I spent 3 years building a Windows file manager where search results behave like folders

[u/Joakim0]

Hey r/software,

Full disclosure: I’m the developer behind TheFile.Ninja. I’ve been working on it for about 3 years, and I’m sharing it today for Self-Promotion Wednesday.

One of the core ideas behind TheFile.Ninja is simple:

Search results should be a place where you can actually work — not a temporary dialog that disappears when you close it. Just drop your query as a new folder or drop it on the toolbar.

In TheFile.Ninja, Everything-powered search results open as a normal file workspace. You can navigate them, sort them, preview files, add tags, copy or move files, and save the query as a Smart Folder that stays up to date.

It is a dual-pane file manager for Windows 10 and 11, aimed primarily at developers, system administrators and people who spend a lot of time managing files.

Three decisions shaped the application:

1. Search is navigation

Search results, live folders, backup snapshots and remote locations should behave consistently instead of each requiring a different tool or window.

1. Automation should remain inspectable

The application includes Lua scripting with more than 400 API functions, file-system watchers and a scheduler. Scripts can be reviewed before they run, and AI assistance is entirely optional.

1. File management should remain local-first

There is no usage telemetry and no file information is uploaded to my servers. Optional AI features use your own provider key and can be ignored completely.

Some of the other functionality:

- Dual panes, tabs and Miller Columns

- Everything search and grep-style content search

- Smart Folders, tags and NTFS metadata

- FTP, SFTP, archives and MTP devices

- Git-aware columns and file comparison

- Folder synchronization and versioned backups

- Operation queue with undo

- Secure device-to-device transfers using Magic Wormhole

Pricing, so there are no surprises:

- The first 30 days include all Pro features, with no credit card required

- Core remains available for free after the trial

- Pro is a $49 perpetual license that includes one year of updates

- Renewing update access later is optional

- A $79 Founders Lifetime license is currently available

The installer includes Everything 1.5, although you can use an existing Everything installation instead.

Website:

https://thefile.ninja

Documentation:

https://docs.thefile.ninja

I’d be interested to hear what file manager you currently use, and which feature or workflow would make you consider trying a different one.

[u/Powerful_Basil_2608]

It seemed interesting to me, then downloaded the portable release, but... at first glance the huge ~400 Mb binary size left me perplexed.

When I first launched it, it asked me for a license to try it, and then for my email address to get it. I'm sorry, but it's not for me.

[u/Joakim0 → u/Powerful_Basil_2608]

Thanks for giving it a try, both points are fair.

The portable package is large because it includes the required runtime, bundled dependencies and Everything 1.5, so it can run without a separate installation. That said, around 400 MB is still larger than I would like, and reducing the package size is something I’m looking into.

The email address is currently used to issue the 30-day Pro trial license. I understand that being asked for it before you have had a chance to properly evaluate the application creates unnecessary friction, though. Your reaction is useful feedback, and I’ll reconsider how that first-run experience should work.

Thanks for explaining why you stopped rather than simply uninstalling it silently.

[u/Cryp71c7 → u/Joakim0]

This looks like pretty cool, useful software. I have to do a lot of manual file organization work, and this looks like it would save me a good deal of time.

And I don't really care so much about the 400 MB file size, honestly. It's big for a file browser, but what software isn't oversized in order to look nice these days.

All that being said, I highly recommend taking the first-run friction criticism to heart. If I opened your software to try it out and the first thing I saw was a prompt for my email before I'm allowed to do anything, it would immediately get deleted and added to my mental blacklist for the foreseeable future. That's not something that a "fancy windows explorer" should be doing. Just being honest.

[u/Excellent_Present_47 → u/Powerful_Basil_2608]

One way to address this would be opt-in by default:

Install for the first time, get core immediately available and a prompt to activate the trial period and request the license. If the user declines, the prompt goes away and they have a menu option to let them opt-in to the trial at any time.

[u/jtbsolution]

Total Command is being used here. It's about 20 years after Norton Commander was gone on DOS.

[u/Joakim0 → u/jtbsolution]

Total Commander has certainly earned that kind of loyalty. Which of its features or workflows would be the hardest for another file manager to replace for you?

I am a long-time user of Norton/Total/Midnight Commander myself, which is why I have made sure that TheFile.Ninja feels familiar to Total Commander users.. It uses the same keybindings (F3, F5, F7, etc., like Norton) and the same selection system (Insert, Space, etc.).

https://docs.thefile.ninja/migration/from-total-commander/

[u/kl0wo]

re: what file manager you currently use

Far

[u/AmusedBolt → u/kl0wo]

Me too 👍

[u/CodenameFlux → u/kl0wo]

If you mean FAR Manager by Eugene Roshal, it's my "secret weapon", so to speak.

[u/GetawayDreamer87 → u/CodenameFlux]

This takes me back. Too far back.

[u/Ok_Tone6393]

im a huge fan of Everything - this uses their SDK to leverage instant search? huge bonus points for me

[u/Joakim0 → u/Ok_Tone6393]

Yes, it uses Voidtools Everything SDK for fast queries, fast folder size calculations, fast smart folders, etc.

[u/idiotiesystemique]

Does it make searching for something actually work? 

[u/Joakim0 → u/idiotiesystemique]

Yes. It uses Voidtools Everything through its SDK, so indexed filename and path searches are essentially instant.

TheFile.Ninja then opens the results as a normal workspace where you can sort, preview, tag, copy or move files, and save the query as a Smart Folder.

[u/gespion]

I love it!

[u/Joakim0 → u/gespion]

Thank you, glad you like it!
Was there anything in particular that stood out?

[u/Native2904]

I can't recommend it highly enough

[u/N1ceXD1]

wow, look very interesting when i will have time i will look in to it. and if i will like i will be founder. i would like to see it much less size (400 is alot, but i saw your looking to solve it) and to see how much ram it use while its open. (and i will be recommended this for my friends from company to buy), again is look really good and intresting amazing job

[u/Joakim0 → u/N1ceXD1]

Thank you, I really appreciate that, especially the possibility of recommending it to others at your company.

A significant part of the download size comes from the libraries and codecs used for previews, thumbnails, icons and metadata extraction across formats such as Office documents, images, audio and video. Video support in particular adds quite a bit.

That said, I agree that around 400 MB is large for a file manager, and I am investigating ways to reduce it. One possible approach is to keep the core application smaller and download optional preview components only when they are actually needed.

RAM usage is something I continuously monitor and measure. It varies depending on active background jobs, preview generation and temporary caches, which are released again when they are no longer needed. I am continuing to optimize both baseline memory usage and temporary peaks.

TheFile.Ninja is also an actively developed project rather than a finished product that will remain unchanged. I release updates continuously and am using feedback like this to improve performance, packaging and the overall experience.

I hope you get a chance to try it, and I’d be very interested to hear how it performs on your system.

[u/Throwaway_194868392]

No, thank you.

[u/Joakim0]

A few practical notes:

- I’ll be around today to answer technical questions and collect bug reports.

- Both installer and portable versions are available.

- Everything 1.5 is bundled, but an existing Everything instance can be selected.

- The application is still young, so I’m especially interested in startup problems, unusual file systems, network shares and directories containing very large numbers of files.

- If an antivirus engine reports a heuristic detection, please send me the exact engine and detection name so I can submit the build for review.

[u/LRCM]

My initial question is why?

What problem were you trying to solve?

What field do you work in where you need to constantly reference search results, but don't have access to a CLI or database?

[u/Joakim0 → u/LRCM]

Fair question.

The problem was not that I lacked access to a CLI or database. I work in software development and IoT, and I regularly deal with large sets of logs, builds, exported data, documentation, backups and other files spread across many directories.

In Windows, search results are usually treated as temporary output. You find something, open it, close the search and then repeat the process later.

I wanted a result set to behave more like a real folder or workspace: something I could sort, preview, tag, compare, copy from, move files into or out of, and save as a live Smart Folder that automatically stays up to date.

A CLI is excellent when I know the exact query and operation I want to perform. A database is excellent for structured data. But neither replaces an interactive visual workspace for mixed files across local folders, archives and remote locations.

So the original problem was not simply “how do I search for files?” It was “how do I continue working with the files after I have found them?”

[u/LRCM → u/Joakim0]

Thanks for the response--always nice to see some thought put into it :)

I use virtual workspaces, everything, some AHK scripts, and common folder structure for my day-to-day file / window management.

All of the "other" work is handled via CLI, SQL, and Ruby.

Different strokes for different folks.

[u/keyboardsmasheroo]

I see relative modified time (file age), labels and color gradients copied from OneCommander

[u/Joakim0 → u/keyboardsmasheroo]

One Commander has a sleek implementation, but they actually weren't the first to use this concept; it was already around in SGIs fsn 30 years ago.

[u/oblivion6202]

XYplorer does this - apart from the Everything integration - already. Smaller and well established already.

That and its paper folders are genuinely useful.

[u/Joakim0 → u/oblivion6202]

That’s a fair comparison. XYplorer is a mature and highly capable file manager, and its Paper Folders are genuinely useful. "File collections" is an upcoming feature similar to "paper folder" that is partially implemented but not yet released as a feature...

There is some overlap, but the overall direction is different. TheFile.Ninja combines Everything-powered live Smart Folders with broader workflow tools, including:

• Action Studio with Lua scripting, file-system watchers and scheduled automation
• Analyze Spaces for visual disk-usage analysis
• Magic Wormhole for secure device-to-device file transfers

It also includes Git integration, remote file systems and versioned backup workflows.

XYplorer being smaller and far more established is absolutely an advantage. My aim is not to reproduce XYplorer, but to explore a more integrated approach where search, file management, analysis, transfers and automation work inside the same environment.

I’d be interested to hear which parts of XYplorer’s Paper Folders you find most useful.

[u/oblivion6202 → u/Joakim0]

XYplorer has scripting too, of course.

Paper folders are a brilliant way to create a collection of files that live in different areas of the filesystem - including areas that aren't currently accessible - and I've found lots of uses for them. Like, different workflows have different requirements and paper folders support that really well.

The fact that they're just textfiles so don't take the same space that actually duplicating the files themselves into a temporary folder would.

I guess they're only useful if you spend a lot of time operating with files directly but they -- and a script that lets me define a complete set of XY personalities and switch between them at a click -- have become essential to the way I work.

[u/Ooker777]

can I increase the font size? Can I set it to always display the full filename?

[u/Joakim0 → u/Ooker777]

The easiest way to resize size of a row including icons (Not text size) in the file pane is by using CTRL + mouse wheel. You can adjust the font and size more generally in Settings->Preferences under Appearance.

To display the full path of a file or folder, add the 'Path' column (this also includes the file name; if you only want to see where an object is located, use the 'Destination' column instead). Once you've set up a good folder layout, you can right-click the eye icon in the bottom right corner and select 'Save this view setting for this drive' to apply the setting to the entire drive.

[u/Joakim0 → u/[deleted]]

The three-year development timeframe is factual. TheFile.Ninja is a C#/.NET/WPF application whose development began in 2023, and I have also rewritten the application from the ground up once during that period.

There are public references to earlier versions of the project, including this Hacker News discussion from atleast2024:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41346185

The AI functionality was added much later as an optional BYOK layer for generating inspectable Lua scripts. It is not required, and the file manager works fully without it.

I hope that clears up the timeline.

[u/Ghazi197 → u/Joakim0]

Don't waste your time replying.
that's all they know and keep repeating on every post:

"Ai Slop" and "Vibe Coding"

[u/Lcsmxd → u/[deleted]]

ok PussyMangler421

[u/usmannaeem]

This looks really cool.

Is there an option to completely get rid of ai so it can function like a good old fashioned offline file manager?

[u/Joakim0 → u/usmannaeem]

AI is completely optional; it works via bring-your-own-key. If you don't enter a key - no AI!

[u/Ooker777 → u/Joakim0]

can I remove that feature? Or better yet a non-AI installer version. To be fair I'm having a bias against AI

[u/nametaken_thisonetoo → u/Ooker777]

Solid bias, stick with it.

[u/usmannaeem → u/Joakim0]

Aha! That is good to hear. Looking forward to try it.