How IndeXplorer works

1. Access: All files access or picked folders

IndeXplorer asks for Android's All files access on first launch, because a file manager has to reach every folder on shared storage and the SD card. With it, the app can browse, copy, trash and index everything Android allows. Without it, Continue with limited access lets you browse only the folders you pick.

Android keeps other apps' private folders (Android/data and Android/obb) hidden, even with All files access. On older Android versions the app asks for the storage permission instead.

2. Two panes and tabs

On tablets, foldables and phones in landscape, two panes sit side by side, each with its own tabs; copy or move to the other pane in one step, or drag and drop. On a phone, swipe between tabs or see them all in one list, and copy or move to another tab. The clipboard survives closing the app.

A drawer lists your storage, pinned folders, bookmarks, recent folders, saved servers, Trash and Wi-Fi share. On a phone it opens from the menu button at the start of the tab strip; on a tablet it stands beside the panes. Pin or bookmark any folder, even inside an archive or on a server. Swipe past the last tab, or double-tap empty space in the tab strip, for a new tab.

3. The task center

Copies, moves, deletes, extractions, compression, batch renames, checksums, duplicate scans and APK backups run as tasks in a queue. They keep running when you leave the app, with Pause and Cancel in the notification, and a paused task resumes later. When a name already exists you choose Replace, Skip, Keep both or Merge folders, once or for every clash.

Each file is written under a temporary name and renamed when it is complete, so a cut-off copy leaves no half-written file under the real name. A dropped server connection pauses the task, and Resume carries on from where it stopped.

4. Trash and undo

On local storage the app can write to, a delete moves the file into a hidden trash folder at the root of that storage, kept 30 days by default. The snackbar offers Undo for a delete, move, rename or batch rename. Where there is no trash, the app asks first and the delete is permanent.

You can keep trashed files for 7, 30 or 90 days. The trash lives on your storage, not inside the app, so uninstalling IndeXplorer leaves it there. Empty it first if you are removing the app.

5. Archives as folders

Archives open like folders: browse inside, open a file, or extract only what you pick. IndeXplorer reads zip, 7z, RAR, tar and other formats, asks for the password of a protected zip or 7z, and creates zip, 7z, tar, tar.gz and tar.xz. Inside a non-split zip on your device you can add, delete and rename files.

Password-protected zip and 7z open. Encrypted RAR is not supported. Zip can get an AES-256 password and split volumes; 7z can be split. An entry whose path would land outside the destination folder is refused.

6. Network storage

Add a server once with its address, user and password or SFTP key, then browse it like a local folder: copy to and from it, open files, or edit a text file and save it back. IndeXplorer speaks SMB 2 and 3, SFTP, FTP, FTPS and WebDAV over HTTP or HTTPS, and downloads a URL with resume.

SFTP host keys are remembered, and a changed key is blocked until you trust it. A self-signed FTPS or WebDAVS certificate can be trusted for that one connection. Plain FTP, WebDAV over HTTP and http:// downloads are unencrypted, like any client that uses them.

Saved passwords and private keys are encrypted with a key held in the Android Keystore and kept out of Android backups and device transfer. You can choose Ask every time instead, so nothing is saved.

7. Search

IndeXplorer keeps an on-device index of file names across your storage and searches it as you type. Filter by type, size, date and hidden files, in all storage, one volume or one folder, then use Show in folder to jump to the file. Servers and archives are searched live from the folder you are in.

8. Share over Wi-Fi

Share this folder over Wi-Fi starts a small web server on the phone. Scan the QR code or type the address in a browser on the same Wi-Fi or hotspot to list, download, or zip the folder. HTTPS is on by default, uploads are off until you allow them, and the share stops itself when idle.

The share runs only on Wi-Fi or a hotspot, never on mobile data, and stops when you tap Stop, after 15 minutes without requests, or when the phone leaves the network. A typed address asks for a 6-digit access code; the QR code carries a session token (valid until the share stops) instead. The browser warns about the phone's own certificate; compare the fingerprint the app shows.

9. Storage analyzer

Open Storage analyzer from Home, the drawer or a local folder's menu. Breakdown lists the folders inside by size, with a share bar and item count; tap a folder to drill in. Large files lists files of 100 MB or more, largest first, filtered by type. Sizes come from the search index and are measured live where it hasn't reached.

Set the minimum anywhere from 10 MB to 1 GB; the list shows the largest 500. Before a file goes to the trash, the app checks it again and skips one that is gone or has changed. The analyzer works on your phone and SD card, not inside archives or on servers.

10. Duplicate files

Find duplicates runs as a task you can pause. It groups files of the same size, compares a SHA-256 hash of each file's first and last 64 KiB, then hashes whole files that still match. Groups are listed by the space they would free. Choose Keep newest or Keep oldest, and the other copies go to the trash with Undo.

Files under 1 MB are skipped by default (choose 100 KB to 100 MB), as are empty files, the trash and Android/data and Android/obb. Move to trash stays off while any group would lose every copy, and a file that changed since the scan is kept. Hashes are remembered by size and date, so a second scan reads only files that changed.

11. App manager and APK backup

App manager, in the drawer, lists installed apps with their version, APK size and install and update dates: user apps by default, or system apps or all. Search and sort the list. For each app you can Back up, Share APKs, open App info, or Uninstall through Android's own dialog, which is not offered for system apps.

Back up saves an app installed as one APK as an .apk file, and an app installed in parts as one .apks file, in Download/APKs or a folder you choose. Select several apps for one backup task. App data is not included, so a reinstalled backup starts fresh.

12. Installing package files

Open a .apk, .apks, .xapk or .apkm file and IndeXplorer shows the app's name, package and version, and whether it is a new install, an update or a downgrade. Install writes every part into one Android install session, and Android asks you to confirm. If installs from IndeXplorer are turned off, the app explains and opens that setting first.

Packages that mix apps or versions, hold splits without a base, or are encrypted .apkm files are refused with the reason. An .xapk's OBB files go to Android/obb when Android lets the app write there. Once Android takes over, the task shows Waiting for Android until it reports the result.

13. Batch rename

Batch rename shows every new name in a live preview and blocks clashes before anything changes. Use find and replace with text or regex, numbering in the order you choose, case changes and date tokens; your last 10 patterns are kept. The rename runs as a task in one folder, and Undo puts the old names back.

If the rename is interrupted, it finishes or rolls back when resumed, and it skips any item that changed in the meantime instead of renaming it.

14. Checksums

IndeXplorer computes MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 and SHA-512 for one file or many. Paste a published hash to check a download, compare two files, or save a checksum file. Opening a .md5, .sha1, .sha256 or .sha512 file offers Verify, which reports each listed file as OK, mismatched or missing. Checksum files use the same format as sha256sum.

Two files of different sizes are reported as different without being read. Verify lists any line of a checksum file it can't read.