1, 2 or 3 panes, each with tabs
Copy between folders side by side. Ctrl+1 / 2 / 3, drag the splitter, and save the whole layout as a profile with Ctrl+S.
Free & open source · Windows 10 & 11 · portable
The file manager Windows Explorer should have been
One small exe. Up to three panes with tabs, search that finds files while you type, delete that does not make you wait, and themes you will actually want to look at.
- No installer, no admin rights
- Settings in one .ini file
- No internet, no telemetry
100,000files in one folder open in under a second
20,000files to the Recycle Bin in a blink (NTFS)
1.0 MBone exe, nothing to install
6themes, plus your own background picture
Features
Everything you do with files, faster
Search as you type
Results stream in while you type, nearest folders first. Every word in any order, accents ignored: duong finds “Đường”, cafe finds “Café”. No index, always current.
Delete without waiting
On NTFS drives, Del moves even huge folders to the Recycle Bin almost instantly. Shift+Del deletes like rmdir /s /q and reports locked files once.
Copy into Excel and Word as links
Ctrl+C on files pastes as files in Explorer, as clickable links (name → path) in Excel and Word, and as the full path in Notepad.
ZIP and 7-Zip built in
Compress to ZIP without extra software (Unicode names, files over 4 GB). With 7-Zip installed: .7z, AES-256 passwords with hidden file names, and Extract here.
A sidebar that fits how you work
Quick access you pin yourself, Favourites in groups like browser bookmarks, Recent folders, the folder tree and free disk space.
Background copy with real progress
Copies and moves run in the background with items, MB, speed and Cancel. Replace / Skip / Keep both, once or for every conflict.
Six themes, your style
Void, Flux, Mono, Nexus (HUD with four neon accents), Glass (frosted over your wallpaper) and Light. Add a background picture and window transparency.
Search
Find it by typing what you remember
Press Ctrl+F in any folder. Search covers the folder and all its subfolders; from This PC it covers every local drive.
| You type | Finds |
|---|---|
tai lieu | names with every word, in any order: Tài liệu học tập.docx, lieu-tai.txt |
"bao cao" | names with the exact phrase |
*.pdf IMG_20??* | wildcards over the whole name |
=readme.md | only this exact name |
Clipboard
One Ctrl+C, the right thing everywhere
| Paste into | You get |
|---|---|
| Explorer, nExplorer | the files and folders themselves |
| Excel, Word, Outlook | a link showing the name, pointing to the full path |
| Notepad, text boxes | the full path |
Keyboard
Made for the keyboard
Tabswitch pane
Ctrl+1 / 2 / 31, 2 or 3 panes
Ctrl+T · Ctrl+Wnew tab · close tab
Ctrl+Fsearch
Ctrl+Ltype a path
Ctrl+Dadd to Favourites
Ctrl+S · Ctrl+Psave layout · profiles
Ctrl+Hhidden files
F2rename
Shift+Deldelete permanently
Ctrl+Shift+Nnew folder
Ctrl+Shift+Ccopy as link
Get it
Download, run, done
Download
nexplorer.exe, 1.0 MB. One file, no installer.Put it in a folder of your own
For example
D:\Tools\nExploreror a USB stick. Settings are saved innexplorer.ininext to the exe, so pick a folder you can write to (not Program Files).Run it
Double-click. Pin it to the taskbar to keep it one click away.
“Windows protected your PC”?
Click More info, then Run anyway. nExplorer is new and not yet signed with a code-signing certificate, so SmartScreen does not know it yet.
Remove
Delete nexplorer.exe and nexplorer.ini. Nothing else was installed.
Start over
Delete nexplorer.ini to reset every setting, favourite and profile.
Verify the download (SHA-256)
3fbd1f8e7e28d2ff86a0f0498889133e4039347f9a2aab95132524eec0e28cb0 nexplorer.exe
FAQ
Questions
Is nExplorer free?
Yes, free and open source under the MIT License. Use it on as many PCs as you like; the source code is on GitHub.
Does it replace Windows Explorer?
It runs next to it: Explorer, the desktop and the taskbar stay as they are. Use nExplorer for your file work and keep Explorer for anything else.
Why is it so fast?
It reads folders on a background thread and skips what slows Explorer down: no shell extensions, no thumbnails, no search index.
Where are my settings?
In nexplorer.ini next to the exe: favourites, Quick access, profiles, theme and window layout. Copy both files to take your setup to another PC.
Do I need 7-Zip?
No. ZIP is built in, and without 7-Zip archives are extracted with the tar.exe that ships with Windows. With 7-Zip installed you also get .7z, passwords and more formats.
Does it connect to the internet?
No. nExplorer has no network code: no telemetry, no update check, no ads. Only the folders you open on network shares use Windows file sharing.
Which Windows versions are supported?
Windows 10 (version 1607 or later) and Windows 11, 64-bit. No administrator rights needed.
Give your files a better home
Free, portable, and ready in seconds.