Ultimate File Manager Pro

The Ultimate Dual-Pane File Manager for Android Mobile, Android TV, and Windows PC.

• Overview
• Screenshots
• Download Releases
• Features
• FOSS Edition vs. Store Edition
• App Size & Storage Footprint
• Windows Companion App
• Building the Android App
• AI Usage & Quality Assurance
• Community & Support
• License

Ultimate File Manager Pro (UFM) is a high-performance, feature-packed dual-pane file manager designed for power users across Android Mobile, Android TV / Fire TV, and Windows PC. Built with privacy, efficiency, and speed in mind, UFM allows seamless side-by-side file operations, LAN auto-discovery, remote PC pairing, and multi-protocol network storage access.

This repository contains the official Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) edition of UFM.

Pre-compiled production binaries for all supported platforms are published on every GitHub Release.

• ⚡ Dual-Pane Efficiency: Side-by-side file viewing and management for effortless drag, drop, copy, and move operations.
• 🖥️ Native Windows PC Companion: Connect your PC and Android device over local Wi-Fi with PIN authentication and TLS certificate pinning—no cloud required.
• 🚀 1-Click APK Sideloading: Drag-and-drop .apk or .xapk files onto the PC Companion zone to install them remotely on your TV or phone.
• ☁️ Self-Hosted Network Storage: Full integration with SMB, SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, and AWS S3.
• 🛡️ 100% Privacy & FOSS: Free of closed-source SDKs, Google tracking services, and invasive analytics.
• 📺 Android TV Native Interface: Full D-pad navigation, Leanback UI design, and quick action bars tailored for big-screen remotes.

Main screen	Network & cloud	Storage access

🔐 When you first set up UFM you choose how much storage it can reach: grant access to the specific folders you select, or allow full access to all files on your device. No root required.

Big-screen browser

To comply with open-source software guidelines and maximize privacy, the FOSS build removes all proprietary analytics and store dependencies:

The standalone FOSS release is packaged as a universal, all-in-one APK (~240 MB) that includes native support for all 4 major Android CPU architectures (ARM64, ARMv7, x86_64, and x86). When installed on a device, only the device's specific architecture is used, resulting in an installed device footprint of ~100–185 MB.

Instead of a barebones file explorer that offloads file operations to external cloud servers or requires 3rd-party companion apps, UFM is a complete, 100% offline, privacy-first standalone workstation:

📖 For a detailed non-technical and technical cross-architecture breakdown, see size.md.

UFM includes a native Windows desktop companion built with Rust and Tauri for ultra-low resource usage and instant performance.

cd UFM-Windows
npm install
npm run tauri dev      # Development mode
npm run tauri build    # Production build (.exe & .msi)

Detailed Windows documentation can be found at UFM-Windows/README.md.

To compile UFM from source using Gradle:

# Android Mobile
./gradlew assembleMobileFossDebug

# Android TV
./gradlew assembleTvFossDebug

# Android Mobile Release
./gradlew assembleMobileFossRelease

# Android TV Release
./gradlew assembleTvFossRelease

Note: Signed release packages require configured signing keys in app/build.gradle.kts or apksigner.

Ultimate File Manager Pro maintains a transparent and disciplined approach to software development. While artificial intelligence is leveraged to accelerate development workflows, human oversight, rigorous engineering, and uncompromising security standards govern every single commit.

AI tooling accounts for approximately 20% of the project's overall codebase, focused primarily on:

• UX/UI Design & Ergonomics: Designing modern layout structures, theme palettes (including high-contrast and colorblind modes), responsive dual-pane split views, and TV Leanback UI cards.
• UI Prototyping & Styling: Refining CSS/Tauri styles for the Windows companion and XML layouts for Android mobile and TV.
• Micro-Interactions & Polish: Scaffolding visual transitions, focus states, and user feedback cues.

Every contribution—whether AI-assisted or human-written—must advance through four mandatory validation stages before it can be merged or committed to the repository:

┌────────────────────────┐
│  AI / Developer Draft  │
└───────────┬────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Code Inspection     │ ──► Manual review, static analysis & architectural validation
└───────────┬────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌────────────────────────┐
│ 2. Quality Assurance   │ ──► Automated unit tests, syntax linters & layout regression
└───────────┬────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌────────────────────────┐
│ 3. User Acceptance     │ ──► Real-device testing (Phone, Tablet, TV remote, PC)
└───────────┬────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Security Audit      │ ──► Zero-telemetry audit, scoped storage, R8 rules & pre-commit gate
└───────────┬────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌────────────────────────┐
│   Committed to Repo    │
└────────────────────────┘

• Full Source Inspection: Every generated line or suggestion is critically audited line-by-line by human maintainers before entering the codebase.
• Architectural Conformance: Code must adhere strictly to repository patterns, including dual-pane coordination, clean separation of concerns, and Kotlin/Rust best practices.
• Anti-Bloat & Dependency Minimization: Generated code is stripped of unnecessary abstractions, unused dependencies, or boilerplate that could inflate APK/binary size or degrade runtime performance.

• Automated Test Execution: All existing unit and integration tests (such as transfer preflight checks, conflict resolution, and state engines) are run to verify zero regressions.
• Cross-Form-Factor Consistency: Layouts are validated across dynamic aspect ratios, split-screen multi-window modes, and orientations (portrait and landscape).
• TV D-Pad Focus Validation: Android TV interfaces undergo specialized focus-engine verification to ensure smooth 5-way D-pad navigation without dead zones or focus traps.

• Physical Hardware Testing: Builds are deployed and tested on physical hardware—including Android smartphones, tablets, Android TV / Fire TV streaming sticks/boxes, and Windows 10/11 desktops.
• Real-World File Workflows: Core file operations are tested under actual operating conditions: handling thousands of files, large multi-gigabyte transfers over local Wi-Fi, background task persistence, and network disconnect/resume scenarios.
• Touch & Remote Ergonomics: Real-world usability checks ensure touch targets meet accessibility standards on mobile, while remote navigation feels natural and fast on TV screens.

• Zero-Telemetry & Privacy Enforcement: The FOSS build is verified to ensure zero analytics SDKs, trackers, third-party network pings, or background data collection are present.
• Least-Privilege Scoped Storage: Permissions are audited to guarantee UFM only requests the exact Android permissions required for user-selected storage access.
• Cryptographic & Network Safety: TLS certificate pinning and PIN authentication logic for the Windows companion app are audited for tamper resistance.
• R8 / ProGuard Optimization Audits: Custom keep rules are reviewed to prevent reflection vulnerabilities and maintain >80% optimization, obfuscation, and shrinking scores without leaking symbols.
• Commit Gate Sign-Off: Only after passing all four verification levels is code authorized to be committed to the repository.

Support project development, ask questions, or connect with the community:

• 🌐 Website: www.kilowatch.co.za
• 💖 GitHub Sponsors: Sponsor @Kilowatch
• 💬 XDA Developers Forum: Ultimate File Manager Pro on XDA
• Reddit Community: r/UFManagerPro

Ultimate File Manager Pro is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See the LICENSE file for complete details.