Windows 11 customers who are not satisfied with the current state of File Explorer have plenty of third-party options to choose from, and the list of available options has just expanded with a seriously impressive new app.
File Pilot is a new lightweight file manager for Windows (supported versions go all the way down to Windows 7) with a big focus on performance and customization. With its weight being less than 2MB (!), File Pilot boasts blazing performance with nearly instant launch, fast navigation, and extremely responsive UI.
The app features multiple ways to customize your experience. From the basic stuff like changing themes and icon sizes, you can change layouts, manage animations, font size, spacing, tabs, and more. You can also create complex tab layouts with vertical and horizontal panels and more.
Another great thing about File Pilot is its context menus, a stumbling block for many Windows 11 users. Here, context menus are similar to Windows 10, with no unnecessary "show more options" toggles or slow performance. The app has access to third-party actions, plus you can pin your favorite entries for easier and faster access.
Other features in File Pilot include a built-in file inspector that lets you preview text, images, folders, and other file types without leaving the app. Batch file renaming is also supported, including filtering, advanced search, deep shortcut customization, command palette, and a lot more.
My first few hours with File Pilot left me seriously impressed with the project. Even though it cannot fully replace the stock File Explorer (so far, there is no easy way to make it the default file manager, unlike what other apps like Files offer), its snappiness, responsiveness, and rich feature set put Windows 11's File Explorer to absolute shame.
File Pilot is currently available in a free public beta. You can download it from the official website, but keep in mind that it will be a paid app once out of public testing. The good thing is that you can try it yourself without registering or even installing File Pilot.
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