Marten

Getting started

Set up your first connections, bring over what you had in Apache Directory Studio, and learn the everyday workflows in Marten.

Before you begin

Marten is free on the Mac App Store and runs on macOS 26 or later on a Mac with Apple silicon. Ask your directory administrator for these details:

  • The server’s host name and port.
  • Which transport to use: LDAPS, StartTLS, or plain LDAP.
  • Your bind DN and password, unless the directory allows anonymous reads.
  • A base DN to start from, if the server doesn’t advertise one.

If the server is only reachable on your organization’s network, connect to its VPN first.

Connect to an LDAP directory

  1. Choose File → New Connection… (⌘N), or click New Connection… in the sidebar.
  2. Enter a Name you’ll recognize, and keep Connection Type set to LDAP.
  3. Enter the Host and Port. LDAP and StartTLS usually use port 389, and LDAPS usually uses 636.
  4. Choose a Transport. Prefer LDAPS or StartTLS. Plain (Unencrypted) sends your password and directory data in the clear, so keep it to protected test networks.
  5. Set Bind Mode to Simple, then enter your Bind DN, such as uid=alex,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com, and your Password. Choose Anonymous only if your directory allows reads without signing in.
  6. Leave Base DNs empty to use the naming contexts the server advertises, or type a base DN and press Return.
  7. Click Save, select the connection in the sidebar, and choose Connection → Connect (⌘K).

Marten saves your password in your Mac’s Keychain. When you edit the connection later, leave the password field empty to keep the saved password, or type a new one to replace it.

If macOS doesn’t trust the server’s certificate, which is common with a private certificate authority, Marten shows the certificate’s SHA-256 fingerprint. Compare it with the fingerprint your administrator gives you before you trust it. To trust your organization’s certificate authority instead, click Import CA… under TLS Trust in the connection settings.

For a server on your local network, macOS asks whether Marten can access devices on the network. Allow it, or Marten can’t reach the server. You can change this later in System Settings.

Connect to PingDirectory REST

To work with PingDirectory through its REST API, set Connection Type to PingDirectory REST. Enter the REST base URL and the OAuth 2.0 details from your administrator: the grant type, client ID, endpoints, and scopes.

For Authorization Code with PKCE, your administrator registers the exact redirect URI shown in the connection settings. Request a refresh-token scope such as offline_access to stay signed in. Click Test OAuth and Test REST API to check the settings before you save.

Import from Apache Directory Studio

If you already use Apache Directory Studio, bring your connections across instead of entering them again. First, export them from Directory Studio:

  1. In Apache Directory Studio, open the Connections view.
  2. Control-click in the view and choose Export → Export Connections…
  3. Save the file with a .lbc extension, such as connections.lbc.

Then import the file into Marten:

  1. Choose File → Import Connections from Apache Directory Studio…
  2. Click Choose .lbc File… and select the export. You can also open the .lbc file from Finder. Marten asks you to review the import before it saves anything.

Marten brings over your connections, connection folders, bookmarks, and saved searches. Bind passwords saved in the export go into your Keychain. A few things change on the way:

  • Referral following is turned off, because Marten can’t safely sign in to a server it’s referred to. Add each referred server as its own connection.
  • Connections that use SASL or Kerberos authentication are skipped. Marten supports anonymous and simple bind for LDAP.
  • When the import finishes, Marten lists any connection it skipped or adjusted.

The export can contain saved passwords. After the import, move the .lbc file to the Trash.

Marten can also read a raw connections.xml file, but only a .lbc export includes folders, bookmarks, and saved searches. To see how the two apps differ, read Marten vs. Apache Directory Studio.

Organize your connections

  • File → New Connection Folder… (⇧⌘N) groups connections, for example by environment. Choose a connection’s folder with its Folder setting.
  • Connection → Duplicate Connection copies a connection’s settings, which is handy for the same directory in another environment.
  • Connection → Edit Connection… changes a connection’s settings later.
  • Edit → Undo reverses changes to connections, folders, bookmarks, and saved searches.

Browse and edit entries

  1. In the Directory tab (⌘1), expand the tree and select an entry to see its attributes.
  2. Click Edit, then change, add, or remove values.
  3. Click Preview to review each change, then click Save (⌘S). To discard your edits, choose Entry → Revert Entry Changes.

If someone else changes the entry on the server while you’re editing it, Marten stops the save and shows both versions, so you can choose which values to keep.

The Entry menu also has New Entry…, Rename Entry…, and Delete Entry…. Marten shows the target DN before it makes a change and asks before it deletes anything.

Bookmarks and saved searches

  • Press ⌘D to bookmark the selected entry.
  • Choose Search → Save Search… (⇧⌘S) to keep a search you’ll run again.
  • Find both in the Shortcuts tab (⌘3), and use New Shortcut Folder… to keep them organized.

Bookmarks and saved searches also appear in Spotlight by name. Siri and Shortcuts can open a bookmark or run a saved search.

LDIF and CSV files

  • File → Import LDIF… reads an LDIF file and shows a summary of every operation before anything is applied.
  • Search → Export Search Results saves your results as LDIF or CSV.
  • Drag an entry to Finder to save it as an LDIF file, or use Entry → Share and Entry → Print.

Exported files can contain personal information, so store and share them with care.

When something goes wrong

The Activity tab (⌘5) shows each connection, search, and change, with the full error for anything that failed. For connection problems, check the host, port, transport, and VPN, then read the common questions.

Help → Marten Help has Copy Support Summary, which collects your version and log details for a support request. Review it before you share it, and never send passwords or other secrets.

Email support