Dentry

A minimal, keyboard-driven file manager for Linux built with Qt6.

Dentry — named after the Linux kernel's directory entry cache structure — is a lightweight graphical file manager designed for tiling window managers and minimal desktop environments. It focuses on clarity, speed, and a consistent dark aesthetic without unnecessary UI chrome.

Features

• Sidebar with quick-access places populated dynamically from home directory, toggleable hidden folders, Home always first, Root always last
• File list view with sortable columns: Name, Size, Type, Date Modified, Permissions
• Async file operations: Copy, Cut, Paste, Move, Delete, Rename, Create File, Create Folder
• Progress dialog with cancellation support for all file operations
• Right-click context menu with full operation support
• Toggle for hidden dot-files with visual indicator (black = off, white = on)
• Inline search with real-time filtering
• File preview panel for text and images
• Dark theme — black/white only, zone-based layout with border-radius, no external theme dependency
• Colored terminal logger with category filtering via DENTRY_DEBUG environment variable
• Full keyboard and mouse support

Technical Specifications

Property	Value
Language	C++17
UI Framework	Qt6 Widgets + Qt6 Concurrent
Build System	CMake 3.16+
License	GPLv3
Tested on	Arch Linux

Requirements

• Qt6 Base (qt6-base)
• Qt6 Concurrent (qt6-base)
• CMake 3.16 or later
• A C++17-compatible compiler (GCC 9+, Clang 10+)

Installation

Arch Linux (AUR)

yay -S dentry
# or
paru -S dentry

Arch Linux / Manjaro (manual)

sudo pacman -S qt6-base cmake base-devel

Ubuntu 22.04+ / Debian Bookworm+

sudo apt install qt6-base-dev cmake build-essential

Fedora

sudo dnf install qt6-qtbase-devel cmake gcc-c++

Building

git clone https://github.com/Hugo-Fabresse/dentry.git
cd dentry
cmake -B build
cmake --build build

The compiled binary will be located at build/dentry.

Install system-wide

sudo cmake --install build

Running

./build/dentry

Or if installed system-wide:

dentry

Debug logging

# Enable all logs
DENTRY_DEBUG=1 dentry

# Filter by category
DENTRY_DEBUG=1 QT_LOGGING_RULES="*.debug=true;Mime.debug=false;FileInfo.debug=false" dentry

Usage

Navigation

Action	Method
Open folder	Double-click or Enter
Go back	Click "←" or Backspace
Go to Home	Click "~"
Jump to a place	Click an entry in the sidebar
Sort by column	Click a column header

File Operations

Action	Method
Copy	Right-click → Copy
Cut	Right-click → Cut
Paste	Right-click → Paste
Delete	Right-click → Delete
Rename	Right-click → Rename
New file	Right-click → New File
New folder	Right-click → New Folder
Open file	Double-click (uses default app)

Search

Type in the search bar to filter the current directory in real time. The filter applies only to the current directory and clears on navigation.

Hidden Files

Click the "·" button in the toolbar to toggle visibility of dot-files. Black background = hidden files off. White background = hidden files visible. The sidebar updates accordingly.

Project Structure

dentry/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── Doxyfile
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── dentry.desktop
├── doc/
└── src/
    ├── main.cpp
    ├── app/
    │   ├── Application.h/.cpp
    │   └── Clipboard.h/.cpp
    ├── fs/
    │   ├── IFileOperation.h
    │   ├── AFileOperation.h/.cpp
    │   ├── FileInfo.h/.cpp
    │   ├── MimeResolver.h/.cpp
    │   └── operations/
    │       ├── CopyOperation.h/.cpp
    │       ├── MoveOperation.h/.cpp
    │       ├── DeleteOperation.h/.cpp
    │       ├── RenameOperation.h/.cpp
    │       ├── CreateFileOperation.h/.cpp
    │       └── CreateFolderOperation.h/.cpp
    ├── model/
    │   ├── IFileSystemModel.h
    │   ├── AFileSystemModel.h/.cpp
    │   ├── FileSystemModel.h/.cpp
    │   └── FileItem.h
    ├── ui/
    │   ├── MainWindow.h/.cpp
    │   ├── Sidebar.h/.cpp
    │   ├── FileListView.h/.cpp
    │   ├── PreviewPanel.h/.cpp
    │   ├── Toolbar.h/.cpp
    │   ├── StatusBar.h/.cpp
    │   ├── ProgressDialog.h/.cpp
    │   ├── Style.h
    │   ├── style.qss
    │   └── resources.qrc
    └── util/
        ├── Logger.h/.cpp
        ├── SizeFormatter.h/.cpp
        ├── DateFormatter.h/.cpp
        └── PermissionFormatter.h/.cpp

License

GPLv3 — see LICENSE.