Show HN: I am making an app to rival "Everything"
Generally, I never had problems locating, or quick accessing my files using "Everything". It’s fast and does the job well, no complains there.
So… why build something else?
Because I have some minor complains that have inspired me to work on my own custom replacement to it. And because I just want to make a great project to have on my resume . Here are some limitations I ran into: The app fails when I want to locate a file from another drive that I share between PCs and doesn't use the NTFS file format. Another thing it could do better is to feel a bit more system intergraded. Windows treat it like a separate window, like all the others, and Alt + Tabbing through multiple windows, or giving it administrator privileges every time you open it can cause a small chaos and frustration. It also looks kind of outdated. Doesn't have an easy and quick way to list the most frequently or recently used files. Doesn't provide security for sensitive files by locking them behind a password.
If these issues bother you as well, keep reading.
I have made a basic version of my app that is ready for real world use. It does not yet include all the fixes to the issues that I specified earlier, but it's a solid start and free of charge of course. It is called "Da Deep Search". I will walk you through the most important features that "Da Deep Search" has OR will support in the future over "Everything", since this is a project that I have been working on for only ~3 months.
Current features the app has over everything: 1) More flexible. The app has the ability to scan drives that don't use the standard Windows file system (NTFS). This means that it is compatible with nearly every type of external drives and USB drives out of the box, especially if you share them between devices with different OSes that don't support or it's not preferred to use NTFS. 2) Better system integration. The app's UI is more modern, it blends with the Windows OP better and the way it's accessed gives it the illusion of being integrated into Windows itself, rather than feel like a separate application. Also, it does not require annoying administrator privileges to run or perform an action.
Current tradeoffs: 1)Currently Da Deep Search is not as lighting fast as Everything, though still pretty fast. But don't worry, I am currently working over a solution that will make it as fast while keeping the flexibility and compatibility!
Future features (that I am currently working): 1) Lighting fast file search. 2) Local file sharing. This will allow for encrypted file transfers over the local network. 3) File encryption. This will allow the app to make files or entire directories in-accessible by altering the file bytes and essentially locking them behind a password.
My goal is to create a versatile tool that combines fast, flexible file search with secure file transmission and encryption — an all-around solution for everyday file needs. It WILL take time and I need your help to reach this goal by sticking around and providing solid feedback through the website!
Just my 2 cents: I am not sharing drive, so this doesn't apply to me. "Better system integration" - I have the shortcut set to activate opened and open new only when none exists, so Alt+TAB isn't problem, I never have to give it admin privileges (I assume it has them). "Looks kinda outdated" - you mean "not bloated"? Simplicity, readability, uniformity with the rest of the system and information density are key pluses for me. "Doesn't list most frequent files" - for that windows already has "recents" it shows as first thing when opening new file explorer window. "doesn't provide security" - "Do one thing and do it well". I don't want my search bar to assume a role of access arbiter.
> If these issues bother you as well, keep reading.
Not a single issue you listed bothers me, many I actually prefer the state they are in to your point of view, so I didn't bother to continue reading.
Most people use a CLI. However, that can cause latency for execution, so a service or a REST interface would be interesting.
You also say that you want a solution more integrated with Windows, yet your UI is in SFML and your screenshots look nothing like a native Windows application.
Your project website doesn't render correctly on non-wide screens.
You are using a font which won't render many Unicode filenames correctly, e.g. Japanese or Chinese characters.
You have given no thought to accessibility or localisation.
You argue that Everything doesn't work with non-NTFS drives. That's incorrect - you can add them manually. See https://www.voidtools.com/faq/#how_do_i_index_a_fat_volume . You can also add Network Drives, NAS volumes etc.
Everything will run as non-administrator, but it will be unable to index NTFS properties. This is an OS-level restriction. You will face the same when you attempt to read these properties. The same goes for accessing protected folders - you just skip them.
You mention that you also want to feature file encryption and file transfer features in the same application. You are taking on too much here; each of the three features (file search, file transfer and file/folder encryption) is challenging and could take months to years to develop on its own. There are already accomplished apps satisfying these needs. Why would anyone use your solution over 7-zip?
You have no tests. If you want to feature encryption or file transfer, you will need an extensive test suite. Users will not be happy if your tool deletes or mangles their files.
Looking at your "Da-file-encrypter" repo, you don't seem to have any knowledge about how to actually encrypt files - you are doing an XOR against the bytes of the key, which is derived from the same bytes each time. Please NEVER ROLL YOUR OWN encryption strategy. Even the experts get it wrong. Instead, use a proper cryptography library. If you take anything away from this, please let it be that - never implement your own encryption.
Voidtools' Everything has an API and people have used that to integrate with launchers like PowerToys Run. It may be better to use the API and to add the features you think it is missing. It is very unlikely you will be able to beat its performance.
Judging by your licence and the Donate button on your website, you seem to have recently switched licences and want to make money out of this. In my personal opinion, that's not a good look for a project in this state.
Then it won't use the same trick Everything uses, so can't rival it?
This is portable, so no install and no service.
If it were the only app that did what it does, then I could get over it, but since it's being purpose built to "Rival Everything", then it would need to have dramatic improvements over everything for me to consider ever using it.
One thing I can think of that Everything does not do but would be nice:
If you could have a central server that each instance on the domain would report its file data to, and then people with permission to access the server could then quickly search every file on every computer in the entire domain that is running a copy of "Da Deep Search" (Seriously, give it a better name. How about DDSearch?) and also be able to click the results to access the files they find in an explorer tab, that would be fantastic and potentially helpful.
You could sell such a product. Law firms, small and medium businesses, homelabs and home computing enthusiasts alike would like them, although I would recommend that you offer it for free for non-commercial use.