A standalone desktop file-manager app for Windows. It opens in its own window —
no console, no web browser — and shows every drive (C:, D:, USB, …) on the PC it runs
on. Browse, preview, edit, rename, move, permanently delete, organize by type with one
click, open files in their default Windows app (even run .exes), and show any file
in File Explorer — all as real changes on that machine's disk.
The app is built with Electron (it bundles its own renderer, so the UI looks identical
everywhere) wrapping a tiny local server that does the filesystem work in-process. Nothing is
uploaded anywhere; the server listens on 127.0.0.1 only and isn't reachable from outside.
Double-click dist\FileManager-Setup.exe once. It installs in a couple of seconds
(per-user, no admin needed), adds a Desktop and Start Menu shortcut named
"File Manager", and launches the app. After that, open it from the shortcut — it starts
in about 1 second.
No Node.js required, no browser, no console window. It manages the files of whatever PC it's installed on.
To put it on another computer, copy just FileManager-Setup.exe over and run it there.
Why an installer (not a single .exe)? A one-file portable build has to unpack ~250 MB to a temp folder on every launch (that was the 5–10 s delay). Installing once removes that, so every launch is instant.
First launch of a downloaded copy: Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC" because the app isn't code-signed → More info → Run anyway. Also, the very first run after install is a touch slower while Windows Defender scans it once; it's instant after that.
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| This PC → drive → folders | Click a drive (C:, D:, …) then navigate anywhere. Breadcrumb + Back/Forward. |
| Click a file | Image → preview · text → editor · otherwise → details. |
| Open on PC | Opens the file in its default Windows app; an .exe runs (with a confirm). Folders open in Explorer. |
| Show in File Explorer | Opens Explorer at the file's folder with it selected. |
| Edit a text file | Saves over the real file (Ctrl/Cmd+S). |
| Delete | Permanently erases it (clear "cannot be undone" confirm). Deleting a whole drive/share is refused. |
| Rename / New Folder / Move | Real rename / mkdir / move (drag-and-drop or "Move to…"). |
| Organize by type | Sorts a folder's files into Images/ Videos/ Audio/ Documents/ Archives/ Code/ Programs/ Other/. |
| Search | Finds files by name within the current folder/drive (recursively). |
| Grid / List, sort | View options (remembered). |
You only need this if you change the code. Requires Node.js on the build machine (the finished app does not).
- Double-click
build-app.bat(first run downloads the Electron runtime — needs internet and a few minutes), or from a terminal:npm install # one time npm run dist # produces dist\FileManager-Setup.exe - Share the resulting
dist\FileManager-Setup.exe(run once to install).
To run it during development without packaging: npm run app (Electron, app window) or
npm start (plain Node server + your browser, for quick testing).
FileManager/
├─ dist/
│ └─ FileManager-Setup.exe # the installer you run once / share
├─ main.js # Electron app shell (opens the window, starts the server)
├─ server.js # filesystem API + UI server (zero runtime dependencies)
├─ public/ # the UI (index.html, styles.css, app.js) — bundled into the app
├─ build-app.bat # one-click rebuild of the app
├─ start.bat # dev: plain Node + browser (quick testing only)
└─ package.json # app + electron-builder config
- Local only. Listens on
127.0.0.1; a Host-header check blocks any other origin. - Full-disk by design. It can read/modify/delete anywhere on the PC it runs on — that's what a file manager does. Run it only on machines you control.
- Delete is permanent (no Recycle Bin); deleting an entire drive root or network-share root is blocked.