Documentation › Apps

Files

Aurora's file manager: places, views, tabs, copying, archives, network folders, Quick Look and more

Open Files from the dock, with Super+E, or by double-clicking a folder. From a terminal: aurora-files [FOLDER or LOCATION].

#The window

Sidebar

Home, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, Trash, plugged-in drives (click to mount, ⏏ to eject), Computer (/), Network and Connect to Server…. Right-click a place for New Tab, New Window, Open in Terminal, Copy Path and Properties.

Path bar

Click a part of the path to go there; Ctrl+L to type a location (also smb://, sftp://, trash:///).

Tabs

Ctrl+T opens one, Ctrl+W closes it, Ctrl+Tab switches.

Views

Grid or list (Ctrl+1); hidden files with Ctrl+H; search in the folder with Ctrl+F. Drag on empty space to select several.

Git

Inside a Git repository, changed files show a badge.

#The file menu (right-click)

Open, Open With…

With the default app, or choose another one.

Quick Look

A preview without opening (Space). See Quick Look.

Send to Nearby Device…

Sends with LocalSend to a phone or computer on the same network.

Summarize with Aurora, Ask Aurora About This File…

With Aurora AI on (Settings → AI → Files).

Extract Here

For archives (zip, 7z, rar, tar.gz, tar.xz, tar.zst…): unpacks next to them.

Compress…

Packs the selection into one archive: choose the name and the format — ZIP (opens everywhere, Windows included), 7-Zip (smaller) or tar.xz (smallest, keeps Linux permissions).

Resize Images…

For pictures: smaller copies at Small (854 px), Medium (1366 px), Large (1920 px) or Phone (1080 px) on the longer side, keeping the proportions; optionally as JPEG or PNG, or resizing the originals instead. Copies are named “photo (Medium).jpg”.

What's Using This?

When a file or folder is “in use” and can't be moved, deleted or ejected: lists the programs of yours that have it (or anything in the folder) open, with End Task for each and End All.

Copy Path

Copies the full paths of the selection, one per line (Ctrl+Shift+C).

Cut, Copy, Duplicate, Rename…

Pasting shows progress, can be cancelled, and offers to retry if something fails.

Rename Multiple…

For several files: replace a piece of text in all their names at once. No file is ever overwritten.

Compare Folders

For two folders: what is only in one, and what differs.

SHA-256 Checksums

Computes them in the background, to check a download.

Move to Trash, Properties

Properties shows size, type, dates, location and permissions.

On empty space: New Folder…, New File… (from templates in ~/Templates), Paste, Select All, Open in Terminal, Properties.

Undo and Redo (Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Shift+Z) work for moves, renames, copies and moving to the Trash.

#Trash

Items moved to the Trash can be restored to where they were (Restore) or deleted for good (Delete Permanently, or Shift+Delete without the Trash). Empty Trash deletes everything in it. Storage Sense can empty old items by itself (Storage).

#Network folders

Network in the sidebar lists computers and NAS boxes that share folders on your network that announce themselves (most NAS boxes, Macs and Linux computers do). Recent Windows versions don't: open them with Connect to Server… and their address. Connect to Server… opens any address:

When a password is needed, Files asks, and can remember it in your keyring. Connected servers appear in the sidebar with ⏏ to disconnect.

#Keyboard shortcuts in Files