https://github.com/kamaranl/showallfiles
Easily toggle visibility of hidden files in the File Explorer with ShowAllFiles. Inspired by the Finder feature to toggle "AppleShowAllFiles" on MacOS.
https://github.com/kamaranl/showallfiles
developer-tools productivity sysadmin-tools utilities
Last synced: 2 months ago
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Easily toggle visibility of hidden files in the File Explorer with ShowAllFiles. Inspired by the Finder feature to toggle "AppleShowAllFiles" on MacOS.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/kamaranl/showallfiles
- Owner: kamaranl
- License: bsd-3-clause
- Created: 2025-10-13T12:25:50.000Z (6 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-10-23T12:20:13.000Z (5 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-10-26T21:06:16.256Z (5 months ago)
- Topics: developer-tools, productivity, sysadmin-tools, utilities
- Language: Go
- Homepage:
- Size: 6.13 MB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 3
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
ShowAllFiles
Show hidden files in the File Explorer
[](https://github.com/kamaranl/showallfiles/releases/latest)
[](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause.html)
## Overview
ShowAllFiles is a tray application for Windows that allows users to quickly toggle the visibility of hidden files in the File Explorer. It provides a system tray interface, supports global hotkeys, logging, and optional verbose console output. ShowAllFiles was inspired by the [MacOS feature](https://macos-defaults.com/finder/appleshowallfiles.html) available in the Finder application.
**License**: [BSD-3-Clause](LICENSE)
## Features
* Toggle hidden files visibility via system tray menu or global hotkey (`Win + Shift + .`).
* System tray integration.
* Configurable logging (level and file output), with log rotation.
* Optional console for verbose output and debugging.
* Windows environment-aware, with automatic handling of system registry keys.
* Message box notifications for errors and information.
## Installation
Install the [latest version](https://github.com/kamaranl/showallfiles/releases/latest) from the [releases](https://github.com/kamaranl/showallfiles/releases) page.
### Installer
Installation via the installer \(\***.zip**\) is the recommended method because it simplifies the process of installing ShowAllFiles to your device by:
* Installing Certificate Authorities to the `CurrentUser` certificate store.
* Installing ShowAllFiles to its own folder in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs`.
* Creating an uninstaller.
* Creating a start menu shortcut.
* Enabling ShowAllFiles to run on device startup.
* Writing product information to the registry.
### Standalone
Tech-savvy users are welcome to download the standalone executable \(\***.exe**\), rename it, and add it to their `$env:PATH`.
## Usage
Toggle the visibility of your hidden files via the tray icon or the defined hotkey.
ShowAllFiles can also be ran with optional command-line flags:
```text
Usage of ShowAllFiles.exe:
--log-level string Log level: DEBUG|INFO|WARN|ERROR|FATAL|PANIC (default "INFO")
--log string File path to save log output
-v, --verbose Allocates a new console for verbose output
--version Prints version to console
```
## Components
### Hotkey
* `Win + Shift + .` : Toggles visibility of hidden files.
### System Tray
The application provides a system tray icon with the following options:
* **Show/Hide** : Show or hide hidden files.
* **About** : Display application version.
* **Report bug** : Opens the [issues](https://github.com/kamaranl/showallfiles/issues) page in the browser.
* **Quit** : Exit the application.
### Logging
ShowAllFiles uses `logrus` for logging and supports:
* File output with log rotation (4 backups, 28-day retention).
* Configurable log levels.
* Verbose output via console.
### Registry
ShowAllFiles interacts with the following Windows registry key:
```text
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
```
Specifically, it toggles the `Hidden` property value to show or hide hidden files.
## Remarks
* Designed and compiled for **Windows only**.
* Requires environment variable `SystemRoot` to be set.
## Acknowledgements
* Base image of the folder icon used in this project was created by [kmg design](https://www.flaticon.com/authors/kmg-design) on [Flaticon](https://www.flaticon.com)