We now have tools to get files from an old scanner (that requires an open relay) but downloading files over HTTP with a web browser can be a drag (with steps to keep unsafe documents off your computer) and setting up HTTPS on your internal network is an absolute pain. Finally, serving files with Samba can work but it can be slow and awkward to use.
Fear not, now we have the Zouk scan retriever for macOS. This minimal Swift app is just what we need for browsing and downloading scans through lambada (created with Go) or scandalous (created with Ruby). The main screen is similar to a Samba share but much faster and easier to use.
On launch, zouk asks for a hostname or IP address (e.g.
10.0.1.111) and remembers it for next time.
If the server can't be reached, it shows an inline error and lets you
retry or change the server. Once connected, click a thumbnail to see its
date and size in the footer, and double-click to save it -- a native
Save panel opens with the scan's name and ~/Downloads already
selected, so confirming as-is saves it there just like before, but
renaming it or picking a different folder is just as easy. Either way,
once it's saved it opens in whatever app handles PDFs, the same as
double-clicking a file on a mounted network share. While it saves
you'll see a brief "Saving…" note, and once it's done the footer reads
"File … saved." and stays that way until you click something else, so
it's hard to miss.
zouk talks GET /files.json and expects a path field per entry.
Requires a matching server:
scandalous 0.3.0+ or
lambada's lambada-web 2.0.0+.
Building from source and the project layout moved to docs/DEVELOPER.md.
Homebrew install or direct pkg download
brew tap woodie/zouk
brew install --cask zouk
Already installed and want the latest version? Homebrew won't upgrade casks automatically:
brew upgrade --cask zouk
Grab the latest .pkg from the
Releases page and
double-click it -- Next, Next, Done, like any other Mac installer.
Zouk is signed and notarized so it installs and launches with no
Gatekeeper warning -- just the routine "downloaded from the Internet"
notice macOS shows on any first launch, with a normal Open button.
Use huck instead -- the native
Kotlin/Compose port of this same app for Windows.