Documentation
All of Filarr, step by step
Install Filarr, organize files and notes, sync, share and stay private: the complete documentation, step by step.
Getting started
8 articles
- Welcome to FilarrWhat Filarr is, what you can do with it, where to start and how this help is organized.
- Install FilarrDownload and install Filarr on Windows or Linux, or open it in your browser. Updates, uninstalling and where your data is stored.
- Local profile or cloud account?The two ways to use Filarr, what changes between them, the 12-word and 24-word recovery phrases, and how to switch later.
- Set up Filarr the first timeThe setup wizard screen by screen: language, local or cloud, your account and recovery phrase, your profile, PIN, starter folders and the tour.
- Find your way aroundThe header, the sidebar (docked, rail or drawer), tabs and split view, the home screen, the command palette and density, and how to replay the interface tour.
- Your first ten minutesA short tutorial: create a folder, add files, open one, write a note linked to it, then find everything again with search.
- Use Filarr in your browserOpen Filarr at app.filarr.com: sign in, unlock at each visit, what changes from the desktop app, offline use and security in the browser.
- Try Filarr with sample dataDownload ready-made files, linked notes in English or French, and a 200-note demo vault, then import them to explore Filarr.
Files
19 articles
- Add files to FilarrBring files from your computer into a folder with Upload Files or drag and drop, follow the progress and know what happens to names and originals.
- Organize files in foldersCreate, rename and move folders, give them a color and an icon, switch between grid and list, sort, group and work on several items at once.
- The Folders pageSee all your folders at once in a tree, in columns or as a map of used space, with quick filters and a details panel for each folder.
- Preview and open filesWhat a click and a double-click do, the built-in viewers for PDF, photos, video and audio, the preview with its information panel, and Open with.
- Edit files inside FilarrEdit text, Markdown, code, CSV tables, calendars and Filarr documents without leaving the app, create a new document and save your changes.
- Find anythingFind files, folders and notes by name or by content, narrow the results with plain words like pdf or this week, and use the command palette.
- Tags, favorites and recent filesTag files to find them across folders, filter a folder by tag, keep favorites one click or one key away, and get back to what you opened lately.
- Collections and smart collectionsGather files from different folders in one place without moving them: pick them by hand, or let rules such as a tag or a date pick them for you.
- Tidy up with "To tidy"Let Filarr suggest a place for waiting files, remove exact duplicates, and clean up empty, dormant or badly named folders. Nothing moves without you.
- File version historyGo back to an earlier state of a file: when Filarr keeps a version, how to compare two versions line by line, restore one or export it.
- Trash and restoreWhere deleted files and folders go, how to put them back, and how to delete them for good, one by one or all at once.
- Recognize text in images and PDFsMake a scan or a photo searchable by its text, or turn it into a note you can edit. Recognition runs entirely on your device.
- ZIP files and other archivesLook inside ZIP, 7z, RAR and TAR archives without extracting them, and download several files at once as a single ZIP.
- Password-protect a file or folderPut an extra password on a folder or a file so that Filarr asks for it before opening, and change or remove it later.
- Automate with rulesLet rules sort your files for you: start from a template or build a rule with a trigger, conditions and actions, then run, pause or edit it.
- Receive and send on autopilot (accountant, Qonto)A drop box that files what people send you on its own, rules that send your invoices to your accountant or Qonto, and the keychain for your API keys.
- Reminders and timelinePut a reminder on a file or a folder, manage your reminders in one place, and see in the timeline what was created or changed lately.
- Watched foldersLet Filarr import on its own the files that land in a folder of your computer, such as Downloads or a scanner folder, and keep them up to date.
- Export and back up everythingSave all your files, notes and metadata in one archive, encrypted or plain, restore it later, and take out single files when you need them.
Notes
17 articles
- Write your first noteCreate a blank note or start from a template, give it a title, an icon and a cover, let Filarr save it, and read its banners.
- Format text in the editorBold, headings, lists, colors, links: format with the selection bubble, the “/” menu, Markdown or the fixed toolbar, then find and replace.
- Slash commandsType / in a note to insert any block: headings, lists, callouts, columns, tables, images, sub-pages, databases. Every command, by family.
- Blocks, layouts and calloutsMove, duplicate and convert blocks with the handle or the keyboard, and use callouts, toggles, columns, tables, code, math, diagrams and more.
- Images and files in notesAdd images from your vault, your computer or the clipboard, place and resize them, open them full screen, and attach file cards to a note.
- Link your notesLink notes, files and folders with [[, preview a link on hover, see which notes point to this one, and let Filarr suggest the links you forgot.
- Sub-pages and embedded notesNest notes inside a parent note with /page, and show a whole note or one of its sections inside another, kept up to date.
- Daily and periodic notesKeep one note per day with Ctrl+Shift+D, carry unfinished tasks over, open any day from the calendar, and create weekly, monthly and quarterly notes.
- TemplatesStart a note from one of the 19 built-in templates, save your own notes as templates, and use the title and date variables.
- Organize your notesChoose what the list shows (folders, sub-pages, tags), pin, sort, set the density, search, act on several notes at once, and use the notes trash.
- Views: list, mosaic, kanban and moreShow your notes as a list, a mosaic of cards, a kanban, a board of sticky notes, a table or a calendar, and turn the open note into a mind map.
- The graph viewSee your notes and the links between them as a map, filter and color it, find clusters and forgotten notes, and export it as an image.
- Version history and exportGo back to an earlier version of a note, compare it with the current one, and export a note as Markdown, HTML, PDF, Word or a Filarr file.
- Import from Obsidian, Notion or MarkdownBring a single Markdown, HTML or Filarr file into your notes, or a whole Obsidian vault or Notion export, with its tags, notebooks and links.
- Write in comfortHide what surrounds your text, set the typography of your notes with “Aa” (font, size, line spacing, width, headings, colors), and time your writing sessions.
- FlashcardsWrite questions and answers in your notes, turn them into a deck of flashcards, and review them at the right time with spaced repetition.
- Comments and drawingLeave comments on a passage of a note, reply and resolve them, and draw freehand shapes, arrows and text over the page.
Tasks, databases and views
7 articles
- TasksTurn a line of a note into a task, then give it a due date, a repeat, reminders, a flag, a priority, a stage and an assignee.
- The Tasks pageSee the tasks of all your notes in a list, on a board or on a calendar, add tasks in plain words, filter them and act on several at once.
- Databases inside your notesInsert a database in a note, add typed columns and rows, and open any row as a record or as a full page.
- Database views, filters and sortsShow a database as a table, board, calendar, gallery, chart, timeline or form, and filter, sort, group and total its rows.
- Relations, rollups and formulasLink the rows of two databases, calculate across linked rows, and compute values with formulas: syntax, functions and ready-to-use examples.
- Fill rows automaticallyFill a database row from a web link, or from a book, movie, TV show or anime found by its title, and see what leaves your device.
- Turn a folder into a databaseShow the files of a folder as the rows of a database, then rename, date, describe, tag and move them from a table or a board.
API and black box
6 articles
- The gate: your databases in your software, without Filarr reading themHow an end-to-end encrypted Filarr database can serve an API to your software, through a gate that runs on your side.
- Open a database to an APICreate an access that opens one or more databases to your software, through a gate installed on your side, and keep its token.
- Manage your API accessSettings → API access: the state of each gate, its databases, its month's usage, what Filarr saw, and the gestures pause, replace the token, remove and revoke.
- Gate vocabularyThe words of API access and the gate: access, token, app key, slug, generation, re-sealing, and the others.
- Gate troubleshootingWhat each API access message in Filarr means, and what to do: the form, Settings → API access, a silent gate or a missing key.
- Questions about the gateWhy a gate, who reads what, what a stolen token costs, what happens to a copy after a revocation, and what is counted.
Account, sync and devices
9 articles
- Create an account and turn on syncCreate a Filarr account when you first open the app, or turn on sync later for a local profile you already use.
- How sync worksWhat Filarr syncs between your devices, what stays on each one, and how to read the sync icon, the activity panel and your storage quota.
- Devices and pairingSee which devices use your account, sign out the ones you no longer use, and pair a new device safely with a code.
- Profiles and several accountsKeep separate spaces with profiles, protect each one with a PIN, and use several Filarr accounts on the same computer.
- Sync conflictsWhat Filarr does when the same file or note changes in two places, and how to choose, difference by difference, what to keep.
- Work offlineFilarr works without a connection on your computer. In the browser, keep folders offline and know what waits for the network.
- Use your own storageKeep your encrypted synced files in your own S3-compatible bucket, such as Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2 or Backblaze, instead of Filarr Cloud.
- Plans and limitsCompare the Free, Solo, Pro, Teams and Enterprise plans, then change plan or manage your subscription.
- Invite friends and earn spaceShare your invitation link and get 5 GB of extra sync storage for each person who really starts using Filarr.
Security and privacy
7 articles
- How Filarr protects your dataEncryption in plain words: what stays secret, what Filarr's servers can and cannot see, and what it means if you lose your password.
- Passwords and recoveryThe four ways back into Filarr, what each one reopens, and step by step: forgotten password, new password, new recovery phrase.
- Lock FilarrHide Filarr behind a lock screen: PIN, lock on demand, auto-lock, enhanced lock and hardware security key, on the desktop and on the web.
- Two-factor authentication and passkeysAdd a code from your phone to your account's sign-in, keep backup codes, and sign in with a passkey from app.filarr.com.
- Desktop protection and the mini vaultProtect files where they are with .filarr containers, use the mini vault, lock everything in one keystroke and clean up temporary copies.
- Hidden vaultSet up a duress password that opens a decoy profile instead of your real vault, and understand the limits of this protection.
- Privacy: what leaves your deviceEvery connection Filarr makes: sync, update checks, error reports, link previews, sources, spell check, notifications. When, what, and how to turn it off.
Teams and organizations
2 articles
Settings and customization
6 articles
- Themes and appearancePick a theme or compose your own, then set the writing color, the accent color, font, page width, bars, density and how a click on a file behaves.
- Customize your homeArrange your home screen with blocks, start from a template, keep several layouts and share a layout as a file.
- Every setting explainedEach page of Settings, each setting in one line, with its default value and where to read more.
- Marketplace and extensionsInstall signed extensions that open new file types, and home layout templates. Update, disable, report, and check who signed what.
- Web ClipperSave a web page or a selection from your browser into Filarr as an encrypted note, through the desktop app.
- Change the languageSwitch Filarr between French and English, and know which few texts stay in one language.
Tutorials
8 articles
- Run your freelance work in FilarrSet up clients, contracts and invoices the way Alex Morgan does: client folders, locked contracts, unpaid invoices in one list, tasks on one page.
- Build a reading trackerBuild a list of books that fills itself from OpenLibrary, then follow your reading on a board and count what you finished.
- Build a project wikiBuild a small wiki for a project: a home page with a table of contents, a sub-page per topic, live embeds of shared notes, and the graph.
- Keep a daily journalStart each day with one page: three priorities, a few notes, unfinished tasks carried over, a weekly review, and a lock to keep it private.
- Clean up a messy downloads folderGather what piles up in your downloads, let the To tidy page suggest a place for each file, remove the copies, and keep it clean afterwards.
- Share documents safely with familyPut the family's papers in a shared vault only your family can open, check each person's key, and send a single document outside by link.
- Move from Notion or ObsidianBring an Obsidian vault or a Notion export into Filarr, check what arrived, fix the few things that change on the way, and find your habits again.
- Study with flashcards and notesTake class notes from a template, write questions as you go, turn them into flashcards, and review a few minutes a day with spaced repetition.
Tips and tricks
2 articles
- 40 tips to work fasterForty short tips to save time in Filarr: files, search, tidying, notes, tasks, vaults, display and security, each with a link to learn more.
- Work without the mouseA working day in Filarr from the keyboard: unlock, find a file, browse folders, write and link notes, add tasks, switch tabs and lock.
Reference
4 articles
- Keyboard shortcutsEvery keyboard shortcut in Filarr, grouped by where you use it: everywhere, in folders, in previews, in notes, on the Tasks page.
- Supported file formatsWhich files Filarr can preview, edit, search and convert, what you can do with each one, and the size limits that apply.
- Desktop and web: what differsWhat the desktop app and the web app at app.filarr.com do differently, and how to choose between them.
- GlossaryFifty Filarr words explained in one or two sentences, from profile and shared vault to backlink and database, with a link to learn more.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
3 articles
- Frequently asked questionsShort answers to the questions people ask most about Filarr: price, privacy, lost passwords, offline use, sharing, devices, and leaving with your data.
- TroubleshootingFix common problems: paused sync, ended session, full quota, unsynced files, conflicts, lost password or PIN, failed imports, slow start, Linux display.
- Get help and send feedbackReport a bug or suggest an idea from Filarr, find your version number, reach the team on the website, and know what to share and what never to send.