Getting started
Install Skwir, take your first steps, and learn what each part of the window does.
Install
Skwir 0.1 runs on Linux, on Wayland or X11, with a graphics card that supports Vulkan. The Download page picks the package for your system.
| You use | Get | Install with |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04+, Debian 13+, Mint, Pop!_OS | .deb |
sudo apt install ./skwir_0.1.0_amd64.deb |
| Fedora 44+ | .rpm |
sudo dnf install ./skwir-0.1.0.x86_64.rpm |
| Arch, Manjaro | AUR | yay -S skwir |
| Linux with glibc 2.35+ | AppImage | make it executable, then run it; on NixOS, use appimage-run |
| NixOS or Nix | Flake | nix profile install github:skwir-org/skwir |
The skwir package brings the app and its helpers for PDFs, archives and 3D models. Music and video need skwir-media; a few formats use programs you may already have, such as LibreOffice for office files. When a preview needs something, it says what, and so does Settings › Plugins. See Optional helpers.
macOS and Windows versions are written and compile, but have never run on either system. If you have a Mac or a Windows machine, you can help.
Building from source
You need Rust 1.96 or later and the libraries flake.nix lists. The Nix flake has them all:
Without Nix, install the libraries and run cargo run --release -p skwir -- ~/Documents.
First steps
Open Skwir from your applications menu, or run skwir in a terminal. Give it a folder to start there: skwir ~/Pictures.
- Find your way aroundYour folders, the Shelf, Recent, the Trash, your tags and your drives are in the sidebar. Double-click a folder to open it. Click any part of the path at the top to go back up; each › lists the folders inside.
- Look inside a fileSelect a file and its preview opens on the right: a PDF to page through, a photo to zoom, a song to play, the contents of a zip. Press Space for a bigger look, and again to close it.
- Choose a viewThe buttons in the toolbar switch between a list, a grid and columns (Ctrl1, 2, 3). The View menu beside them has the rest: a tree, a board, what fills your disk and a map of your photos.
- Find somethingCtrlF searches the folder by name, kind, size, date, tag or content. A search is a place: come back to it, or keep it in the sidebar with CtrlD.
- Tag what mattersCtrlShiftG tags the selected files. Tags are kept on the files, where other applications read them too.
- Change your mindUndo renames, moves, copies, tags and files sent to the Trash while Skwir is open: click Undo in the notice at the bottom, or press CtrlZ. Permanent deletion and emptying the Trash cannot be undone.
Right-click anything to see what you can do with it. The command palette (CtrlShiftP) lists every action by name, with its keys, and F1 shows the keys that work where you are.
A tour of the window
- Sidebar. Your folders, the places you keep (bookmarks, searches, tags), the Trash and your drives. A bar under each drive shows how full it is. Click a group’s header to fold it, drag it to move it.
- Address. Where you are, as a trail you can click. Click beside it to type a path or filter the folder. Its buttons keep the place in the sidebar and show the folder’s tags.
- Views. List, grid and columns, and a menu with every view, the sort, hidden files, Narrow by and the zoom.
- Files. Click to select, double-click to open, drag to move or copy, right-click for the rest. Tags show beside names.
- Preview. What’s inside the selected file, with the tools that suit it. The Details button beside the file’s name (CtrlI) shows its size, dates, owner, tags, rating and comment, and what the file says about itself.
- Footer. How many items there are, what’s selected and what it weighs, then Undo, the Shelf and the player when music plays on.
Split and Preview, at the top right, split the window into two panes (F3) and show or hide the preview. CtrlT opens a tab.