FileBrowser Quantum - A modern web-based file manager

[!WARNING] Starting with v0.3.0 API routes have been slightly altered for friendly usage outside of the UI. The resources api returns items in separate files and folder objects now.

[!WARNING] If on windows, please use docker. The windows binary is unstable and may not work.

[!WARNING] There is no stable version yet. Always check release notes for bugfixes on functionality that may have been changed. If you notice any unexpected behavior -- please open an issue to have it fixed soon.

FileBrowser Quantum is a fork of the file browser opensource project with the following changes:

1. Indexes files efficiently. See indexing readme
   • Real-time search results as you type
   • Search supports file/folder sizes and many file type filters.
   • Enhanced interactive results that shows file/folder sizes.
2. Revamped and simplified GUI navbar and sidebar menu.
   • Additional compact view mode as well as refreshed view mode styles.
   • Many graphical and user experience improvements.
   • right-click context menu
3. Revamped and simplified configuration via filebrowser.yml config file.
4. Better listing browsing
   • Switching view modes is instant
   • Folder sizes are shown as well
   • Changing Sort order is instant
   • The entire directory is loaded in 1/3 the time
5. Developer API support
   • Can create long-live API Tokens.
   • Helpful Swagger page available at /swagger endpoint.

Notable features that this fork does not have (removed):

• jobs/runners are not supported yet (planned).
• shell commands are completely removed and will not be returning.
• themes and branding are not fully supported yet (planned).
• see feature matrix below for more.

About

FileBrowser Quantum provides a file-managing interface within a specified directory and can be used to upload, delete, preview, rename, and edit your files. It allows the creation of multiple users and each user can have its directory.

This repository is a fork of the original filebrowser with a collection of changes that make this program work better in terms of aesthetics and performance. Improved search, simplified UI (without removing features) and more secure and up-to-date build are just a few examples.

FileBrowser Quantum differs significantly from the original. There are hundreds of thousands of lines changed and they are generally no longer compatible with each other. This has been intentional -- the focus of this fork is on a few key principles:

• Simplicity and improved user experience
• Improving performance and faster feedback when making changes.
• Minimize external dependencies and standard library usage.
• Of course -- adding much-needed features.

Look

One way you can observe the improved user experience is how I changed the UI. The Navbar is simplified to a three-component system :

1. (Left) The slide-out action panel button
2. (Middle) The powerful search bar.
3. (Right) The view change toggle.

All other functions are moved either into the action menu or popup menus. If the action does not depend on context, it will exist in the slide-out action panel. If the action is available based on context, it will show up as a popup menu.

Install

Using docker:

1. docker run (no persistent db):

docker run -it -v /path/to/folder:/srv -p 80:80 gtstef/filebrowser

1. docker compose:

• with local storage

services:
  filebrowser:
    volumes:
      - '/path/to/folder:/srv' # required (for now not configurable)
      - './database:/database'  # optional if you want db to persist - configure a path under "database" dir in config file.
      - './filebrowser.yaml:/filebrowser.yaml' # required
    ports:
      - '80:80'
    image: gtstef/filebrowser
    restart: always

• with network share

services:
  filebrowser:
    volumes:
      - 'storage:/srv' # required (for now not configurable)
      - './database:/database'  # optional if you want db to persist - configure a path under "database" dir in config file.
      - './filebrowser.yaml:/filebrowser.yaml' # required
    ports:
      - '80:80'
    image: gtstef/filebrowser
    restart: always
volumes:
  storage:
    driver_opts:
      type: cifs
      o: "username=admin,password=password,rw" # enter valid info here
      device: "//192.168.1.100/share/"         # enter valid info here

Not using docker (not recommended), download your binary from releases and run with your custom config file:

./filebrowser -c <filebrowser.yml or other /path/to/config.yaml>

Command Line Usage

There are very few commands available. There are 3 actions done via command line:

1. Running the program, as shown on the install step. The only argument used is the config file, if you choose to override default "filebrowser.yaml"
2. Checking the version info via ./filebrowser version
3. Updating the DB, which currently only supports adding users via ./filebrowser set -u username,password [-a] [-s "example/scope"]

API Usage

FileBrowser Quantum comes with a swagger page that can be accessed from the API section of settings or by going to /swagger to see the full list:

You use the token as a bearer token. For example in postman:

Successful Request:

Failed Request

Configuration

All configuration is now done via a single configuration file: filebrowser.yaml, here is an example of minimal configuration file.

View the Configuration Help Page for available configuration options and other help.

Migration from the original filebrowser

If you currently use the original filebrowser but want to try using this. I would recommend that you start fresh without reusing the database. However, If you want to migrate your existing database to FileBrowser Quantum, visit the migration readme

Comparison Chart

Application Name	Quantum	Filebrowser	Filestash	Nextcloud	Google_Drive	FileRun
Filesystem support	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Linux	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Windows	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Mac	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Self hostable	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Has Stable Release?	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
S3 support	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅
webdav support	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅
ftp support	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅
Dedicated docs site?	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Multiple sources at once	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅
Docker image size	22 MB	31 MB	240 MB (main image)	250 MB	❌	> 2 GB
Min. Memory Requirements	128 MB	128 MB	128 MB (main image)	128 MB	❌	4 GB
has standalone binary	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
price	free	free	free	free tier	free tier	$99+
rich media preview	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
upload files from the web?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Advanced Search?	✅	❌	❌	configurable	✅	✅
Indexed Search?	✅	❌	❌	configurable	✅	✅
Content-aware search?	❌	❌	❌	configurable	✅	✅
Custom job support	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
Multiple users	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Single sign-on support	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
LDAP sign-on support	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
2FA sign-on support	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
Long-live API key support	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
API documentation page	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅
Mobile App	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌
open source?	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
tags support	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅
sharable web links?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Event-based notifications	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Metrics	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
file space quotas	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅
text-based files editor	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
office file support	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
Themes	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅
Branding support	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅
activity log	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
Comments support	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
collaboration on same file	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
trash support	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
Starred/pinned files	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅
Content preview icons	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅
Plugins support	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅
Chromecast support	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌

Roadmap

see Roadmap Page