Pile Commander 2 - File manager with unusual possibilities
Cross-platform desktop and web application with responsive UI, where folders with files can serve as whiteboards or other types of views, and be stored locally or in the cloud for real-time collaboration and publishing
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Hi everyone!
When I got my first computer in the early 2000s, one of the very first programs I started using was a file manager. At first, I just got used to the quirks of standard file managers, but over time, I started accumulating a wishlist of features and functionality I wanted.
In 2013, I bought a Mac Mini with an Apple Display for my home music studio, which is where I first got acquainted with Finder. Its ability to arrange file and folder icons freely — not just on the desktop, but even inside folders — was incredibly convenient for me, as were the quick audio and video previews. Strangely enough, a few years later I bought a MacBook and switched to it completely, leaving Windows and Linux behind simply because Finder had the exact features I needed :)
But over time, I started to outgrow Finder as well. I decided to build a tool that could solve my own tasks and fulfill my wishlist, because by that point, whether I was working in classic file managers or apps like Notion or Freeform, I constantly felt like something was missing. So, I'm thrilled to have built a tool that solves my own problems, and I hope it will be useful to others, too!
Version 2 has been completely rewritten from scratch and introduces several new features:
- New folder views, including a canvas where you can draw and connect nodes with lines;
- Cloud folders for synchronous collaboration, real-time co-editing, and publishing links to your workspace or the community Hub;
- Multi-workspace workflow using desktops and windows (during the beta and 2.x development, we'll decide together with our users whether desktops and windows should be treated as duplicates of workspaces and folder previews).
You can find more details on the landing page (https://www.pile-commander.com/).
Unlike the first version, which saved metadata into a sidecar file inside the folder itself, v2 saves everything much more atomically — directly into the file or folder via its extended attributes (xattrs on Linux and macOS, and Alternate Data Streams in NTFS for Windows). You can dive deeper into the technical details on the repo page (https://github.com/a-matyukh/pil...).
The product launches today in beta with free plans. In about 1–2 months, once the app has been tested under heavier loads, received its first feedback, and stabilized, additional paid cloud plans will be launched. The local desktop and local browser versions will always be free.
There's a feedback page on the landing site (https://www.pile-commander.com/feedback), or you can reach out to me directly on any of my social media accounts. Thanks so much in advance for your feedback! Enjoy using it!