Features
FlyingFiles is a classic dual-pane file manager: the source folder in one panel, the destination in the other. Most of the features below have their own chapter in the manual.
Panels and navigation
Two panels side by side with Name, Size, Modified and Permissions columns; you can change column widths and the window split with the mouse, and the app remembers them.
Arrow-key navigation; Enter opens a folder or a file, Backspace goes back to the parent folder, Tab switches panels.
A path field where you can type any address, with a list of recently typed paths.
Buttons for drives and volumes (including USB drives and network shares), with the name, path and free space in the tooltip; refreshed every few seconds.
Buttons for your home folder, Downloads, Desktop, the root folder, syncing with the other panel (the same folder in both panels) and adding the current path to favorites.
Sorting by any column, with folders always kept together; a separate default sort for each panel.
Hidden files shown or hidden with a single command in the View menu.
The cursor returns to the folder you left, and stays on the same file after a refresh.
Panel Content: instead of files, a panel can show saved FTP/SFTP servers or SSH/Telnet terminals (Cmd+1–3 on macOS, Ctrl+1–3 on Windows). New after 1.0.0.
Disk space below the file list: a usage bar, used space, total, percentage and free space. New after 1.0.0.
Manual: Panels and navigation →
Selecting items
Space or Insert selects an item and moves the cursor down; + selects everything, - clears the selection, * inverts it.
Shift with the arrows, Home, End and PageUp/PageDown selects a range.
With the mouse: Cmd-click / Ctrl-click adds an item, Shift-click selects a range.
One simple rule across the whole app: if there is a selection, commands act on the selected items; if not, on the item under the cursor.
File operations
Copy (F5) and Move (F6) between any locations: disk, network share, archive, FTP, SFTP.
The destination is checked before the operation starts: a list of conflicts and a choice of Overwrite All, Overwrite Older, Skip Duplicates or Cancel.
A progress window with the current file, file progress, total bytes, file count, speed and elapsed time; Cancel works at any moment.
Files that couldn't be copied go on a list with the reason for the error, which you can save to a text file.
Moving within the same drive is done by renaming: instant, with no copying.
Atomic writes on disk: an interrupted copy never leaves half a file behind, and an existing file stays untouched.
Delete (F8) with confirmation and progress; Move to Trash from the context menu.
New Folder (F7), New Text File (Shift+F4), Rename in place (Shift+F6).
Opening files in the system application, Open With, Show in File Manager (Finder, File Explorer).
Copy link — copies the full paths of the selected items to the clipboard.
Optional cleanup of
._*and.DS_Storefiles after copying to network drives and USB drives.
Viewing (F3)
Text with automatic encoding detection (UTF-8, UTF-16, Windows-1250, ISO-8859-1), a line count and search.
Images in PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP and WebP: fit to window, zoom, a checkerboard behind transparent areas, format, resolution and color depth.
Arrow-key browsing through the photos and videos in a folder, optionally wrapping around.
Videos: resolution and duration without reading the whole file, a frame from the video on macOS, system player and Open With buttons.
Hex view of any other file.
Files on a server are downloaded with a progress window and a Cancel button.
Editing (F4)
Text editor with search; saves in the file's own encoding, without closing the window.
Image editor: resizing with the aspect ratio kept, cropping with a preview, a magic wand and background removal, saving to PNG, JPEG, WebP or BMP at any path.
Hex editor for files up to 1 MB, which checks that the bytes you type are valid.
Saving a file from a server uploads it back to the server.
Archives
Open an archive like a folder: ZIP, TAR, TAR.GZ/TGZ, TAR.BZ2, TAR.XZ, GZ, and read-only also 7z, RAR, single
.bz2and.xzfiles.Archives inside archives, and archives on FTP/SFTP servers.
Copying into an archive, deleting, renaming and editing files inside it — saved when you leave the archive.
Compress... to ZIP, TAR, TAR.GZ, TAR.BZ2, TAR.XZ or GZ, with progress and Cancel; optionally a separate archive for each selected item.
FTP, FTPS and SFTP servers
Saved connections with a name, initial folder, passive or active mode, TLS encryption (FTPS) and a private key (SFTP).
Passwords in the macOS Keychain or Windows Credential Manager — never in the settings file.
A connection window with a Cancel button and a view of the conversation with the server.
Reconnecting after a dropped connection, retrying after a timeout, and checking whether an interrupted file had already arrived complete — without overwriting good data.
Optional SHA-256 verification of every file (on SFTP computed on the server side, when the server allows it).
A prompt about keeping file dates when uploading, and a fast mode without the upfront scan.
A transfer log on disk, helpful for tracking down the cause of a problem.
Manual: FTP, FTPS and SFTP servers →
SSH and Telnet terminals
The list of saved servers in a window on F9.
The list of terminals in a panel (Cmd+3 / Ctrl+3). New after 1.0.0.
Connecting opens the system terminal (Terminal on macOS, Windows Terminal or Command Prompt on Windows) with a ready
sshortelnetcommand, including with a private key.
Favorite paths and network shares
Favorite Paths (F2) with local folders and locations on servers; you change the order by dragging.
A favorite pointing to a folder on a server connects and opens that folder right away.
macOS: a favorite pointing to an unmounted network share mounts it first — with the password from the Keychain.
Search
Search...: name (mask, contains, starts with, ends with, equals), extension, type, size, modification date, hidden files, owner, group, permissions and file content; in subfolders or not, case-sensitive or not.
Search changes...: files changed in the last minutes, hours, days, months or years, which you can copy to the other panel with the folder structure preserved and a review before copying.
Double-clicking a result takes the panel to the file that was found.
Works on disk, inside archives and on servers.
Comparison and statistics
Compare Directories (Shift+F2): missing files, a different type, size, date or content (MD5); with or without subfolders; results to the clipboard or a CSV file.
Statistics for a file or a whole folder tree: number of files and folders, total size, the largest, newest and oldest file, the most common extensions, hidden items and symbolic links.
Manual: Comparison and statistics →
.ffignore rules
A
.gitignore-style rules file in a project folder: the files and folders you choose (e.g.node_modules/,*.log) are skipped when copying, moving and searching.You can add rules straight from the Search changes results.
Appearance, language and settings
Interface in English and Polish, switchable on the fly.
System, light or dark theme; your choice of font, font size and row spacing.
Size unit (B, KB, MB), default sorting, conflict handling and connection timeouts.
Settings in a readable text file, with backup copies.
System integration
macOS: the system menu bar, Cmd+, for Settings, New Window from the Dock icon menu, Trash and Finder through system features, installation in
~/Applicationsand updates from the Help menu.Windows: menu access keys with Alt, Recycle Bin and File Explorer, installation and updates through the Microsoft Store.
Both systems: passwords in the system credential store, apps associated with file types, drives and network shares.
What FlyingFiles doesn't do
To spare you disappointment: the app has no back/forward history, no folder synchronization, no in-window video player, and no support for cloud drives or WebDAV; it doesn't create 7z or RAR archives, and it doesn't run on Intel-based Macs or on Linux. More in the FAQ.