TagSpaces Lite
TagSpaces Lite is our free and open-source desktop application, offering core functionalities found in our other products. It runs locally on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer, as well as on Android mobile devices, without requiring an internet connection or registration. The web version can be installed on a NAS system or any web server, allowing you to access your files through your browser without the need to install additional software.
- Free and Open Source
- File and Folder Tagging
- File Management Operations
- Create and Edit Notes as Simple Text Files
- Turn S3-Compliant Object Storage into an Online File Browser
- Preview Files Directly in the App
- Source Code Browser and Editor
- Tagging with Drag-and-Drop
- Search Capabilities
- Importing and Exporting Files to Your Desktop
- Color-Coded File Types
- Dark Mode Theme
- TagSpaces Lite as a Web App
- Portable Mode
- Free Downloads
Free and Open Source
TagSpaces Lite is open source, and its code is available on GitHub, released under the AGPLv3 license. Anyone can inspect the code, and we welcome pull requests for new features or improvements. Bug tracking is managed on GitHub's issue tracker.
File and Folder Tagging
Tags are stored in a platform and file-type independent manner. Unlike similar products, TagSpaces doesn’t rely on a central database for storing tags, but instead uses alternative methods for saving this metadata:
- Tagging by file renaming — In this method, the tags are embedded in the file name. For example, if you add the tags vacation and alps to an image named IMG-2653.jpg, it will be renamed to IMG-2653[vacation alps].jpg. While file renaming has its limitations, the tags stay with the file across different operating systems, making it a durable and portable solution.
- File tagging with a helper sidecar file — This method preserves the original file name, with no limit on the number of tags. The tags are stored in a sidecar file located in a .ts folder within the tagged file's directory.
- Folder tagging with a sidecar file — Folders are tagged using a sidecar file named tsm.json, which is saved in the .ts subfolder of the tagged folder.
File Management Operations
TagSpaces Lite can function as a basic file manager, supporting the following operations:
- Creating folders and text files
- Renaming files and folders
- Deleting files and folders
- Moving files
- Opening files with the system’s default application
- Revealing folders in the operating system’s default file manager
- Opening a file's parent folder in the default file manager
Create and Edit Notes as Simple Text Files
TagSpaces allows you to create and edit plain text, HTML, URL, and Markdown files. This makes it an offline alternative to note-taking and personal knowledge management apps like Evernote, OneNote, or Dropbox.
You can create new files at any time by clicking the plus button, as shown in the screenshot. A global shortcut for file creation is available:
Newly created files are saved in the current folder and automatically opened in the appropriate editor.
You can create new files at any time by clicking the plus button, as shown in the screenshot. A global shortcut for file creation is available:
CTRL+SHIFT+N on Windows/Linux and CMD+SHIFT+N on macOS.Newly created files are saved in the current folder and automatically opened in the appropriate editor.
Turn S3-Compliant Object Storage into an Online File Browser
To collaboratively work on the same files with family or colleagues, the Pro version supports connectingcloud object storage as TagSpaces locations. These include services from providers like Amazon AWS or Wasabi, and you can also host storage privately using open-source solutions like MinIO (e.g., on your NAS).
With this setup, you get a fully-featured file organizer and browser in the cloud, so you don't need to download files to preview, edit, or annotate them.
With this setup, you get a fully-featured file organizer and browser in the cloud, so you don't need to download files to preview, edit, or annotate them.
- Connect and browser AWS S3 or Wasabi buckets as locations
- Connect self-hosted MinIO folders as locations
- Stream supported audio and video formats directly
- Edit text files within the buckets
- Upload files via drag-and-drop
Preview Files Directly in the App
TagSpaces supports previewing many file types. Below are some of the built-in viewers:
- Image Viewer — for JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, BMP, WEBP, ICO, PSD, TIFF, and JIF files
- PDF Viewer — for PDF files
- Archive Viewer — for ZIP archives
- Text Viewer — for Markdown and various text files
- Media Player — for audio and video files
- Spreadsheet Viewer — for CSV, Excel, and ODF files
Source Code Browser and Editor
The text editor supports syntax highlighting for many popular programming languages. Combined with the JSON editor, TagSpaces provides a basic source code navigation and editing environment. While it's not intended to replace your IDE, it offers a quick overview of source code repositories.
Tagging with Drag-and-Drop
TagSpaces is designed for touchscreens, but on desktop, it supports drag-and-drop operations, including:
- Dragging tags from tag groups to files and folders in list or grid view
- Dragging tags to the tagging area in file properties
- Dragging a tag from one file to another to transfer that tag
- Moving tags between tag groups via drag-and-drop
Search Capabilities
TagSpaces includes an integrated file and folder search. Unlike classic desktop search tools, TagSpaces' search is limited to the currently opened location or folder. The search is based on an index created upon initiating a search and remains valid for 10 minutes by default:
- The search algorithm prioritizes file name, folder name, tags, description, and path
- There are three types of search:
- Fuzzy — Delivers broad results, even if there are typos in the query
- Strict — Delivers exact results based on the query
- Semi-strict — Similar to strict but case-insensitive
Importing and Exporting Files to Your Desktop
You can easily import and export files from/to your desktop or default file manager. Simply drag and drop the files into the application, and they will be copied/moved to the currently opened folder. Drag and Drop do other applications or the TagSpaces instances is supported as well.
TagSpaces Lite as a Web App
TagSpaces Lite can also be used as a web app, hosted on a static web server, Docker container or NAS. This enables you to access TagSpaces through your preferred web browser without needing to install the desktop app. The web version manages files located in object storage such as AWS S3, Wasabi, or Minio.
Portable Mode
The Windows and Linux versions of TagSpaces can run in portable mode, allowing you to use it from a USB stick or other portable devices. In this mode, all configuration data (such as tags, tag groups, and locations) is stored in the application's folder rather than the operating system's home directory. Learn more about portable mode in the documentation.
Free Downloads
You can download TagSpaces Lite for free on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, or for self-hosting from our downloads page.
If you need more advanced features, consider upgrading to our TagSpaces Pro version.