AlphaA native Linux file manager, written in Rust

Every file, before
you finish typing

Install EchoFiles See how it works
to open a folder of 100,000 files
0.64s
to search a million file names
7ms
faster than Nautilus at moving 10,000 files
48×

How it works

What happens when you open a folder

Three parts of EchoFiles do the work, all of them native code: the core reads the disk, the index answers searches, the window draws the result. Point at one to look closer.

  1. 01

    The window

    Drawn on your GPU. Scroll through 100,000 rows at a steady 60 frames a second.

    60fps

  2. 02

    The index

    A million file names indexed, read straight from disk, and kept current as files change.

    185ms

  3. 03

    The core

    Rust, in parallel: 100,000 names read, sorted and given sizes and dates in about 60 ms.

    60ms

The top layer is a real-time recording of EchoFiles

Speed

100,000 files on screen in 0.64 seconds

We launched EchoFiles and Nautilus on the same folders and timed each until its listing was complete. It plays at the speed it happened; drag the playhead to look at any moment.

Opening a folder in EchoFiles and in NautilusMeasured

At 0.68 s EchoFiles shows 100,000 files. Nautilus is still loading.

EchoFiles100,000 files on screen
EchoFiles showing all 100,000 photos in Camera Archive.
Nautilusloading…
Nautilus still loading the same folder.Nautilus after it finished loading the folder.
EchoFilesready 0.64 s
Nautilusready 10.79 s
Open a project folder
564 ms1.63 s
2.9×
Open 10,000 files
575 ms1.48 s
2.6×
Open 100,000 files
638 ms10.8 s
17×
Memory, 100,000 files
221 MB416 MB
1.9×
First launch to first search
290 ms
Search a million names
7.3 ms
Full performance report

File work

Move 10,000 photos in 0.62 seconds

EchoFiles plans a whole batch before it starts, runs it in one pass, and keeps it undoable. These are the measured times; press the button to watch the EchoFiles side.

10,000 files, EchoFiles and NautilusMeasured
EchoFiles in dual pane, with a folder of invoices on the left and wallpapers on the right.

Ready10,000 selected

From the left pane into the right one

EchoFiles623 ms
Nautilus29.9 s

48× faster to move the same 10,000 files.

The everyday parts

Inside EchoFilesReal screenshots
EchoFiles in dual pane: invoices listed on the left, wallpapers as a grid on the right.

Screenshots of EchoFiles, not mock-ups

ef, ships with EchoFiles

Give your coding agent a file index

ef is EchoFiles’ search on the command line, built for agents first: answers in milliseconds, JSON that fits a context window, and a reason when a file is missing.

“invoice 2025 northwind” across 101,578 files, timed as a whole command

ef against fd
4.1 ms118 ms
29×
ef against find
4.1 ms123 ms
30×
Answers from memoryThe running app keeps the index warm, so ef never walks the disk.ef find report
A drop-in for fdfd’s flags and fd’s output, so scripts and agent habits keep working.ef fd -e pdf northwind
Says why a file is missingNames the ignore rule or setting that hides it.ef why ~/Projects/atlas-web/node_modules/react/index.js
Suggests what you meantA typo comes back with the closest names, not an empty result.ef find invoce
Fits a context windowJSON trimmed to a token budget, with the rest summarised by folder.ef find invoice --json --budget 300
Newest first when it mattersSort by date, size or name; JSON carries size and modified time.ef find tax --sort modified -n 3

Turn it on in EchoFiles → Settings → AI agents. The same switch adds the agent skill, so your coding agent reaches for ef instead of find. Nothing leaves the machine.

EchoConnect for Android

Your phone, inside the file manager

EchoConnect is EchoFiles’ Android companion. Pair once, and the phone’s files, photos, clipboard, notifications and calls belong to your laptop. No account, no cloud in between.

EchoFiles on the laptop, EchoConnect on the phonePre-release

Pair. Scan the code once. The laptop’s certificate is pinned, so no other machine can pose as it.

Better than KDE Connect, because it is part of EchoFiles.

KDE Connect bolts a phone onto any desktop. EchoConnect is built for one file manager, so the phone gets the same speed, search and look as everything else in it.

KDE ConnectEchoConnect
Where the phone livesA separate app and tray icon. Files open through a mount.A place in the EchoFiles sidebar, right next to your folders.
Opening a phone folderThrough the desktop’s SSH mount, which rejects the phone whenever its key changes.Its own transport, built into EchoFiles. Big folders stream in: 250 names at once, then 1,000 at a time, read on 8 threads.
ThumbnailsMade on the laptop by pulling each photo over Wi-Fi.Android’s own cached thumbnails. The full photo stays on the phone until you open it.
SearchPhone files aren’t in your file search.Phone file names join the same index, so search and ef find them.
CallsShows who is calling and pauses your music.Answer on the laptop, with its speakers and mic, over Bluetooth.
Who can connectAny KDE Connect client on the network can ask to pair.Only EchoConnect, after scanning a code that pins your laptop’s certificate.
How it looksIts own design, apart from your desktop.EchoFiles’ design system, in your laptop’s current theme.

Scan to put EchoConnect on your phone

Version 0.0.1, a pre-release for Android 10 and newer. Some features are still being finished.

Download the APK · 52 MB

SHA256SUMS · Release notes

Install

Install EchoFiles

EchoFiles is in alpha. Direct downloads coming soon. For now, install from source. It builds for your user, with no sudo.

EchoFiles Alpha, from sourceArch Linux and Omarchy
  1. 1
    Get the source
    git clone https://github.com/adityavardhansharma/EchoFiles_Linux.git && cd EchoFiles_Linux
  2. 2
    Install the build tools
    omarchy pkg add rust pkgconf fontconfig libxkbcommon wayland libx11 libxcursor libxi libxrandr vulkan-icd-loader
  3. 3
    Build and install it
    bash scripts/install.sh

Free and open source under GPL-3.0. Read every line on GitHub.

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