Material Files is the best, IMO.
this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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Privacy
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I prefer Solid Explorer but sadly it's not FOSS. 2 things are missing:
- It doesn't have multiple page support. Solid has 2 pages and I use one for my phone storage and one for my server
- You can't change the way the folders are displayed, a 2 grid view is kinda ugly for me and I prefer a smaller view
another vote for material files. it's the only good one that can access smb shares. the only alternative I found was ghost commander and it's just absolutely horrible to use
I haven't found a perfect Foss file explorer, so I use 2, material files and ghost commander.
Material files
Pros:
It shows the disks sizes
Can deal with compressed files (zip, 7zip, tar)
Multiple windows support
Cons:
You need to reset the app to update disk size and to show new ones
Images are cropped
Multiple windows are worst and not as intuitive as multiple panels
It have issues when trying to open files with other apps, particularly librera.
Ghost Commander
Pros:
Many personalization options
Dual panel
Light weight and fast
Cons:
Can't deal with 7zip files
It's only view mode is list view
Don't show disks available space
One Foss app many people don't know about that is worth mentioning is
Index which try to bring a linux desktop file manager to android.
Have you tried mixplorer?
Yes, but is not Foss.
I also found it was connecting to google https://lemmy.today/post/9077336/7415361
Shit. I will cut off it's internet access then. Maybe it's copium but mixplorer is very feature rich and yeah it's not FOSS and that's OK I guess
It's no massively strong recommendation of mine, but File Explorer has been decent. Talk about a name, though, haha.
Gonna give it a try thanks
Solid Explorer
Mixplorer is free on XDA, and is by far the best, most complete and most modular there is.
You can purchase the silver version on Google play to support the dev (no additional features).
It handles browsing networked resources incredibly smoothly
Can you kindly share links for it
https://xdaforums.com/t/app-2-2-mixplorer-v6-x-released-fully-featured-file-manager.1523691/
Apks folder link is in the 2nd or 3rd comment. It's been around since 2011!
Thank you
Fossify Filemanager, simple and open source. https://f-droid.org/packages/org.fossify.filemanager/
Great but Doesn't support what I need
What are your requirements?
Compressed files management (7zip mostly) and ways to access obb and data folder in Android
Xplore but it's not foss.
Thanks I will check it out and yeah It doesn't have to be foss worst case I will cut off it's internet access.
Thanks but like I said material files doesn't support what I need but it's a very nicely designed app
It does support un/compressing of archives and access to any system folders, if you give it root (not possible without root for any app, except if you have a zero day exploit).
Thanks but like I said material files doesn't support what I need but it's a very nicely designed app
I did'nt read other replies 👍
Another vote for the incredible MiXplorer
I've been using Ghost Commander for years and it does everything I need, although I don't have your specific requirements so you need to check that yourself.
CX explorer but it is not FOSS.
I used this many years ago, but their privacy policy was awful. I checked it before posting and it's way better now but it's still not the best, from their Privacy page
"We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. However, we may share your information with trusted third-party service providers"
Use mixplorer if you are going to use a close source file manager, is more private with more features.
I like FX Explorer
+1 for this, I've been using it for what seems like forever now, it's been solid
It's not open-source, though, right? That's what led me to finally leave it... Incredibly powerful tool otherwise.
I don't believe so, no :/
Ghost commander