I use one called X-Plore. It’s actually very good. Even has a WiFi server, conpressed archive support, etc. but the downsides are that it’s close sourced and some features are behind a paywall (though IMO they are worth it).
So I was thinking of moving to some free or open source software. Any recommendations?
Material Files is fantastic.
FOSS (free and open-source), and supports root, if you need it.
Amaze is amazing (I’m sorry, it was stronger than me) too.
I forgot to mention that *both of them* are open-source.
The simple one, which is open source works well. His gallery app is stellar too.
Simple File Manager (A simple file manager for browsing and editing files and directories.) - https://f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro
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We’re def super lucky to have those. ppl like him remind me that its truly a wasteland out there. There are thousands of android developers, and no one else thought or cared to make a suite of simplified, open source apps for everyday use.
Ditto!
I wanted to switch both my gallery and file explorer and these two seem really good
I use simple gallery. Will check this out too.
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I use a couple of simple apps, the gallery is great, the file manager is not amazing but it does the job, I guess I haven’t encountered many issues because I use it together with other apps (a different pdf viewer, a different zip manager, etc)
I used it too, the biggest issue is no webdav support, than zip support is bad, pdf viewer is bad, no built-in image viewer, so you always switching to gallery (it is great, but switching back and forth is not good) eventually I decided why using two file managers instead of one and CX is really good and simple to use.
I use MiXPlorer.
It’s free (not sure if FOSS), and there are non-essential-but-nice-to-have features that are paid, just to support the dev - but the free features are awesome, and more than enough for me.
This one is really great and does everything you expect from a file manager. I’ve been using it for years. But yes, it’s not FOSS.
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I am a long time Solid Explorer user and I’ve tried MiXPlorer a few times but always went back to Solid. What does MiXPlorer do that Solid can’t?
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It’s not FOSS. FOSS means Free Open Source Software (Free as in freedom, not as in free beer). MiXPlorer is neither open source nor licensed under a FOSS license. It’s proprietary.
Thanks for checking that for me.
I know what FOSS means - I wasn’t sure if MiXPlorer is FOSS or not.
I use Material Files
This one. Allows you to also use sftp to access your remote files over SSH
Same for me, switched from Total Commander, since Material Files is a bit more comfortable to use. For some reason I do not get the same upload speeds to my home server though, and I cannot figure out why.
That said Total Commander sometimes lost connection and I had to start over, so I am ok with slower upload if its more consistent.
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I had been using Solid Explorer and decided to try some open-source options. Amaze seems to be the best of them, but I went back to Solid Explorer after trying it for a few weeks.
I have been using FX File Manager along with the stock file manager apps for some years.
Although FX is not open-source and hasn’t been updated since 2019, it is working well so far without any issues on Android 11 (OneUI 3.1) and it has no trackers/ads and completely respects your privacy.
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I use Mixplorer. It’s not open source, but it’s trusted, has no trackers, most of the libraries it uses are open source. It’s literally the best file manager i have found on Android.
Total Explorer
Not FOSS, but I use Files by Google, FX File Explorer and old version of ES File Explorer.
X-plore, even paid for it.
It has replaced ES File Explorer 3.2.4.1 that I’ve used since 2014.
Total Commander
