Files User Guide

Files manages files and folders within one configured root. On the device, the default root is the current user's home directory. Navigation stays inside it.

Before you start

• Open Files from Launcher.
• Place files inside its root, normally your device account's home directory.
• The current user needs appropriate access to the source files and destination.
• The simulator instead defaults to the repository's simulated-home/ folder.

Browse, search, and preview

1. Tap a folder to enter it; use the navigation-bar back button for its parent.
2. Tap a supported text file to open a read-only preview.
3. Tap Search and type a name to filter the current folder.
4. Open the top-right More menu and choose Icons or List.
5. Use the same menu to sort by Name, Kind, Date, or Size.

Search does not scan subfolders. Text previews show up to approximately 8 KiB and cannot edit files. Unsupported types display a preview-unavailable message while remaining in the folder.

Copy, move, and organize

Task	Steps
Create a folder	Choose New Folder from More and enter its name.
Copy	Long-press an item, choose Copy, open the destination, then choose Paste from More.
Move	Long-press, choose Move, select a destination folder, and complete the move.
Rename	Long-press, choose Rename, and enter the new name.
Inspect	Long-press and choose Get Info.
Make a copy	Long-press and choose Duplicate.
Create a ZIP	Long-press and choose Compress.
Delete	Long-press, choose Delete, and confirm permanent removal.

Rename and Move do not overwrite an existing item with the same name. Deletion has no trash or undo; check the selected items before confirming.

Work with multiple items

1. Choose Select from More.
2. Tap items to select or clear them; Select All selects all visible items.
3. Use the bottom toolbar to duplicate, move, or delete. Its menu also copies items, puts them in a new folder, or compresses them into one ZIP.
4. Tap Done to finish selection.

Long-pressing search results or items in selection mode does not open the ordinary single-item menu. Sharing, tags, and favorites are not provided.

Keyboard and in-app help

• Tab moves between controls; arrow keys move within the file collection.
• Up/down move by a visual row in icon view and by an item in list view.
• Tap Enter to open an item; hold Enter to open its operations menu.
• Esc closes an open menu. Search accepts keyboard text and Backspace.
• Open Help from More for the in-app reference. Closing it preserves your folder, search, and scroll position.

Change the root folder

An administrator can launch with an absolute path: lilygo-ui-files --root=/path/to/folder. Alternatively set LILYGO_UI_FILES_ROOT, or put files.root=/absolute/path in $HOME/.config/lilygo/ui/files.conf. When XDG_CONFIG_HOME is set, the user configuration is its lilygo/ui/files.conf. System defaults live in /etc/lilygo/ui/files.conf.

Precedence is command line, environment, user configuration, system configuration, then the default root. Changing the root grants no additional filesystem permissions.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to check
A received file is missing	Check the signed-in user's Downloads folder and whether the configured root includes it.
Search finds nothing	Enter the containing folder; search is not recursive.
Copy or Move fails	Check permissions, free space, and conflicting destination names.
Preview is unavailable	Use a supported text file; binary files and symbolic links have restrictions.
No restore action after deletion	The current application permanently deletes files and has no trash.

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