Skip to content

getting-started.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
204 lines (156 loc) · 11.7 KB

getting-started.md

File metadata and controls

204 lines (156 loc) · 11.7 KB
Raw

Getting started

How to install Filesmith, find your way around the main screen and run your first job.

Install

  1. Download the installer from GitHub Releases. This link always points at the newest version: https://github.com/Maxaubert/Filesmith/releases/latest/download/Filesmith-Setup-x64.exe (each release also carries a versioned copy, Filesmith-Setup-x64-<version>.exe).
  2. Run it. The install is per-user, no admin rights needed. It goes to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Filesmith and adds a Start menu shortcut (no desktop shortcut).
  3. The installer also puts the filesmith command on your per-user PATH. Terminals opened after the install see it; terminals that were already open do not.

The build is unsigned. Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway. Releases stay unsigned until the project is enrolled for code signing.

Installing, updating or uninstalling closes every running Filesmith.exe, including a running CLI job.

First run

Filesmith opens on Convert with an empty files table: "No files yet". Click Add files, press Ctrl+O, or drag files anywhere onto the window.

Core tools (ffmpeg, ImageMagick, mutool, CaesiumCLT, 7-Zip and the rest) ship with the app, so convert, compress, resize and the PDF tools work offline straight away. Background removal downloads its model on first use. Writing RAR or CBR needs WinRAR installed; without it those targets stay greyed out.

The main screen

+---------+-----------------------------------+-----------------------+
| Sidebar | Toolbar: Add files, count, View   | Inspector             |
|         |-----------------------------------| Options|Preview|Info  |
|         | Files table                       |                       |
|         |                                   |                       |
|         |-----------------------------------|                       |
|         | Console strip (Ctrl+`)            | Run / Stop            |
+---------+-----------------------------------+-----------------------+

Sidebar

One entry per operation: Convert, Compress, Resize, Upscale, Remove BG, Generate and PDF Tools, then Completed and Settings.

  • Each operation keeps its own list of files. A number next to an entry shows files waiting there.
  • PDF Tools opens a grid of cards: Extract text, Pages to PNG, Merge, Split, Burst, Extract images.
  • Ctrl+B or the collapse button folds the sidebar to icons.
  • Order and visibility are set in Settings.

Files table

  • Add files: the Add files button, Ctrl+O, or drag and drop onto the window. Files the current operation cannot handle are skipped (Upscale does not take an MP4).
  • Files are grouped by type (for example images, videos). A selection stays inside one group, because the options panel describes one set of targets. Clicking a file in another group moves the selection there.
  • Click to select, Ctrl+click to add or remove, Shift+click for a range. Click a column header to sort.
  • Each row has a small action that follows its state: Cancel while running, Show in folder when done, Retry after a failure or stop.
  • Double-click or Enter opens the file in its default app.

Right-click menu

Right-click a row (or press Shift+F10 or the Menu key). On a selected row the menu acts on the whole selection.

Item What it does
Open in default app Opens the file (one file only)
Show in File Explorer Shows the result when the row is done, else the source
Retry Runs failed or stopped files again with the options they last used
Stop Cancels queued or running jobs
Clear finished Hides finished and stopped rows from the list
Remove from list Takes rows off the list after a confirm. Files on disk are not touched; running jobs stop
Delete file Moves the source files to the Recycle Bin after a confirm. Results already made are kept. Off while a job is running

View sizes

Six sizes, named like File Explorer: Details, Large details, Tiles, Medium icons, Large icons, Extra large icons.

  • The View menu in the toolbar lists Details, Tiles and Extra large icons.
  • Ctrl+wheel over the files steps through all six. Wheel up is bigger.
  • Ctrl+= (or Ctrl++) bigger, Ctrl+- smaller, Ctrl+0 back to Details.
  • Large details is the Details table with taller rows, bigger thumbnails and larger names.
  • The size is remembered between sessions.

The files view at Large icons

Inspector

The right panel has three tabs:

  • Options: settings for the current operation, plus Output location (next to the source, or a folder you choose). Options apply to the selected files, or to all files in the group when nothing is selected.
  • Preview: the selected file. Once a job is done, a wipe compares source and result: drag the divider, or use the Left and Right arrow keys.
  • Info: details of the selected file, including the output path and any error.

Preview and Info show one file. With several selected, they ask you to pick one.

Running and stopping jobs

  1. Pick an operation in the sidebar and add files.
  2. Set options in the inspector.
  3. Click Run at the bottom of the inspector, or press Ctrl+Enter. The button names the work, for example "Convert 3 images".

Rows show live progress. While anything runs, Run turns into Stop, which cancels every queued and running job in that operation. To stop only some files, use Stop in the right-click menu or the row's Cancel action.

Outputs never overwrite

Filesmith never overwrites your source or any existing file.

  • Results go next to the source by default, or to the folder set under Options, Output location.
  • If the plain name is free and differs from the source, it is used: photo.png converts to photo.jpg.
  • Otherwise a tag is added: photo (converted).jpg, then photo (converted 2).jpg, and so on. Other operations use their own tag: (compressed), (resized), (upscaled), (no-bg).
  • Output folders get (2), (3), and so on: scans, then scans (2).

Completed

Completed lists the results from every operation.

  • Columns: name, which operation made it, kind, size and result.
  • Double-click opens the result. The folder icon shows it in File Explorer.
  • Right-click: Open in default app, Show in File Explorer, Delete file (to the Recycle Bin).
  • Delete selected moves the selected results to the Recycle Bin.
  • Clear list only hides the list; files stay on disk.

Settings

  • Sidebar: drag rows to reorder the sidebar (or focus a row and press Alt+Up / Alt+Down). Untick a row to hide it.
  • Tools: status of WinRAR and background removal, the ComfyUI folder used by Generate (Choose or Change folder), and Open folder buttons for your own Upscale models and the model registry. See models.md.
  • Claude: installs or updates the Filesmith skill for Claude Code into %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\filesmith, so Claude can run Filesmith for you through the CLI.

Settings: sidebar order, tools and the Claude skill

Keyboard shortcuts

Keys Action
Ctrl+O Add files
Ctrl+Enter Run
Ctrl+B Collapse or expand the sidebar
Ctrl+` Open or close the console
Ctrl+wheel Step the view size
Ctrl+= / Ctrl++ Bigger view size
Ctrl+- Smaller view size
Ctrl+0 Back to Details
Arrow keys Move between files (all four arrows in the grid views)
Shift+arrow Extend the selection
Space Select or deselect the focused file
Ctrl+A Select all files in the active group
Enter Open the focused file in its default app
Delete Remove the selected files from the list (asks first; files on disk are not touched)
Shift+F10 or Menu key Open the right-click menu

View-size keys only work in the files view, and not while you type in a text field or the console.

The console

The Console button in the bottom strip (or Ctrl+` ) opens a console panel under the files table. It runs filesmith commands only, without the filesmith prefix: convert, compress, resize, upscale, removebg, generate "<prompt>", pdf <tool>, and the helpers formats, doctor, setup, skill. Anything else is refused with "Only filesmith commands run here". Use a terminal for other programs. The full command reference is in cli.md.

Built-ins:

Command What it does
help What the console runs
cd <folder> Change folder. cd alone prints it, cd - goes back
history Past commands
clear Clear the output (also Ctrl+L)
  • Commands run in the console's folder, which starts at your Downloads folder and is remembered.
  • Add --help to a command for its options. Tab completes commands and file names.
  • Up and Down walk your history.
  • Ctrl+C or the Stop button cancels a running command. With nothing running, Ctrl+C clears the prompt. If text is selected, Ctrl+C copies it instead.
  • Clear empties the output. Minimise closes the panel; the strip then shows the running command's progress.
  • Drag the top edge to resize the panel. Esc returns focus to the files table.
  • Console jobs do not appear in the app's queue or Completed view, and the app's queue keeps working while one runs.

The console open under the files table after a convert run