SmartCopy 2[026]

A tool for working with large directories that aims to combine the steerability and configurability of a GUI with the power and flexibility of command line tools.

This is an evolution of SmartCopyTool (https://sourceforge.net/projects/smartcopytool/), itself an evolution of a tool I wrote around 2 decades ago to provide an alternative to Windows Explorer for managing large directories. File management in Windows has improved a lot since those days, but it still lacks some features that made SmartCopyTool useful.

SmartCopy 2 is a complete rewrite, using modern .NET technologies and a more sophisticated UI framework. It is cross-platform and supports advanced workflows, which can be configured and saved as presets.

The principles that drive the design of SmartCopy 2 are:

• Composable pipelines
• Selective operations
• User control and configuration
• Safety and preview

Installation

Pre-built binaries are available on the Releases page for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Unzip anywhere and run, there is no installer.

Alternatively, you can install it via a package manager:

macOS / Linux / WSL

brew tap machinewrapped/smartcopy
brew install smartcopy

Note: The macOS binary is not code-signed. On first launch, right-click → Open to bypass Gatekeeper.

Linux (AppImage)

Or download the x86_64.AppImage from the Releases page — no installation required:

chmod +x SmartCopy-*-x86_64.AppImage
./SmartCopy-*-x86_64.AppImage

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Windows

winget install machinewrapped.SmartCopy

Features

Directory tree view

• View the contents of a directory as a hierarchy, and select which files and folders to include in the pipeline
• Progressive scanning allows you to interact with the tree whilst deeper levels are still being scanned
• Filesystem watcher — detects exteral changes to the directory, on supported file systems
• Bookmark frequently used paths to quickly select them as the source or destination of an operation
• Save and restore selections in .txt, .m3u or .sc2sel format

Filtering

• Composable filter chain — combine filters to determine which files are included in the working set
• Filter types: file extension, wildcard pattern, date range, size range, file attributes
• Mirror filter — include or exclude files that exist in another location
• Save filter chains as named presets

Transform pipeline

• Build a sequence of actions to perform - copy, move, delete
• Selected, filtered file list is used as the source for the operation
• Apply transforms such as flattening the directory hierarchy or renaming files
• Preview before executing to see exactly what will happen to each folder or file
• Safe delete via trash/recycle bin (if supported on the file system)
• Save pipelines as presets, or complete workflows

How it works

The UI is organized as a left-to-right data flow:

1. Filters (left panel) — Filters narrow the directory tree and file list, defining which files are selectable.
2. Directory tree + file list (centre) — browse the source directory and select files and folders to act on.
3. Transform pipeline (bottom) — define a sequence of actions to perform with the selected files.

Platform support

Feature	Windows	Linux	macOS
Local filesystem	Yes	Yes	Yes
Network filesyste (SMB)	Yes	Yes	Yes
MTP device (Phone/Camera)	Yes	No	No
Filesystem watcher	Yes	Yes	Yes
Trash / recycle bin	Yes	Yes	Yes

Building and running from source

Requires .NET 10 SDK.

# Build
dotnet build

# Run (watch mode for development)
dotnet watch run --project SmartCopy.App

# Run tests
dotnet test

# Publish self-contained single-file executable
dotnet publish SmartCopy.App/SmartCopy.App.csproj -p:PublishProfile=win-x64

Dependencies

• Avalonia — cross-platform UI framework
• CommunityToolkit.Mvvm — MVVM source generators
• MediaDevices — MTP/WPD device access (Windows only)

License

MIT