option while you drop to copy instead of move.
• Right-click a segment to open that folder in a new tab or window, handy when you want the parent open alongside where you are.

This turns "go up, then drag back down" into a single motion, which is why the path bar earns its place at the bottom of the window.

Keyboard routes up the tree

Once the path bar has shown you the shape of the hierarchy, the keyboard is often faster for the final hop:

• Cmd+↑ opens the enclosing (parent) folder — press it repeatedly to climb one level at a time.
• Cmd+↓ or Cmd+O opens the selected folder, letting you dive back in.
• Hold Cmd and click the window's title to drop the same hierarchy as a menu — useful when the path bar is hidden.

Prefer to script the toggle? The path bar is a single defaults key. Turn it on, then restart Finder:

# show the path bar
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowPathbar -bool true
killall Finder

# undo — hide it again
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowPathbar -bool false
killall Finder

Faster still with Go to Folder

When you already know the destination, skip clicking entirely: press Shift+Cmd+G and type the path. See how to use Go to Folder in Finder for jumping anywhere by name.