QuickLook is a free Windows program that lets you preview a file by selecting it and pressing the Space key, without opening its full app. It is for everyday Windows users who want to quickly look at documents, pictures, videos and many other file types.
Has 3 of 5 · Windows, Mac and Linux app ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does the whole job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
PowerToys PowerRename is one of over 30 free utilities bundled in Microsoft PowerToys, a set of add-ons that customize Windows. It is for Windows users who want to rename many files at once.
Has 0 of 5 · Windows, Mac and Linux app ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
Sushi is a quick file previewer for the GNOME desktop: press a key in the file manager to see a file's contents without opening it. It is meant for people who use the GNOME file manager Files (Nautilus) on Linux.
Has 0 of 5 · Windows, Mac and Linux app ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
None of these match. Try another device.
Help me choose
I want to pick an open-source replacement for Seer. Below is a list from Open Source Everything (CC BY-SA 4.0), in the order its website shows it. The order is a starting point, not a verdict.
- QuickLook: QuickLook is a free Windows program that lets you preview a file by selecting it and pressing the Space key, without opening its full app. It is for everyday Windows users who want to quickly look at documents, pictures, videos and many other file types. [Easy setup; Windows; replaces fully; GPL-3.0; https://github.com/QL-Win/QuickLook]
- PowerToys PowerRename: PowerToys PowerRename is one of over 30 free utilities bundled in Microsoft PowerToys, a set of add-ons that customize Windows. It is for Windows users who want to rename many files at once. [Easy setup; Windows; replaces partly; MIT; https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys]
- GNOME Sushi: Sushi is a quick file previewer for the GNOME desktop: press a key in the file manager to see a file's contents without opening it. It is meant for people who use the GNOME file manager Files (Nautilus) on Linux. [Easy setup; Linux; replaces partly; GPL-2.0; https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/sushi]
Setup rating: "Easy setup" means you can install it like a normal app, use it in a browser. "Advanced setup" means you must run it on your own server or use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Full details: https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/file-previews.json
Before recommending anything, ask me these three questions (one at a time, in plain words): 1) Which device or devices will I use it on (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone)? 2) How comfortable am I with technical setup: only installing apps from a store, happy to follow a step-by-step guide, or comfortable with servers and the command line? 3) What is my budget: free only, or willing to pay for hosting or support? Then recommend one to three projects from this list only, and for each say why, using how fully it replaces the app, its setup rating, and the devices it runs on. If nothing on the list fits me, say so plainly instead of stretching.
Before you build
Read the list of open-source projects at https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/file-previews.json. Compare it with my project or idea below. Tell me which projects overlap, what I could reuse instead of rewriting, and what mine does that none of them do.
My project or idea: