BitFM — The Next-Gen Linux File Manager

A fast, modern, and modular Linux file manager engineered with C++ and Qt.
Crafted for speed, pixel-perfect aesthetics, and seamless integration on Wayland (Niri, Hyprland, Sway, GNOME, KDE Plasma, Cosmic) & X11.

Features & Capabilities

• High-Performance C++ Core: Zero-overhead asynchronous directory loading, non-blocking recursive search, and low-latency file operations.
• Wayland Acrylic Translucency & Hardware Blur:
  • Full Qt::WA_TranslucentBackground integration with native compositor blur (Hyprland, Niri, Sway, Wayfire, KDE KWin).
  • Dynamic RGBA color token mapping with live opacity slider (40%–100%) and translucency toggle in Theme Controller Studio.
• Three View Modes:
  • Icon Grid (Ctrl+1): Modern card-style grid with edge-to-edge justification, centered icons, symlink emblems, folder item counts, and 3-line file metadata.
  • Detailed List (Ctrl+2): Full-featured tabular view with interactive resizable columns, sorting indicators, and date/size formatting.
  • Compact View (Ctrl+3): Flowing multi-column horizontal list with scalable icons, dynamic row heights, and zoom support.
• Theme Controller Studio (Ctrl+Shift+T):
  • 10 Built-in Presets: Modern GNOME (Adwaita Dark), OLED Pitch Black, Midnight Cyberpunk, Nord Frost, Gruvbox Warm Dark, Dracula Gothic, Rosé Pine, GitHub Dark, Catppuccin Mocha, Pure Light.
  • Accent Color Studio: 9 instant presets with custom RGB/HEX color picker.
  • Live External Theme Sync: Inotify watcher on ~/.config/BitFM/theme.conf and ~/.config/BitFM/theme.json to dynamically synchronize colors in real time.
• Universal Zoom Persistence:
  • Real-time zoom level synchronization across all tabs, dual panes, and file chooser dialogs with persistence in ~/.config/BitFM/bitfm.conf.
• Smart Clipboard & Cut Feedback:
  • Visual Cut Dimming: Cut files (Ctrl+X) are dynamically rendered with ghosted translucency across Grid, List, and Compact views until pasted or cancelled.
  • Clean Single-Payload Wayland Clipboard: Formats standard text/uri-list and file paths without polluting clipboard managers.
• Archive Compression & Extraction with Real-time Progress Bar:
  • Multi-file compression (.zip, .tar.xz, .tar.gz) and extraction (Extract Here, Extract to Folder).
  • Interactive progress dialog displaying the active file name, item count (X of Y items), animated 0%–100% progress bar, and instant cancellation.
• Native XDG Desktop Portal File Chooser (bitfm --portal):
  • Handles system-wide Save File and Open File dialogs for web browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Chromium), Discord, GIMP, and desktop apps.
  • Batch Multi-File Selection: Full multi-selection support returning complete URI lists.
  • File Type Filtering with Folder Navigation: Category filtering (Images, Documents, Media, All Files) while keeping folder structures browsable.
• D-Bus File Manager Specification (org.freedesktop.FileManager1):
  • Browser "Show in Folder" Highlighting: Seamless integration with Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Chromium, and desktop apps. Automatically focuses the window, navigates to the target directory, selects the downloaded file, and scrolls to center it.
  • CLI File Targeting: Run bitfm --select <file> or bitfm /path/to/file to instantly focus and highlight files in existing or new windows.
• Instant Filter & Recursive Search (Ctrl+F):
  • Instant In-Folder Filter: Zero-latency file filtering as you type.
  • Async Subdirectory Scanner: Multi-threaded background recursive search supporting plain text and regular expressions without UI stutter.
• Live File Inspector (F4):
  • Video Previews: Generates thumbnail frames with duration info.
  • PDF Rendering: High-fidelity first-page document previews.
  • Audio Inspection: Extracts bitrate, sample rate, and track duration.
  • Checksum Calculation: Fast asynchronous SHA-256 hash generation.
• Dual-Pane (F3) & Tabbed Navigation (Ctrl+T): Browse independent directories side-by-side with full drag-and-drop and clipboard synchronization.
• Integrated Terminal Drawer (F12): Dropdown terminal embedded inside the window, automatically synchronized to your active directory.
• Quick Look Floating Preview (Space): Instant floating preview popup for videos, PDFs, images, and source code with syntax highlighting.
• Vim Navigation: Full keyboard navigation support (j, k, h, l, g, G, /, ., Space).
• Open With Desktop Integration: Scan and launch any installed XDG application with smart MIME type recommendations and custom commands.
• Storage & Hardware Integration: Smart partition filtering, interactive LUKS/BitLocker encrypted drive unlocking, and remote GVFS server mounts (SFTP, SMB, FTP, WebDAV).

Keyboard Shortcuts

Build & Installation

1. Install Dependencies

Arch Linux / Manjaro / EndeavourOS

sudo pacman -S --needed \
    base-devel \
    cmake \
    qt6-base \
    udisks2 \
    ffmpegthumbnailer \
    ffmpeg \
    poppler-glib

Debian / Ubuntu / Linux Mint

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
    build-essential \
    cmake \
    qt6-base-dev \
    libudisks2-dev \
    ffmpegthumbnailer \
    ffmpeg \
    poppler-utils

Fedora / RHEL

sudo dnf install -y \
    gcc-c++ \
    cmake \
    qt6-qtbase-devel \
    udisks2-devel \
    ffmpegthumbnailer \
    ffmpeg \
    poppler-utils

2. Quick Install (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/zonicisalive/BitFM.git
cd BitFM

# Run the universal installer (auto-detects dependencies and sets up Wayland portals)
./install.sh

# Or install system-wide:
# sudo ./install.sh --system

3. Manual Compilation

mkdir -p build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)
./bitfm

Configuration & Theming

1. Session Preferences

Saved automatically to ~/.config/BitFM/bitfm.conf (view modes, zoom levels, window geometry, splitters).

2. External Theme Synchronization

BitFM monitors ~/.config/BitFM/theme.conf and ~/.config/BitFM/theme.json in real time. External theme managers or scripts can write color definitions:

# ~/.config/BitFM/theme.conf
name=Custom Dynamic Theme
is_dark=true
background=#131614
surface=#1a1c1b
overlay=#282a29
hover=#333534
selection=#749d8a
border=#434844
accent=#a5d0bb
foreground=#e2e2e0

Support

If BitFM saves you time, a star helps more people find it.

• Found a bug or have a feature idea? Open an issue
• Questions or feedback? support@zonicisalive.com
• More from the author: zonicisalive.com · @zonicisalive

License

Distributed under the GPL-3.0 License. See LICENSE for more information.