Building CullByte for Windows and Android

I keep a few generations of builds around while I’m working. Most are small, but an old installer, a recording or a compressed backup can outgrow the folder I’m looking at. I built CullByte to see those files in context.

A map you can follow

Every tile represents a file or folder. Its area follows its size, so the biggest branch is usually the one worth opening first. On Windows I can scan a drive or a folder, open a second view of the same scan and give that view its own filter. I can leave one tab on the whole folder and use another to look at archives.

The filter accepts expressions like *.zip;>500mb. I use the same view to see where the matches sit in the folder tree and to export a list if I want to come back to it later.

Try the two layouts

Choose Windows or Android below. Open a folder, go back and try the Archives tab. Type *.zip;>500mb to narrow the map. The preview uses a sample scan and stays inside the browser.

Interactive example 1

RestartStop

Loading interactive example…

Interactive preview

The phone has a different job

On Android I usually want to know what grew inside a folder I already recognise. I choose that folder in the system picker, then compare the map with a list I can read without zooming. On a narrow screen the list sits below the map. With more width it moves beside it. The map fills in as Android returns results. I can tap an item to bring up its location in Files, or use Explore to stay inside CullByte.

Android grants access to the selected folder and its contents. The Windows version can look at a drive as a whole and distinguish allocated space from logical file size. Android shows the file sizes reported by the document provider. A provider that cannot report a size is called out in the scan.

Keeping the two versions familiar

Both apps use C# and Avalonia. I share the theme, file-type colors and drawing primitives between the projects. The controls around the map differ because a mouse and a thumb need different layouts. The Windows app has an optional inspector and tabbed views that stay visible above the map. The Android app uses bigger touch targets and lets the map and list stack without squeezing the tiles into a narrow column.

See the CullByte project and screenshots.