# Amaze File Manager: a GPL-3.0 Android file manager with tabs, root and AES encryption

> Amaze File Manager is a Material Design Android file manager written in Kotlin, distributed through Google Play, F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, GitHub releases and AndroidFileHost. It suits users who want tabs, an app manager and root access without ads, but the README documents a real data-loss warning on KitKat external storage.

**TeamAmaze/AmazeFileManager** — Material design file manager for Android

- Repository: https://github.com/TeamAmaze/AmazeFileManager
- Website: https://teamamaze.xyz
- Stars: 6,411 · Forks: 1,697
- Language: Kotlin
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-09-22 · Updated: 2026-09-22 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/teamamaze-amazefilemanager

## The gap Amaze File Manager fills on Android

Android ships a file picker, not a file manager. Amaze File Manager targets the users who need the difference: people moving files between internal storage and an SD card, inspecting an APK before installing it, opening a ZIP or RAR archive in place, or browsing a database file without exporting it first. The README describes the project as a "Simple and attractive Material Design file manager for Android" and lists the basic operations (cut, copy, delete, compress, extract) as the core, with the rest built around them.

The audience is broader than power users. The README lists an App Manager for opening, backing up or uninstalling apps, a root explorer "for advanced users", AES encryption and decryption of files on Jellybean v4.3 and above, and cloud services support on the same version floor through an additional plug-in. It also states there are no ads and no in-app purchases, which is the pitch against the ad-supported file managers that dominate the Play Store category.

The distribution list is unusually wide for an Android utility: Google Play, F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, GitHub releases and AndroidFileHost. That matters for anyone whose device has no Play Services, and it is the reason the project can be adopted in environments where the Play Store is not the delivery channel.

## What the repository layout says about the architecture

The top-level entries tell you how the app is assembled. app/ holds the Android application module, and the Gradle build is driven by settings.gradle and build.gradle at the root, with gradlew and gradlew.bat as the wrappers. Two modules sit beside the app: file_operations/ and commons_compress_7z/. The naming suggests file operations are separated from the UI layer, and that 7z handling is carried by a module rather than pulled in whole from an external dependency. testShared/ and portscanner/ are also present at the root, which points to shared test code and a port-scanning component used by the network features.

The topics list confirms the stack: Kotlin as the primary language, Java alongside it, MVVM as the architectural pattern, RxJava for asynchronous work, and Material Design for the UI. The default branch is release/4.0, which is where the 3.11.x releases are cut from. That is a deliberate choice: the default branch is the release line, not a development trunk, so anyone cloning the repository lands on the code that ships rather than on unreleased work.

The repository also carries AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md at the root, plus .editorconfig, .git-blame-ignore-revs and amaze.license.spotless.txt. Those files describe how contributions are formatted and licensed, and they are the first thing to read before sending a patch.

## Installing Amaze File Manager and a first real use

There is no build-from-source tutorial in the README. The documented path is to install a prebuilt APK from one of the five distribution channels: Google Play, F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, GitHub releases or AndroidFileHost. The README links each one directly, and the F-Droid package name is com.amaze.filemanager. If you want the GitHub release rather than a store build, the README points at the latest release page.

Once installed, the fastest way to see what the app does is to open two tabs and move a file between them. The README lists tab support and the navigation drawer as core features, so this exercises both. The README does not publish an adb install command, so the practical first step is to open the installed app from the launcher and use the navigation drawer to reach internal storage.

For encrypted files, the README states AES encryption and decryption are available on Jellybean v4.3 and above. The practical first use is to select a file, choose the encrypt action, and confirm the result appears as a separate encrypted file rather than replacing the original. The README does not document the key derivation or where the passphrase is stored, so treat the encryption feature as something to verify on a copy before you rely on it for the only copy of a file.

Cloud storage is a separate install. The README says cloud services support requires an additional plug-in and points at the Cloud Plugin on Google Play, which covers Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box. Without that plug-in, the cloud entries in the app have nothing behind them.

## The KitKat warning is the limitation that matters most

The README carries an explicit warning section. On Kitkat devices, basic read and write operations might not work on external memory, and the project tells users not to use cut or paste from or to an external SD Card because "You might lose your files." That is not a caveat about performance or polish. It is the project documenting a data-loss scenario and declining to fix it, followed by the statement that under the license the maintainers are not responsible for damages.

That combination is worth reading carefully. The GPL-3.0 disclaimer is standard, but the warning above it is specific and operational. If you administer KitKat hardware, the correct response is to use copy and verify rather than cut and paste, or to pick a different tool for that device. The README does not document a recovery path, so there is no rollback to describe.

The second limitation is structural: the cloud features are not in the app. They live behind a separate plug-in distributed through Google Play. On a device without Play Services, or in an environment where Play is blocked, the cloud half of the feature list is unavailable even though the app itself installs fine from F-Droid. The README also notes that a change in digital signature will break plug-ins, which means mixing an F-Droid build with the Play Store cloud plug-in is a combination to test before depending on it.

## Where Amaze sits against Fossify File Manager and AnExplorer

Fossify File Manager and AnExplorer come up in the same searches, and the difference is mostly in scope and distribution rather than in the basic file operations. Amaze bundles an app manager, a root explorer, an inbuilt database reader, Zip and Rar readers, an APK reader and a text reader, and it ships through five channels including GitHub releases and AndroidFileHost. A leaner file manager will do the copy, move and delete work with less surface area, which is a genuine advantage if you never open an archive or touch root.

The trade-off runs the other way on maintenance and licensing. Amaze is GPL-3.0, and the README explicitly permits vendors and ROM developers to pre-install the APK in a system image at no fee as long as they comply with the license, while strongly recommending the Team Amaze signed APK so users can still update from Play. That pre-install clause is unusual and it is the reason you will find Amaze already on some ROMs. If you are building a ROM, that clause is the relevant part of the README; if you are an end user, the relevant part is that a pre-installed build may not be the signed one, and the signature change breaks plug-ins.

The last push to the repository was on 2026-09-22, and the most recent release listed is v3.11.3 from 2026-07-30. The project is not archived. Whether that cadence suits you depends on how much you need fixes to land quickly, and the release history shows v3.11.1 and v3.11.2 arriving in December 2025 before v3.11.3 in July 2026.

## License, upgrade cost and what to check before shipping it

The license is GPL-3.0, and the README quotes the full header: Amaze File Manager is free software, redistributable and modifiable under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 or any later version. The copyright lines name Arpit Khurana, Vishal Nehra, Emmanuel Messulam, Raymond Lai and Vishnu Sanal T, with ranges from 2014 through 2024.

For anyone embedding the APK in a ROM or a device image, the README states there is no fee required but you must comply with the license, and it links the GPL v3 text. It also strongly recommends using the Team Amaze signed APK so users can update directly from Play after distribution. The practical consequence is that a re-signed build is a fork in the update path, not just a packaging detail. This is a description of what the README says, not legal advice; if you are redistributing, read the license text yourself.

The upgrade cost is low for end users because the app installs from a store or an APK, and there is no server component to migrate. The cost is higher for anyone tracking the release/4.0 branch: the default branch is the release line, so a local build follows shipped code, and the modules file_operations/ and commons_compress_7z/ are where a change to archive handling or file operations would land. The README does not describe a migration process between major versions, so a version bump is not something the documentation tells you how to plan for.

## Conclusion

Adopt Amaze File Manager if you want an ad-free, GPL-3.0 Android file manager with tabs, an app manager, root explorer support and built-in AES encryption, and you are willing to install it from Google Play, F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, GitHub releases or AndroidFileHost. Do not adopt it if you are on a KitKat device and plan to cut or paste files to or from an external SD card, because the README warns you might lose your files; the README does not document a rollback path for that case. Before relying on it, verify which of the five distribution channels you will use, whether the cloud plugin is required for the storage you need, and that the APK signature matches the one Team Amaze ships, since the README states a change in digital signature will break plug-ins.

## FAQ

### Is Amaze File Manager safe to use?

The README states the app has no ads and no in-app purchases, and it is distributed through Google Play, F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, GitHub releases and AndroidFileHost. It also carries an explicit warning that on Kitkat devices basic read and write operations on external memory might not work and that cut or paste to or from an external SD Card can lose files. The README does not make a broader security claim beyond the AES encryption and decryption feature.

### Is Amaze File Manager free?

Yes. The README lists no ads and no in-app purchases, and the project is licensed under GPL-3.0. Cloud services support is the exception: the README says it requires an additional plug-in, the Cloud Plugin, which is a separate install covering Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box.

### How do I use Amaze File Manager?

Install the APK from one of the five channels the README lists, then use the file list with the navigation drawer for quick navigation and open a second tab for multi-tab work. The README lists cut, copy, delete, compress and extract as the basic operations, plus an app manager, root explorer, archive readers and AES encryption and decryption on Jellybean v4.3 and above.

### What is Amaze File Manager?

It is a Material Design file manager for Android, written primarily in Kotlin under GPL-3.0, with MVVM and RxJava listed among its topics. The README describes it as open source, light and smooth, with tabs, multiple themes, an app manager, a root explorer and inbuilt readers for databases, Zip and Rar archives, APKs and text.

### How does Amaze File Manager compare with MiXplorer?

The README does not describe MiXplorer, so no comparison can be made from it. What the README does state about Amaze is its feature set (tabs, app manager, root explorer, AES encryption, inbuilt archive and database readers), its GPL-3.0 license, and its five distribution channels including F-Droid and GitHub releases.

## Sources

- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/TeamAmaze/AmazeFileManager/blob/release/4.0/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://teamamaze.xyz)
- [README](https://github.com/TeamAmaze/AmazeFileManager/blob/release/4.0/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/TeamAmaze/AmazeFileManager/releases)
- [TeamAmaze/AmazeFileManager on GitHub](https://github.com/TeamAmaze/AmazeFileManager)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/teamamaze-amazefilemanager