FileCat v1.0.0-preview.9 (unsigned preview)

FileCat 1.0.0-preview.9

An unsigned preview for file work and inspection on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS. This is a prerelease for evaluation, not the stable 1.0.0 release.

What changed since preview.8

• Hear about a newer release after startup. FileCat checks its published GitHub releases in the background at most once every 24 hours and offers a newer release after the main window opens. The dialog can open that release page, defer the offer, or skip that exact version. A later version can still be offered. Disable automatic checks in Settings → Privacy; Help → Check for updates remains an explicit check. FileCat does not download or install updates.
• Keep picture thumbnails steady while browsing. The Picture grid retains unchanged thumbnails across redraws and folder refreshes, including when more than 64 tiles are visible. It keeps locally available photos warm while scrolling through an album, with visible tiles protected and offscreen answers trimmed to a 512-entry and 96-MiB cache. Changed pictures request a fresh thumbnail. OneDrive files marked Online only remain listed with Open to download instead of triggering background content reads.
• Correct shipped owner metadata. The license, package metadata and related notices identify the repository maintainer consistently.

The startup offer was exercised on a disposable Windows VM against the published preview.8 release, including skip, opt-out and manual-check behavior. The Picture-grid changes have focused rendering and native checks on Windows and macOS. These results and source CI do not establish installed stable-candidate qualification. The release evidence index records their scope and remaining checks.

Choose a package

System	Packages	Notes
Windows 11 x64	Setup, self-contained portable ZIP, framework-dependent ZIP	The setup includes the administrator-helper route. The framework-dependent ZIP needs the matching .NET desktop runtime and has no helper. Setup filenames omit preview.9; the app reports the preview version.
Windows 11 ARM64	Native ARM64 setup and ZIPs	Hosted ARM64 build, tests and package start are required for this preview. Physical ARM64 hardware is not a qualified stable tier. Setup filenames likewise omit preview.9.
Ubuntu 24.04/26.04 x64 with GNOME	.deb, AppImage, portable .tar.gz	Other distributions and desktops are outside this preview's claimed support.
macOS 26+ on Apple silicon	.app ZIP	Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. On first start, use Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security and confirm.

See the capability matrix for actions that differ by platform and location.

Before working on important data

• Keep a separate backup. Recovery scans request read-only source access, but a mounted operating system can still change its own filesystem metadata. Recover to another physical disk; use a disk image or storage-level read-only protection when source bytes must stay unchanged. Ext4 and APFS undelete are not supported.
• Remote and device locations do not all have Recycle Bin or Trash support. Review the displayed delete mode and result. Replace guarantees also vary by provider.
• Treat unfamiliar files as untrusted. Page preview disables page scripts and network requests. Picture and PDF workers have platform-specific restrictions, but process separation is not complete containment for every parser and helper.
• Windows packages have no trusted release signature. Windows may warn about or block an unknown unsigned app. The macOS bundle is ad-hoc signed and needs the first-start step above. FileCat's update check opens the release page only and does not download or install a new build. Report suspected security issues through private vulnerability reporting.

Verify the downloads

The release contains a *-assets.json manifest for each platform, with the SHA-256 and byte size of its packages, SBOMs and the Linux AppImage runtime source bundle. Match a downloaded file to its platform manifest and the exact hosted inventory.

The three hosted manifests were separately downloaded and found byte-identical
to their producer manifests:

Manifest	SHA-256
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.9-windows-assets.json	5bea418b30bdb3a9a9931648f3be141d485e0ba9e26cfc426dee13b1c9ce1203
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.9-linux-assets.json	f6bef76eaee338c7b3665539445d3dd5c1ec9de0700f983041d7dfbdbdbcd411
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.9-macos-assets.json	6390aec22339a154d33e748704080389171f074b34edaa5e6192b520c8f73e4a

The immutable product source is b333eebfa0b0745bc632c2b339330b2d454131c7.
All five tagged source jobs and three package jobs passed; the 20 tagged test
receipts match the exact-source main run at 41,511 passed, 1,574 skipped and
zero failed. The owner-reviewed private draft's 24 hosted assets match the
producer manifests and six upload receipts. This remains an unsigned
prerelease. Stable 1.0.0 remains NO-GO.

FileCat v1.0.0-preview.8 (unsigned preview)

FileCat 1.0.0-preview.8

An unsigned preview for file work and inspection on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS. This is a prerelease for evaluation, not the stable 1.0.0 release.

What changed since preview.7

• Choose another Analyze folder field without restarting. Invoking View → Analyze folder opens the field chooser every time. It shows the current sort, lets Escape leave that sort alone, and keeps the sort direction when you repeat the same field. Choosing a different field starts its analysis.
• Browse pictures in one viewer. When you open a picture from a panel, Space and Backspace move through supported pictures in that tab's visible folder order. Navigation stops at either end. If the source tab leaves the folder or hides the current picture, the viewer stops browsing that sequence. A picture that fails to open leaves the last good picture in place.
• Show pictures in the file panel. View → Show pictures changes the active tab to a thumbnail grid; View → Hide pictures returns it to the file list. The grid still includes folders and other files, keeps the tab's sorting, filtering, marks and file actions, and adapts to narrower panels. Visible supported pictures receive bounded background thumbnails; files without a usable thumbnail remain visible with an icon.

The automatic picture path supports PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, BMP and ICO content. Other formats, including HEIC, remain ordinary files. Files over 64 MiB are not automatically decoded for the grid. These changes have source-level, focused native and hosted CI checks; they do not establish installed stable-candidate qualification. The release evidence index records their scope and remaining checks.

Choose a package

System	Packages	Notes
Windows 11 x64	Setup, self-contained portable ZIP, framework-dependent ZIP	The setup includes the administrator-helper route. The framework-dependent ZIP needs the matching .NET desktop runtime and has no helper. Setup filenames omit preview.8; the app reports the preview version.
Windows 11 ARM64	Native ARM64 setup and ZIPs	Hosted ARM64 build, tests and package start are required for this preview. Physical ARM64 hardware is not a qualified stable tier. Setup filenames likewise omit preview.8.
Ubuntu 24.04/26.04 x64 with GNOME	.deb, AppImage, portable .tar.gz	Other distributions and desktops are outside this preview's claimed support.
macOS 26+ on Apple silicon	.app ZIP	Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. On first start, use Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security and confirm.

See the capability matrix for actions that differ by platform and location.

Before working on important data

• Keep a separate backup. Recovery scans request read-only source access, but a mounted operating system can still change its own filesystem metadata. Recover to another physical disk; use a disk image or storage-level read-only protection when source bytes must stay unchanged. Ext4 and APFS undelete are not supported.
• Remote and device locations do not all have Recycle Bin or Trash support. Review the displayed delete mode and result. Replace guarantees also vary by provider.
• Treat unfamiliar files as untrusted. Page preview disables page scripts and network requests. Picture and PDF workers have platform-specific restrictions, but process separation is not complete containment for every parser and helper.
• Windows packages have no trusted release signature. Windows may warn about or block an unknown unsigned app. The macOS bundle is ad-hoc signed and needs the first-start step above. There is no automatic updater. Report suspected security issues through private vulnerability reporting.

Verify the downloads

The release contains a *-assets.json manifest for each platform, with the SHA-256 and byte size of its packages, SBOMs and the Linux AppImage runtime source bundle. Match a downloaded file to its platform manifest and the exact hosted inventory. The three hosted manifests were separately downloaded and rehashed:

Manifest	SHA-256
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.8-windows-assets.json	27a4fd792d55b53ad6578816606a5542ef66e23b6123b48a493022de905e74a7
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.8-linux-assets.json	8bb2b1255ac6a88f7124e50e78dff9d661e7da31556fce8f63d424df431c9b57
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.8-macos-assets.json	e76774ad82699d35150e6ee24b69888be6e7e38514b27704f45590c0bb7c5f3c

The immutable product source is 0ca7a7a4cac065122bc41f85e6c84e6dbbb01e52.
All five tagged source jobs and three package jobs passed; the 20 test receipts
match the exact-source main run at 41,497 passed, 1,572 skipped and zero failed.
The owner-reviewed private draft's 24 hosted assets match the producer manifests
and six upload receipts. This remains an unsigned prerelease. Stable 1.0.0
remains NO-GO.

FileCat v1.0.0-preview.7 (unsigned preview)

FileCat 1.0.0-preview.7

An unsigned preview for file work and inspection on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS. This is a prerelease for evaluation, not the stable 1.0.0 release.

What changed since preview.6

• Keep Settings drafts under your control. Settings stays in place as you switch tabs. Clicking outside it leaves the draft open; Escape and the title close button ask before discarding actual edits. An untouched or reverted draft closes directly. Cancel still discards changes, and invalid names stay visible for correction.
• Find and edit settings more easily. Search starts focused, finds tab destinations and avoids offering fields hidden in a collapsed advanced editor. A search with no matches keeps Enter from accepting Settings. New item names are ready for replacement, and the Keyboard shortcut chooser appears before the raw bindings editor, even in a short window.
• Keep compact dialogs readable. About, Advanced Find, Apply command, Pack, Create link and new connection adapt their fields to narrow windows. Related size, date, server and action controls stay together; long commands remain editable inside their fields.
• Prevent accidental Ignored Folders changes. Pressing Enter in an empty Add field leaves the editor open. Add and Remove are enabled only when they can act.
• Polish the macOS panel. The TARGET badge text is centered within its chip.

These changes have source-level and focused native checks; they do not establish installed stable-candidate qualification. The release evidence index records their scope and remaining checks.

Choose a package

System	Packages	Notes
Windows 11 x64	Setup, self-contained portable ZIP, framework-dependent ZIP	The setup includes the administrator-helper route. The framework-dependent ZIP needs the matching .NET desktop runtime and has no helper. Setup filenames omit preview.7; the app reports the preview version.
Windows 11 ARM64	Native ARM64 setup and ZIPs	Hosted ARM64 build, tests and package start are required for this preview. Physical ARM64 hardware is not a qualified stable tier. Setup filenames likewise omit preview.7.
Ubuntu 24.04/26.04 x64 with GNOME	.deb, AppImage, portable .tar.gz	Other distributions and desktops are outside this preview's claimed support.
macOS 26+ on Apple silicon	.app ZIP	Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. On first start, use Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security and confirm.

See the capability matrix for actions that differ by platform and location.

Before working on important data

• Keep a separate backup. Recovery scans request read-only source access, but a mounted operating system can still change its own filesystem metadata. Recover to another physical disk; use a disk image or storage-level read-only protection when source bytes must stay unchanged. Ext4 and APFS undelete are not supported.
• Remote and device locations do not all have Recycle Bin or Trash support. Review the displayed delete mode and result. Replace guarantees also vary by provider.
• Treat unfamiliar files as untrusted. Page preview disables page scripts and network requests. Picture and PDF workers have platform-specific restrictions, but process separation is not complete containment for every parser and helper.
• Windows packages have no trusted release signature. Windows may warn about or block an unknown unsigned app. The macOS bundle is ad-hoc signed and needs the first-start step above. There is no automatic updater. Report suspected security issues through private vulnerability reporting.

Verify the downloads

The release contains a *-assets.json manifest for each platform, with the SHA-256 and byte size of its packages, SBOMs and the Linux AppImage runtime source bundle. Match a downloaded file to its platform manifest and the exact hosted inventory. The three hosted manifests were separately downloaded and rehashed:

Manifest	SHA-256
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.7-windows-assets.json	5f375b94e2c9b5064f4f8d5f48860ab7f6aef7ae9d2f819a7fdc91aeefce2b9f
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.7-linux-assets.json	5487efb39bc87b5f47adafe094eb4c7cbadbf18b98d334b6843826c4d9dabb67
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.7-macos-assets.json	e6da69d7e11330c5a4eb9848f52a430564a1d58fd7b6ea59961d411f59208497

The immutable product source is 8008a3a8523faf830d8ebaa4399de8d2d2563d6a. All five tagged source jobs and three package jobs passed; the owner-reviewed private draft's 24 hosted assets match the producer manifests and upload receipts. This remains an unsigned prerelease. Stable 1.0.0 remains NO-GO.

FileCat v1.0.0-preview.6 (unsigned preview)

FileCat 1.0.0-preview.6

An unsigned preview for file work and inspection on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS. This is a prerelease for evaluation, not the stable 1.0.0 release.

What changed since preview.5

• Preview PDF pages in FileCat. F3 now shows bounded PDF page images with page navigation and document Info. Damaged or encrypted files fall back to a clear error or byte view.
• Keep more of what a copy means. Mac file and folder copies preserve supported resource forks, extended attributes and access-control lists, or refuse a transfer they cannot complete safely. Linux copies preserve POSIX access and default ACLs. Sparse local copies preserve holes on the checked Ubuntu and Windows paths, reducing avoidable disk allocation. Mac sparse-hole preservation remains unqualified.
• Avoid acting on the wrong Unix file. FileCat refuses ambiguous Unix filenames whose invalid byte sequences collapse to the same displayed name. This conservative guard can also refuse a genuine name containing the replacement character; rename it with a byte-aware tool before using it in FileCat.
• Make Windows file actions reliable. Right-click Properties opens FileCat's owned sheet; Send to compressed folder creates a verified ZIP; Copy and Cut publish the selected file paths; Share in Explorer hands off to the Windows Share UI. Cross-panel drags can now review FTPS transfers, Registry export or copy, and whole-drive contents copy. Two separate clicks on a filename start inline rename, while a double-click still opens it.
• Make navigation and review clearer. Find states its archive-content limit; Flat View refreshes when its recursive search completes; hidden-item counts and saved column profiles are visible. Command search and comparison/synchronization rows have readable names for assistive technology, and shortcut editing has a direct search route.
• Improve platform details. Mac Delete and Undo say Trash, Properties opens a FileCat filesystem record, Finder tags display their names, and a new text file opens with an available editor. Windows case-sensitive Git badges stay distinct. Slow SFTP host-key approval can recover without a manual refresh. The Steampunk header has connected glass with a softer edge blend.

The release evidence index records bounded source and native checks for these changes. The preview does not establish signed-package or installed stable-candidate qualification.

Choose a package

System	Packages	Notes
Windows 11 x64	Setup, self-contained portable ZIP, framework-dependent ZIP	The setup includes the administrator-helper route. The framework-dependent ZIP needs the matching .NET desktop runtime and has no helper. Setup filenames omit preview.6; the app reports the preview version.
Windows 11 ARM64	Native ARM64 setup and ZIPs	Hosted ARM64 build, tests and package start are required for this preview. Physical ARM64 hardware is not a qualified stable tier. Setup filenames likewise omit preview.6.
Ubuntu 24.04/26.04 x64 with GNOME	.deb, AppImage, portable .tar.gz	Other distributions and desktops are outside this preview's claimed support.
macOS 26+ on Apple silicon	.app ZIP	Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. On first start, use Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security and confirm.

See the capability matrix for actions that differ by platform and location.

Before working on important data

• Keep a separate backup. Recovery scans request read-only source access, but a mounted operating system can still change its own filesystem metadata. Recover to another physical disk; use a disk image or storage-level read-only protection when source bytes must stay unchanged. Ext4 and APFS undelete are not supported.
• Remote and device locations do not all have Recycle Bin or Trash support. Review the displayed delete mode and result. Replace guarantees also vary by provider.
• Treat unfamiliar files as untrusted. Page preview disables page scripts and network requests. Picture and PDF workers have platform-specific restrictions, but process separation is not complete containment for every parser and helper.
• Windows packages have no trusted release signature. Windows may warn about or block an unknown unsigned app. The macOS bundle is ad-hoc signed and needs the first-start step above. There is no automatic updater. Report suspected security issues through private vulnerability reporting.

Verify the downloads

The release contains a *-assets.json manifest for each platform, with the SHA-256 and byte size of its packages, SBOMs and the Linux AppImage runtime source bundle. Match a downloaded file to its platform manifest and the exact hosted inventory. The three hosted manifests were separately downloaded and rehashed:

Manifest	SHA-256
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.6-windows-assets.json	7064b573a265adb0e211fc7543c0ef3acb62223ae8c9f7596180f0c204ad52ce
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.6-linux-assets.json	04b091191208dc0e9b856f3d0045e047f02987a6e8cd4783ba8b7518fa803cdc
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.6-macos-assets.json	40fe063bd30cda7aad3ac28ef0fb10cbc819a383d8a1399a4c4b7801f31af6b2

The immutable source is 014a6472eff5dc45e23a8069849102b22291634f. All five tagged source jobs and three package jobs passed, and the private draft's 24 hosted assets match the producer manifests and upload receipts. This remains an unsigned prerelease. Stable 1.0.0 remains NO-GO.

FileCat v1.0.0-preview.5 (unsigned preview)

FileCat 1.0.0-preview.5

An unsigned preview for everyday file work and deeper inspection on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS. This is a prerelease for evaluation, not the stable 1.0.0 release.

What changed since preview.4

• Find newer previews from the app. A preview build's explicit update check now considers published GitHub prereleases. It still ignores drafts, does not download or install an update, and asks before opening the release page. Stable builds continue to use the stable-release channel.
• Find macOS files by the name you see. Panel filters, Find files and mask-based selection now match equivalent composed and decomposed Unicode spellings. FileCat keeps the original filename and bytes; ASCII matching and explicit regular-expression behavior are unchanged.

The first change corrects a preview.4 update check that said no release was available even while preview.4 was public. The second corrects an owned Mac filename that disappeared under the visually identical typed filter. Both have bounded before/after and native source-build evidence in the release evidence index. They do not claim that a signed or installed 1.0.0 candidate has qualified.

Choose a package

System	Packages	Notes
Windows 11 x64	Setup, self-contained portable ZIP, framework-dependent ZIP	The setup includes the administrator-helper route. The framework-dependent ZIP needs the matching .NET desktop runtime and has no helper. Setup filenames omit preview.5; the app reports the preview version.
Windows 11 ARM64	Native ARM64 setup and ZIPs	Hosted ARM64 build, tests and package start are required for this preview. Physical ARM64 hardware is not a qualified stable tier. Setup filenames likewise omit preview.5.
Ubuntu 24.04/26.04 x64 with GNOME	.deb, AppImage, portable .tar.gz	Other distributions and desktops are outside this preview's claimed support.
macOS 26+ on Apple silicon	.app ZIP	Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. On first start, use Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security and confirm.

See the capability matrix for actions that differ by platform and location.

Before working on important data

• Keep a separate backup. Recovery scans request read-only source access, but a mounted operating system can still change its own filesystem metadata. Recover to another physical disk; use a disk image or storage-level read-only protection when source bytes must stay unchanged. Ext4 and APFS undelete are not supported.
• Remote and device locations do not all have Recycle Bin or Trash support. Review the displayed delete mode and result. Replace guarantees also vary by provider.
• Treat unfamiliar files as untrusted. Page preview disables page scripts and network requests. Picture workers have platform-specific restrictions, but process separation is not complete containment for every parser and helper.
• Windows packages have no trusted release signature. Windows may warn about or block an unknown unsigned app. The macOS bundle is ad-hoc signed and needs the first-start step above. There is no automatic updater. Report suspected security issues through private vulnerability reporting.

Verify the downloads

The release contains a *-assets.json manifest for each platform, with the SHA-256 and byte size of its packages, SBOMs and the Linux AppImage runtime source bundle. Match a downloaded file to its platform manifest and the exact hosted inventory. The three hosted manifests were independently downloaded and rehashed:

Manifest	SHA-256
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.5-windows-assets.json	9df0a14f4810888aeb9282cc8195accf6936551fea9d41056f376477a714ea04
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.5-linux-assets.json	eac464c4cffa1d47a969ccda741877a1574dbf7ac959d7e2c2924af1a2ec6d75
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.5-macos-assets.json	bf175b45babef5e9af71cf90ac53b5e2d0167b83c0f02d5dc0c286e413d65a51

The immutable preview source is 8adaf1f17d2120a9c3ceb4c596b6b98354e4d3cc. All five tagged source jobs and three package jobs passed; this is an unsigned prerelease, not the stable 1.0.0 candidate. Stable 1.0.0 remains NO-GO.

FileCat v1.0.0-preview.4 (unsigned preview)

FileCat 1.0.0-preview.4

An unsigned preview for everyday file work and deeper inspection on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS. This is a prerelease for evaluation, not the stable 1.0.0 release.

What changed since preview.3

• Paste files and nested folders copied from a ZIP opened in Windows Explorer into a FileCat directory, using bounded virtual-file staging and FileCat's Copy job.
• Use Markdown links to nearby files; a link that leaves the current document folder opens a visible resolved-path review before FileCat follows it.
• Search while reading: the viewer responds to typing, shows match feedback, wraps with a brief notice, and lets you close Find. Refresh keeps the reading position where possible and rechecks an open query against the new contents.
• Read recent Operations first in a drawer that uses less height and keeps details reachable. Transfer speed history is a compact disclosure within the report; pausing records a zero rate.
• In the command line, insert the focused quoted filename at the caret, return to an unfinished draft after browsing history, and find successful external-command output in the operation report.
• Navigate out of a denied folder with .., and use the parent row's navigation-only context menu. A Find result whose source changed before transfer review is refused with a re-search instruction.

These changes have bounded source and native checks in the release evidence index. They are not a claim that a signed or installed 1.0.0 candidate has qualified.

Choose a package

System	Packages	Notes
Windows 11 x64	Setup, self-contained portable ZIP, framework-dependent ZIP	The setup includes the administrator-helper route. The framework-dependent ZIP needs the matching .NET desktop runtime and has no helper. Setup filenames omit preview.4; the app reports the preview version.
Windows 11 ARM64	Native ARM64 setup and ZIPs	Hosted ARM64 build, tests and package start are required for this preview. Physical ARM64 hardware is not a qualified stable tier. Setup filenames likewise omit preview.4.
Ubuntu 24.04/26.04 x64 with GNOME	.deb, AppImage, portable .tar.gz	Other distributions and desktops are outside this preview's claimed support.
macOS 26+ on Apple silicon	.app ZIP	Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. On first start, use Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security and confirm.

See the capability matrix for actions that differ by platform and location.

Before working on important data

• Keep a separate backup. Recovery scans request read-only source access, but a mounted operating system can still change its own filesystem metadata. Recover to another physical disk; use a disk image or storage-level read-only protection when source bytes must stay unchanged. Ext4 and APFS undelete are not supported.
• Remote and device locations do not all have Recycle Bin or Trash support. Review the displayed delete mode and result. Replace guarantees also vary by provider.
• Treat unfamiliar files as untrusted. Page preview disables page scripts and network requests. Picture workers have platform-specific restrictions, but process separation is not complete containment for every parser and helper.
• Windows packages have no trusted release signature. Windows may warn about or block an unknown unsigned app. The macOS bundle is ad-hoc signed and needs the first-start step above. There is no automatic updater. Report suspected security issues through private vulnerability reporting.

Verify the downloads

The release contains a *-assets.json manifest for each platform, with the SHA-256 and byte size of its packages, SBOMs and the Linux AppImage runtime source bundle. Match a downloaded file to the manifest for its platform and to the exact hosted inventory. The three hosted manifests were independently downloaded and rehashed:

Manifest	SHA-256
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.4-windows-assets.json	5eda29c52938872a1e8b488dde09a8555a0a31afcea28b75d18d5c9849c2470e
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.4-linux-assets.json	f7650a60fd41747f65a742c589216c95a08721512adab2752a1aa0ee770685f9
FileCat-1.0.0-preview.4-macos-assets.json	7f9dcf1c67256924c1fc45275ca422b7a7166deeb4e95e6e84c8c0cdb619eae7

The immutable preview source is c08f8c52bfdcade91ee6ad438ac89ce8d565f5b0. The preview is unsigned and is not the stable 1.0.0 candidate.