A file manager for Windows made for the controller, with a built-in extractor: browse, organize and unzip files from the couch, on a TV-connected PC or a Windows handheld. Open source (AGPL-3.0-only), local, no login, no telemetry.
Pre-alpha. The first vertical journey works and is covered by automated tests on real files, but the app has not been validated on real Windows hardware or with physical controllers yet. See PROGRESS.md (Portuguese).
Get 0.6.0-alpha.1 (pre-release):
ControlFS-Setup-x64.exe(recommended): per-user install, no admin, updates itself automatically (verified, signed updates).ControlFS-Portable-x64.exe: a single executable that keeps its data in theControlFS_Datafolder next to it; it tells you about new versions, replacing it is manual.
Windows 11 x64. Not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn (policy). On 0.1.0-alpha.1 or alpha.2? Those didn't open: run the installer once; updates are automatic from then on.
- Open the app: the home screen lists your folders (Downloads, Documents…) and drives.
- Browse with the D-pad or stick; South opens, East goes back, North shows actions.
- On a
.zip, South opens it read-only; North → Extract unpacks it to a dedicated folder, here, or a folder you pick inside the app.
| Controller (position) | Does | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| D-pad / left stick | Move | Arrows |
| South (A / ✕) | Open / confirm | Enter |
| East (B / ○) | Back / close | Esc |
| West (X / □) | Mark item | Space |
| North (Y / △) | Item actions | F2 |
| LT / RT | Page up / down | PgUp / PgDn |
| Start | App menu | F10 |
| — | Full screen | F11 |
Buttons follow physical position, so a Nintendo layout doesn't flip confirm and back. You can switch to "confirm with the right button" in the menu.
- Real folders and drives, history, sorting, hidden items, marking (select all / clear), properties, favorite folders and recent folders/files on Home, a navigable path bar and tabs
- Controller prompts that match the pad in your hands (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, generic), original vector glyphs, a context-sensitive action bar, and a mapping wizard for joysticks without a profile
- Responsive layout for 720p/800p handhelds, desktops and 1080p/4K TVs
- Retry a failed operation or only its failed items; leftovers of interrupted operations are cleaned up on the next launch
- Native Windows icons for files, folders, special folders and drives, loaded in the background and sized for the screen's scale
- List or grid view (Menu → View or Ctrl+G), with 2D controller navigation between tiles
- Drive types at a glance (local, USB, optical, network), refreshed when a USB stick is plugged in or removed
- File operations: rename, copy, cut, paste, move and delete to the Recycle Bin, with conflict handling (skip / keep both / replace / merge folders) and per-item results
- Recycle Bin on the home screen: restore items to their original folder or delete them permanently (always confirmed)
- Own on-screen keyboard (Portuguese/English, accents, symbols, visible caret, hold-to-repeat, masked passwords) usable with only directions + confirm + back
- Image preview (JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, WebP) with zoom, pan and next/previous on the controller; size and resolution limits checked before decoding
- Text preview (logs, notes, configs, code): read-only, encoding detection, size and line limits, binary files refused
- Search by name in the current folder, with or without subfolders: results stream in, can be cancelled, open in their folder; no indexing, links never followed
- Create folder with Windows naming rules
- Screen reader support: Narrator announces the focused item, its position and states (marked, cut, blocked) as you move with the controller
- Archives: browse ZIP, 7z, RAR, TAR, TAR.GZ and GZ without extracting; extract all or a selection; several archives at once, each into its own folder; test integrity without extracting; passwords; conflicts (skip / keep both / replace with confirmation); progress and per-item results
- Compress to ZIP or TAR.GZ from marked items, name typed on the on-screen keyboard
- Open with Windows: default program, "Open with…", "Show in File Explorer"; programs and scripts ask for confirmation
- Automatic, verified updates (installed version): daily check, background download, "Install and restart" or install on quit; signed manifest + SHA-256; can be turned off (how it works)
- Safe extraction: nothing is written outside the destination, links are blocked, name collisions are refused, size limits, temporary staging, CRC check (security model)
Extract: ZIP (including ZIP64 and AES), 7z, RAR4/RAR5, TAR, TAR.GZ, GZ. Create: ZIP, TAR.GZ. RAR can't be created (proprietary); 7z creation and split volumes are not supported yet (matrix).
Next: validation on real controllers (#78) and code signing (#84), then the Could items: light theme, two panes, PDF preview, split volumes, batch rename, ISO mounting (roadmap by MoSCoW priority) · Later (not planned for 1.0): video preview, Git status, integrated terminal. Details in docs/roadmap.md.
Free code signing provided by SignPath.io, certificate by SignPath Foundation (application in progress: until it is approved, releases are unsigned and Windows SmartScreen may warn on first run).
- Committers and reviewers: @nextestudios (maintainer; every change goes through a pull request and CI)
- Approvers: @nextestudios (each release is approved manually before signing)
- Build: releases are built only by the public release workflow on GitHub Actions from a tag on
main; the certificate never leaves the signing service. - Privacy: this program will not transfer any information to other networked systems unless specifically requested by the user or the person installing or operating it. The only network access is the optional update check against GitHub (privacy policy).
Details: docs/CODE_SIGNING.md.
- Guide: controls, extraction, privacy, troubleshooting, building from source
- Feedback: this form
- Changelog: English · português
GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 only (licensing notes) · Third-party notices · Code signing policy · Security