Users may experience an issue where some files are accessible in macOS Finder, while others in the same directory are greyed out and unavailable, despite having completed their transfer.
Investigation & Cause
Running xattr -l in the macOS Terminal on an affected file reveals the following extended attribute:
com.apple.FinderInfo: brokMACS
In macOS metadata, "brok" literally stands for "broken" and "MACS" is the OS creator code.
Finder temporarily applies the brokMACS flag to files while they are actively copying from a source, such as a camera card. Once the transfer completes successfully, Finder automatically removes the flag.
However, if the card was pulled early, the network dropped, or the transfer glitched, that flag gets permanently stuck, causing Finder to keep the files greyed out.
Resolution
You can remove the stuck attribute using the Terminal app on your Mac.
Important: When typing the commands below, ensure you leave a single trailing space at the end of the command before dragging your file or folder into the window.
Option 1: Fix a Single File
Type the following command (leaving a space at the end), drag the affected file from Finder into the Terminal window, and press Enter:
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo
Option 2: Fix an Entire Directory (Recursive)
Type the following command (leaving a space at the end), drag the affected folder from Finder into the Terminal window, and press Enter:
xattr -dr com.apple.FinderInfo
Note: Removing the com.apple.FinderInfo attribute will strip all Finder-specific info from the target files, including any custom color tags you may have applied. It will not harm your actual media or application metadata.