A file browser, a terminal and a text editor in one portable Windows exe. Find a file, open a shell where it lives, edit it on the spot.
Fully featured
- Browse - list, icon and details views
- Search - names or contents, with no index
- Terminal - PowerShell or CMD in a tab
- Editor - F7, with syntax highlighting
- Files - copy, move, rename, delete
- Refine - filter, then search within results
- Tabs - folders, searches, shells, files
- Export - HTML report or CSV
- Themes - six, with live accent colors
Built from scratch
KillerShell is written in C# and WPF on .NET Framework 4.8, so it runs as one self-contained native .exe with no runtime to install. The browser, the terminal and the editor are not three programs bolted together: they are one process sharing one tab strip, which is why moving between them costs nothing. No index, no background agent, nothing left running when you close the window.
The Technical page breaks down how it works, and How to covers every key and gesture.
By a field tech, for field techs
Created during everyday systems administration work at a large MSP, where the same loop ran all day: find the file, open a terminal in that folder, edit something. Three applications, three tab strips, and a lot of alt-tabbing between them to do one job.
It was built to collapse that loop into one window: find what you need, drop into a shell already in the right folder, edit the file, close the ticket, move on.
Read the story behind it on the About page.
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Install or run portable. Free, open source, GPLv3.
No agent, no account, no subscription.
No telemetry is sent and no ads... ever.
What it does
Browse, not just search
List, icon and details views, with a folder tree, an address bar, and back / forward / up on Explorer's own keys. A browsed folder tracks the disk, so a file deleted in another window disappears here too.
Filename search
Wildcard patterns like *.log or report_*.xlsx matched against every filename in the tree. Results stream in real time with no pre-indexing.
Content search
Streams through files line by line without loading them into RAM. Shows matched lines with their line numbers, and skips binary files automatically.
Multiple terms
Run several filename and content searches in a single pass. Each term is tracked independently with its own match count, so you can see which patterns hit.
Include / exclude filters
Semicolon-separated patterns narrow or limit the scope by extension or directory segment, for example *.txt;*.log or node_modules.
Search within results
Pipe one search's results into a new tab and search inside just those files. Chain as deep as you like; each pass only touches the survivors of the last.
Sort & refine
Sort results by name, location, size, or modified date, and press Ctrl+F to filter the list live. Dropdown filters narrow by extension, date, or size.
Real file operations
Copy, move, rename, new folder, and delete to the Recycle Bin or permanently. Copy and move show real progress and stop to ask on a collision, with both files' size and date in front of you.
Tabs
Each tab is its own search, folder, terminal or open file, with its own history and results. Drag tabs to reorder, and optionally restore your open tabs on the next launch.
Two panes
F11 splits the window side by side or stacked, each pane with its own tabs. Drag files from one to the other, or keep a search on the left and a shell on the right.
Terminal in a tab
PowerShell, Windows PowerShell or CMD opens in the folder you are looking at, elevated if you want it. The working directory is tracked live, so one click turns it back into a browsing tab.
Editor in a tab
Open any file with F7. Syntax highlighting, line numbers, find and go to line, with word wrap on by default. Your encoding and line endings are preserved exactly, never invented.
HTML & CSV export
Export results as a self-contained HTML report with matched lines and a built-in theme switcher, or as CSV for spreadsheets. Opens anywhere, no dependencies.
Keyboard driven
Explorer's conventions where they exist, and single keys rather than chords where they do not. F1 shows every gesture as a list or on a visual keyboard you can hold Ctrl over.
Themes & accents
Six themes (Dark, Light, Black, Blood, Greed and Cyanotic) with per-theme accent colors, all switchable live.
Install or run portable
Drop the .exe anywhere and run it, or install it for just you, or for every user on the PC.
No extra runtimes or dependencies are required.
Private by design
Everything runs on your machine. No agent is installed, no account is required, no cloud, and no telemetry is sent anywhere.
Nothing about your files leaves the device.
Ten languages
The interface is localized in ten languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Turkish, Czech, Japanese, Chinese Traditional and Simplified, and Bengali), switchable live from the toolbar.