SuperExplorer

Roadmap status and runtime/validation handoff: Post-parity roadmap handoff.

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A Windows 11 file explorer written in Rust with GPUI-CE. The project combines a native Windows shell integration layer with a custom GPUI interface inspired by Windows File Explorer.

This project is under active development. It is Windows-only and is not a drop-in replacement for every Windows Explorer shell feature.

Highlights

• Tabbed folder navigation with Back, Forward, Up, address-bar, and search workflows.
• Real folder enumeration, file-system watching, sorting, and multiple view layouts.
• Native file operations, including create, rename, copy, move, delete, conflict handling, cancellation, and undo journaling.
• Windows clipboard, OLE drag-and-drop, shell icons, overlays, and native context-menu integration.
• Improved Windows drag-and-drop behavior with tighter OLE state transitions and lower interaction jitter in high-frequency pointer input.
• Indexed-search probing with a bounded file-system fallback.
• Light, dark, and high-contrast themes; DPI-aware layout; keyboard navigation; IME input; and UI Automation semantics.
• Automated unit, integration, architecture, visual, accessibility, lifecycle, and Windows interop validation scripts.

Requirements

• Windows 11 x64.
• Git with submodule support.
• Rust 1.85.0 or newer using the x86_64-pc-windows-msvc toolchain.
• Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools or Visual Studio with the Desktop development with C++ workload.
• A Windows SDK compatible with the MSVC toolchain.
• PowerShell 7 is recommended for the validation scripts.

Get Started

Clone the repository and initialize the GPUI-CE submodule:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/damody/file_explorer.git
cd file_explorer

If the repository was cloned without submodules:

git submodule update --init --recursive

Build and run the application:

cargo run -p explorer-app --locked

To open a specific folder at startup:

$env:EXPLORER_INITIAL_PATH = 'D:\'
cargo run -p explorer-app --locked

Release Build

Build and finalize the Windows executable, including its manifest and version resources:

./scripts/finalize_windows_artifact.ps1 -Profile release

The executable is written to target/release/SuperExplorer.exe.

Validation

Run the primary repository checks:

cargo run -p explorer-uitest -- --suite quick
cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo check --workspace --locked
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --locked -- -D warnings
cargo test --workspace --locked

The manifest-driven runner scans every active OpenSpec requirement and fails validation when a requirement has no mapped regression case. Run headful and native integration coverage with:

cargo run -p explorer-uitest -- --suite full --fail-on-skip
cargo run -p explorer-uitest -- --suite interop --fail-on-skip

Headful Windows and visual checks require an interactive desktop session. Useful entry points include:

./scripts/run_headful_validation.ps1 -SkipBuild -OutputDirectory target/headful-evidence/local
./scripts/capture_dpi_matrix.ps1 -OutputDirectory target/dpi-evidence/local
./scripts/check_architecture.ps1
./scripts/check_ui_tokens.ps1

See Explorer UITest, Manual Tests, and Visual Testing for the complete workflows.

Workspace Layout

Path	Responsibility
crates/explorer-app	Application startup, Windows prerequisites, and GPUI composition root
crates/explorer-common	Shared diagnostics and error types
crates/explorer-jobs	Background job coordination
crates/explorer-model	Navigation, operations, window, and domain models
crates/explorer-search	Query parsing and search engine
crates/explorer-shell-win	Native Windows Shell, clipboard, OLE, icons, and file operations
crates/explorer-ui	GPUI interface, state, layout, themes, and interaction
crates/explorer-test-support	Shared test fixtures and helpers
crates/explorer-uitest	Manifest-driven OpenSpec coverage and regression runner
vendor/gpui-ce	Pinned GPUI-CE Git submodule
scripts	Build, smoke-test, interop, accessibility, and visual-validation scripts
docs	Status, evidence, testing guides, and implementation notes

Project Documentation

• Current status
• Final handoff and known gaps
• Parity matrix
• Checkpoint evidence
• Implementation plan

Known Limitations

• The application currently targets Windows only.
• The implementation is file-system-first; full Shell namespace support, thumbnail and preview handlers, and brokered third-party extensions remain future hardening work.
• Some OLE drag-and-drop, mixed-DPI, Narrator, and Explorer-to-app scenarios require manual validation on a real interactive Windows desktop.
• Search availability and behavior depend on Windows Search configuration; the application uses a bounded fallback when indexed search is unavailable.

See Final Handoff for the detailed validation state and remaining gaps.

Licensing and contributions

SuperExplorer is proprietary, source-available software. It is not open-source software. You may inspect the source and prepare contributions or compatible plugins only under the applicable documents below; unauthorized redistribution, publication of modified core versions, and commercial use of the core are prohibited.

• EULA
• Plugin SDK License
• Contributing guide
• Contributor License Agreement
• Plugin Publishing Agreement

Third-party components, including materials under vendor/, third_party/, and build/tools/, remain governed by their own license and notice files.