AnExplorer: Android file manager features, and what the README leaves out

The storage list is long, and FAT is the only file system the README names

Storage is where file managers differ most, and AnExplorer's README lists more storage types than most. It names 10 storage types: EMMC storage, MMC cards, SD cards, internal storage, external storage, phone memory, USB storage, flash drives, pen drives and USB OTG. It adds that the OTG support covers both Nexus and non-Nexus devices. Each of those is a hardware path the app has to recognise and browse, and the README does not explain how it handles any of them.

FAT is the only file system the README names, and the sentence ends there, with nothing on exFAT, NTFS, ext4 or any other format. A drive in a different format is therefore untested as far as the documentation goes. Before you depend on a large card or a drive formatted on another computer, copy a test file onto it and open that file from the app.

The OTG line describes compatibility with a family of devices rather than a list of tested models, and the repository listing shows no compatibility table. Your own phone is the only test the project gives you.

Device claims differ between the GitHub description and the README

Between them, the GitHub description and the README do not agree on the device list. The description names 7 device types: phones, phablets, tablets, Chromecast, Wear OS, Android TV and Chromebooks. In the README body the list has 4 entries, phones, phablets, tablets and Android TV, and it never mentions Chromecast, Wear OS or Chromebooks.

That gap matters in practice. A file manager that suits a phone does not automatically suit a watch screen or a casting stick, and the navigation has to be designed for each. The repository topics include wear-os and chromecast, so the author plainly intends those targets, but the only written claim for Chromecast, Wear OS and Chromebooks is that one-line description.

Android TV is the easiest of those claims to check. According to the README, the app is the first file manager for Android TV, so install it on the television you care about and see whether the file list responds to the remote before you rely on it.

Root access is a separate mode that needs a rooted phone

Root access is the feature with the most power over a device, and the README treats it as a special case. A root file manager lets you explore, edit, copy, paste and delete files in the root partition of phone storage, and the README says this is for development purposes. It names data and cache as folders you can reach, and it states that the phone must be rooted before the feature works.

Two things are missing from that description. Nothing in the README says what to back up before editing the root partition, and it does not say what happens to the device when a deletion removes something the system needs. Those are questions for the authors. Until the documentation answers them, keep this mode off any phone you cannot afford to reflash.

On an unrooted phone the mode is not available at all, so the rest of the app is what you are actually evaluating. No partial mode for unrooted devices appears in the README, and no fallback is described either.

The FTP server makes the phone a file share, with no security settings documented

The Network Manager section describes an FTP server that lets a PC reach the phone's files. The method the README gives is to open the phone's IP address in a browser, after which, it says, all your files on the phone are easily accessible. Whether anyone else on the same network can reach them depends on settings the README never describes, and that is the part it passes over in a single line.

The README does not document a password, a username, an encryption option or a port number. Those gaps weigh more for FTP than for most features, because the protocol sends credentials and file contents in readable form unless the server or the client adds encryption on top. How the server behaves is an open question, so check that before you keep anything sensitive in the shared folders.

The FTP server pulls files from a browser, while the other routes push them

The README names 4 ways to move files off the phone: the built-in FTP server, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct and social networking apps. They differ in who starts the transfer and where the file goes.

With the FTP server, the PC pulls. A browser on the PC connects to the phone's address, which in practice means both devices must be able to reach each other on one network. With Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct, the phone sends the file straight to the other device. With a social networking app, the file passes through that app's own service, so that service's terms apply instead of anything in AnExplorer.

Of the four routes, only the FTP server is described as giving access to all your files on the phone. For sending one photo to a laptop, a direct route needs less setup. For browsing the whole phone from a desk, FTP is the only route with its setup written out in the README, which is why the access gap in the previous section matters more here than it would for a single transfer.

Install from a store badge, because the README gives no build steps

Install instructions in the README amount to 4 store badges under App Links. They point to Google Play, Amazon, the Samsung Galaxy Store and Aptoide, and each one opens a listing for the same app. For running AnExplorer, that is the path the documentation gives, and it is the one to take unless you plan to change the code.

Building from source is not covered. The repository root holds 17 entries, including gradlew, build.gradle, settings.gradle and a gradle folder, which points to a Gradle project, but the README gives no build command, no task names, no Java version and no signing steps. Anyone who wants a modified build has to work all of that out from the build files, which is a real cost for a project that calls itself open source.

For a first real use, install from one of the stores and open the Storage view to see which of your drives appear. Then copy and delete a file in a test folder, because the README's feature list begins with those file operations. The FTP server comes last, since it is the one feature that makes files reachable from the network.

The README's superlatives are claims, and it supplies no measurements

Several claims in the README read like marketing. It calls AnExplorer the smallest file manager on the Play Store at 3MB, the only file manager to support RTL languages natively, and the only app to show folder sizes across storages. It says the app takes no unnecessary permissions, and it says the free version carries ads that a paid version removes.

None of those claims comes with a measurement, a method or a link. The size figure can be compared with the store listing on each platform. The permissions claim can be checked against the Android manifest under app/, and the top level of the repository lists an entry named privacy policy that the README never links to. Until someone does that checking, read the superlatives as the author's description of the product.

Ads are worth knowing about before you adopt the app, because the free version shows them while you use it. Only the paid version is offered as a way to remove them.

Last push on 2026-06-02, no releases, and bug reports go to a website

The repository was last pushed on 2026-06-02, and it is not archived. The GitHub listing shows no releases, so there is no tagged version to pin, and the README gives no version number to quote in a bug report. Anyone who needs a fixed build has to pick a store version and track it by hand.

The reporting route is the other unusual part. The README asks people to report issues through the project website and does not mention the GitHub issue tracker at all. That may suit a small project, but it leaves the README without a route for an issue opened on GitHub, so the website is where to start.

Repository metadata gives the licence as Apache-2.0, and the README reproduces the Apache License, Version 2.0 text beneath a copyright line that covers 2014 to 2024. LICENSE.txt at the top level is the file to read in full before you redistribute a modified build. This article does not offer legal advice on what that text allows.

Editorial conclusion

Use AnExplorer if you want an open source Android file manager with FAT and USB OTG storage support, browser access to your phone's files over FTP, and a store install is acceptable to you. Skip it if you need a documented build process, a tagged release to pin, or a documented security model for the FTP server, because the README and the repository listing document none of them. Before you rely on it, copy a test file to each storage type you use, check the device list against your own hardware, since the description and the README disagree, and read the permission claim in the manifest under app/.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. 1hakr/AnExplorer on GitHub
2. Issues
3. License: Apache-2.0
4. Project website
5. README