File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern, robust interface

Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by mherrmann on Wednesday February 19, 2025 @08:31AM (#43101948)

I once devoted 2 years of my life to developing a file manager called fman [1]. In total, it generated probably 35,000$ in profits, so my income from the project is somewhere around 10 $/h. As software developers, our opportunity costs are high. I use my file manager to this day and love it. But I regret spending so much time on it.

Congratulations on your launch. I wish you more success than I've had. Failing that, I wish you that you will see earlier than I did when it is time to move on.

I once recorded a video about my experiences developing a file manager [2]. Maybe you'll also find some interesting bits and pieces on fman's blog [3]. Incidentally, an article there is what sparked my current venture, which is much more profitable: consulting services around automatic updates.

If you'd like to have a chat, feel free to reach out. My contact info is on my website. :-)

Good luck!

[1]: https://fman.io

[2]: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I1K3IkOlaVw

[3]: https://fman.io/blog/

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by vjekoslav on Wednesday February 19, 2025 @11:34AM (#43104053)

Hey, thanks! Yes, I know about Fman. I’ve tried pretty much all file explorers on Windows, a fair number on Linux, and fewer on macOS. I watched that video a couple of years ago, it had some nice insights. Thanks for sharing that.

I've been talking about File Pilot since the early days of the project, so I managed to build a following on Twitter and Discord, along with a decent number of email subscribers. I'm hoping that'll be enough to spread the word.

I'm sorry Fman didn't work out for you as a business. But truth be told, you need to deliver something exceptional to compete with established players. While I don't see other file explorer alternatives as direct competition, I do think File Pilot will bring a breath of fresh air. We'll see how it goes!

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by mherrmann on Wednesday February 19, 2025 @12:06PM (#43104468)

Hm, are you hinting that fman was not exceptional at its time? If yes, then I disagree.

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by truetraveller on Wednesday February 19, 2025 @02:24PM (#43106278)

That's not exceptional IMHO. It's a good effort, but not exceptional. Exceptional apps scream "wow" and are feature rich, with great UI/UX. Example of exceptional apps are Obsidian, TablePlus, Transmit (by panic), Sublime Text, VSCode. File Pilot has that "wow" factor and the features.

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by zerr on Wednesday February 19, 2025 @10:53AM (#43103421)

Good to know, thanks for the insight. I was playing with the idea of creating a similar app, with more features and faster (in C++). I guess there is no much demand for modern NC clones, orthodox file managers. Btw, are the sales still going on?

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by mherrmann on Wednesday February 19, 2025 @10:57AM (#43103488)

I put it down to desktop utility apps being a very tough market because 1. they are time-consuming to develop and 2. people hate paying for desktop software. You already have several comments in this very thread from people complaining about the price:

* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43102477

* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43099230

* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43097749

Ah and yes, I'm still getting a handful of fman sales per month. But nowhere near enough to justify any time investment.

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by zerr on Thursday February 27, 2025 @10:40AM (#43195380)

Did you experiment with different pricing? I wonder if slashing the price significantly would boost sales so much that it becomes viable a product.

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by deramboss on Thursday February 20, 2025 @02:38AM (#43112094)

Without your OpenSource Promise Scam you wouldn't have earned nearly as much with fman.

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by nop_slide on Friday February 21, 2025 @10:56AM (#43128962)

> But I regret spending so much time on it

Just curious, what aspects do you regret?

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Re:File Pilot: A file explorer built for speed with a modern... by torginus on Friday February 21, 2025 @01:05PM (#43130812)

Holy heck! I remember fman, and it was amazing! Literally the only file manager I used that could hold a candle to Total Commander. I remember everyone hating on it on linux forums, because it wasn't open source, despite nothing in the linux world coming close.

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