File Manager

Zync’s File Manager gives each SSH connection an SFTP view and also provides a local Files view. Use it to browse directories, edit text files, upload and download items, and move data between connections.

Open Files

With a connection open, select Files in the workspace tab bar. You can also use the File Manager shortcut shown in Settings > Shortcuts. A remote connection opens at the server user’s home directory. The local Files view opens at your local home directory.

The path bar accepts an absolute path and supports ~ expansion. Use the back and forward controls to move through the current session’s navigation history.

Places and volumes

The Places sidebar is navigation, not a virtual listing root. Home stays the default location. On local Files, Zync lists real mounted volumes in a platform-specific section:

Platform	Section	Examples
Windows	This PC	C:\, D:\, removable drives
macOS	Volumes	/, /Volumes/USB
Linux	Other Locations and Linux	/, /mnt/data, /media/user/USB

Selecting a volume navigates directly to its real path. There is no fake This PC directory, and going up from C:\ or / stays at that root. Volume Places are shown only for local Files. Remote SFTP browsing does not enumerate the server’s disks.

Places reflect what the OS exposes

Zync does not require administrator access or crawl network shares to populate Places. A drive or mount must be visible to the current user before it can appear.

Browse and select

• Double-click a folder, or focus it and press Enter, to open it.
• Press Backspace to go up. Use Alt+Left and Alt+Right for history navigation.
• Choose list or grid view from the view controls. Mod+Shift+1 selects list view and Mod+Shift+2 selects grid view.
• Press Mod+F to search the current listing. Typing a letter or number also starts a file search when the listing is focused.
• Toggle hidden files with Mod+H or the File Manager settings. Dotfiles are hidden by default.
• Press Mod+A to select all visible entries. Escape clears the selection or closes an open properties panel.

Use Mod+L or press / or ~ when the listing is focused to edit the path directly. F2 renames the focused or selected item. Delete opens the delete flow for selected items. Alt+Enter opens properties.

Create and manage files

Use the toolbar or an item’s context menu to create a file or folder, rename an item, delete it, copy or cut it, and paste it into another directory. Zync checks for conflicts before a batch operation and lets you choose how to handle an existing destination.

Properties show metadata such as size, permissions, owner, group, and modified time when the backend provides it. File operations on a remote connection use SFTP and the existing SSH session.

Uploads, downloads, and transfers

To upload, choose Upload or drag files and folders from your desktop into the current remote directory. Multiple items can be queued together. To download, select items, choose Download, and select a local destination. Zync remembers the last chosen download directory in File Manager settings.

The transfer indicator in the status bar opens a panel with names, source and destination, progress, speed, and cancellation controls. Uploads, downloads, and cross-connection copies run as background transfers and report completion or failure in that panel.

Copy between servers

Select an item on one remote connection, choose Copy to Server, then select the destination connection and directory. Zync transfers directly between the two SSH sessions without first saving the file to your local machine. You can also drag items between connection views.

Download an archive

For a remote connection, select files or folders and choose Download as Archive (.tar.gz). Zync streams the archive over SSH to the local destination. The remote server must provide tar. This action is not available in local Files.

Large or sensitive transfers

Confirm the destination before starting a batch transfer. The transfer panel reports errors, but it cannot make an incorrect destination safe. For sensitive data, check both the source and destination connection names.

Edit text files

Right-click a text file and choose an editor provider. CodeMirror is the default bundled editor and is the lightweight choice for direct SFTP editing. It provides language-aware syntax highlighting, folding, completion, search and replace, and a status bar with line and column information.

Press Mod+S to save the current file back to its connection. Mod+F opens Find and Replace. Mod+G opens Go to Line. Escape closes the Find or Go to Line overlay before any editor-close action. Mod+W closes the editor after the unsaved-changes check.

Zync also supports installable editor providers. Monaco is provided as the marketplace editor-provider plugin com.zync.editor.monaco; install and enable it from the Extensions or Marketplace view before selecting it. You can choose a provider for one file from the context menu or set the default provider in the editor settings. If a provider is unavailable or fails, Zync falls back to the built-in plain editor.

Text files only

The editor is intended for text. Use the terminal or download the file when you need to inspect binary data. If a provider has unsaved edits, Zync asks before replacing the buffer with newly loaded content.

Common settings

File Manager settings include the default view, hidden-file visibility, delete confirmation, Places collapse state, and the default download directory. Keyboard bindings can be changed in Settings > Shortcuts.

Work beside a terminal

Use Open Terminal Here from Files to open or focus a shell at the current directory. From a terminal, Open File Manager Here opens Files at the shell’s last known directory.

When Files and Terminal are visible in a split, drag a file or folder onto a shell pane. Zync pastes the safely quoted path without pressing Enter. This makes it useful for building commands without executing them accidentally.

Troubleshooting

• Remote Files will not open: Check that the SSH connection is active and that the server has an SFTP subsystem configured.
• Permission denied: The remote user needs permission for the source or destination directory. Check with ls -la in the terminal.
• A volume is missing from Places: Check that the OS mounted it and that your user can read it. Refresh or reopen local Files.
• A transfer failed: Open the transfer panel for the error, then retry after checking the connection and destination permissions.
• A file looks corrupted in the editor: Close it and use a binary-safe tool. The editor is not a binary viewer.

Related docs

• Split panes for opening Files beside a shell.