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User Documentation

Welcome to the official documentation for TagSpaces!

This guide will help you explore and understand the features, philosophy, and use cases of TagSpaces products.

What is TagSpaces?​

TagSpaces is an open-source, cross-platform file manager, organizer, and browser, designed with a no-backend and no-login philosophy. It empowers you to organize files, photos, and documents using tags on various platforms and devices. With a consistent and user-friendly interface, TagSpaces allows you to organize files according to your personal logic and preferences.

Start screen

Key Features​

  • Platform-independent and future-proof tagging for files and folders
  • Add descriptions to files and folders in a platform-independent way
  • Integrated free text and tag search (supports AND, OR, and NOT operators)
  • Viewers for a variety of image, video, audio, and document file formats
  • Editors for HTML, text, and markdown files
  • Support for user interface themes (including dark mode)
  • Thumbnail previews for numerous file types

Philosophy​

  • No Backend, No Login: TagSpaces follows a no-backend, no-login philosophy, meaning it works entirely offline without needing an internet connection.
  • Local File System as a Backend: TagSpaces is a front-end application that uses your file system (or object storage) as the backend.
  • Database-Free: Metadata is stored in your files and folders, preventing data loss in case of crashes, and eliminating vendor lock-in.
  • Sync-Friendly: Use cloud services like Dropbox, NextCloud, or Google Drive to easily synchronize tagged files between devices.
  • Searchable: Tags stored in filenames can be searched using your operating system's search functionality.

Product Landscape​

TagSpaces offers several products to cater to different user needs:

  • TagSpaces Lite: The community-developed edition of TagSpaces for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • TagSpaces Pro: An extended solution with advanced features for power users.
  • TagSpaces Pro Web: A self-hosted package for managing files on web infrastructure with object storage support.
  • TagSpaces Custom: Tailored for enterprise use.
  • Web Clipper Extension: Available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, this extension allows you to save webpages, webpage fragments, and screenshots as local files.
  • Android App: A mobile app offering most of the desktop version's features on Android devices.

Common Use Cases​

TagSpaces is suitable for various use cases:

  • Organizing files and folders
  • Desktop search
  • Note-taking
  • Photo management
  • Bookmark management
  • Simple file manager
  • eBook organizer

Videos​

This short introductory video shows TagSpaces in action:

General TagSpaces Introduction

YouTube Channel​

We maintain a YouTube channel where we publish videos related to TagSpaces.

Technology Stack​

The front-end of TagSpaces is built with:

  • JavaScript / TypeScript / HTML / CSS
  • React / Redux / MUI

Native APIs for file access are based on:

  • Desktop versions for Windows, macOS, and Linux, powered by Electron
  • Mobile versions for Android, powered by Cordova
  • Web versions for managing files in object storages, powered by AWS SDK for JavaScript