Frontend File Explorer

Frontend File Explorer turns WordPress into a modern, Windows Explorer–style file manager. Manage all your documents, media, and downloads from a clean admin dashboard — then embed a beautiful, mobile-friendly file explorer on any page with one shortcode.

No bloat. No page builder required. Works with every theme.

Why site owners choose Frontend File Explorer:

• Explorer-style interface: Familiar breadcrumbs, toolbar, sorting, and pagination make organizing hundreds of files feel effortless.
• Frontend file sharing: Embed a read-only file explorer on any page so visitors can browse folders and download files in one click.
• Drag-and-drop uploads: Upload multiple files at once, or import existing files straight from your Media Library.
• Folder management: Create unlimited nested folders, exactly like on your desktop.
• Rename, move & copy: Reorganize files and folders with bulk selection and conflict-safe transfers — choose Skip, Replace, or Keep both when names collide.
• ZIP downloads: Download an entire folder as a ZIP archive with a single click.
• Copy direct links: Grab a shareable URL for any file instantly.
• Capability-protected management: Uploading, renaming, moving, and deleting require the WordPress upload_files capability. Visitors can browse and download shared files.
• Dedicated storage: Files live in a dedicated wp-content/uploads/downloads directory, separate from your Media Library.
• Fast AJAX navigation: Folder browsing without page reloads.
• Translation ready: Fully localized with the frontend-file-explorer text domain.

This plugin bundles Material Icons (Google), licensed under the Apache License 2.0. Apache 2.0 is compatible with GPLv3 and later. Full license text and attribution are in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt.

Perfect for:

• Course creators selling downloadable materials
• Agencies delivering files to clients
• Businesses publishing a document library, resource hub, brochures, or documentation
• Anyone who wants a clean, branded downloads page or file-sharing hub

How to use the Explorer:

• Admin Interface:
  Navigate to File Upload in your WordPress admin sidebar. From this dedicated dashboard you can create nested folders, upload bulk files (multi-select and drag-and-drop), import existing Media Library assets, rename items, move or copy files and folders in bulk, delete items, and download entire directories as ZIP archives.

• Frontend Shortcode:
  Embed the user-facing explorer interface on any Page, Post, or Custom Post Type using the following shortcode setup:

  [frontend_file_explorer]
  

  (Renders the explorer starting at the root storage directory)

  Advanced Shortcode Usage:
  You can explicitly define the starting folder path relative to the root uploads/downloads directory by using the folder attribute:

  [frontend_file_explorer folder="/course-materials"]
  [frontend_file_explorer folder="/clients/acme-corp"]
  

  • Frontend Capabilities: Visitors can browse folders, download files, and copy direct sharing links.
  • Security: Mutating actions (upload, folder creation, rename, move, copy, deletion) are strictly hidden and blocked from public visitors — they are only accessible to logged-in users with the WordPress upload_files capability.

Support Development

If you find this plugin useful and want to support its continued development, consider buying me a coffee!

Your support helps keep the plugin maintained, secure, and free for everyone.