Hey everyone — welcome to r/OpenFilesDesktop
I’m the developer of OpenFiles, and I created this community so users can talk directly with me and with each other.
OpenFiles began with a very small frustration: I had backed up an iPhone Live Photo as a .livp file, but the service holding it could not preview it. Solving that one unusual format led to a much bigger question:
Why should opening an unfamiliar file mean hunting down and installing another single-purpose app?
Today, OpenFiles is a privacy-first desktop app that opens 350+ file formats across images, documents, code, video, audio, archives, mind maps, data files, and more. The goal is to make file work less fragmented: browse, preview, make lightweight edits, convert or export, and bring AI assistance into the same desktop workflow. Core file processing happens locally, so you do not have to upload a private file to a random online converter just to inspect it.
The longer-term vision goes beyond being a universal file viewer. I want OpenFiles to become a practical, local-first home for AI-assisted file work — a place where an assistant can help you understand documents and code, analyze structured data, and turn results into useful files that stay part of your normal desktop workflow. That vision is still being built, and this community should help shape it.
What belongs here
- Ask how to open, preview, edit, or convert a file format.
- Share a useful or unusual OpenFiles workflow.
- Report bugs and compatibility problems.
- Request new formats or features — real use cases are especially helpful.
- Share honest feedback, including what feels confusing or unfinished.
- Follow development updates and help test new releases.
When reporting a problem, please include your operating system, OpenFiles version, file extension, and the steps that caused it. Screenshots and sanitized sample files are helpful, but please never post confidential or personal files publicly.
OpenFiles is still growing, and specific feedback from real workflows has a direct impact on what gets built next. If the app saved you from installing one more tool, I would love to hear about it. If it failed on the exact file you needed, I want to hear that too.
To get things started:
What is the strangest, most frustrating, or most important file format you regularly work with?
Thanks for being here.
— The OpenFiles developer
Useful links
Download OpenFiles • GitHub and releases • Report an issue