Products · Pattern or everyday thing
File managers
Raised as a usability problem by 24 people on Hacker News over 17 years (2010–2026), in 24 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Folders with 100k+ files are very slow to useUnreviewed
20102026- File managers become very slow to interact with in directories holding 100k+ files2025-05-01
- File managers show no size or file count and file search is slow2021-09-24
- Spatial folder organization breaks down with millions of files, making things hard to find2010-05-10
Opening a folder with a huge image freezes the computer for minutesUnreviewed
20102026- Opening a folder of 400 large TIFFs over network freezes the app while thumbnailing2026-07-07
- Opening a folder with a huge JPEG freezes the whole computer for minutes2022-12-12
- Folders take seconds to open while the video itself plays smoothly2017-11-07
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 25 complaints
- Default file managers are far less powerful than needed for organizing documents2026-07-11
- Opening a folder of 400 large TIFFs over network freezes the app while thumbnailing2026-07-07
- File search fails to find files matching the name typed in the search bar2025-11-02
- Sorts numbered files like 10 before 9, so the order people expect is not what they see2025-09-29
- Sorts numbered filenames alphabetically, so "10" lands before "9" and users must pad numbers with zeros2025-09-28
- File managers become very slow to interact with in directories holding 100k+ files2025-05-01
- Users must manually enable metadata columns and rename files to get proper sorting2025-02-12
- After closing a file preview, focus does not return to the window you came from2024-08-09
- File managers feel unnavigable, so the user avoids them by keeping files on the desktop2024-05-06
- Users cannot tell files from folders or organize their data sensibly2023-05-09
- Opening a folder with a huge JPEG freezes the whole computer for minutes2022-12-12
- File managers have a crappy UI that lags behind search-and-narrow approaches2022-08-18
- Cluttered view with unnecessary text, icons, buttons and options2022-08-12
- Forces users to traverse a rigid folder tree and file things in one place only2022-04-27
- File managers show no size or file count and file search is slow2021-09-24
- Supporting many protocols and formats makes file managers confusing for users who aren't prepared2020-11-28
- Right-click and main menu lack new folder option; button is an unlabeled icon2020-11-13
- Can't find new directory button; pastes land in wrong folder; files reorder randomly2020-07-11
- File managers don't display AppImage icons, so the apps are hard to spot2019-06-24
- Folders take seconds to open while the video itself plays smoothly2017-11-07
- Current file managers are no better than decades-old designs, lacking usable improvements2015-11-30
- Searching requires deleting the current directory path text in the title bar first2012-09-02
- 3D file manager interfaces appear utterly unusable and confusing to the user2011-11-11
- Users don't keep files in My Documents because file manager interfaces are too complex for them2010-10-25
- Spatial folder organization breaks down with millions of files, making things hard to find2010-05-10