At a Glance:
Spacedrive is a local-first, cross-device file manager and data platform that indexes files, cloud storage, and external data sources into a single interface, using a Virtual Distributed File System with P2P sync, built-in AI safety screening, and an embeddable architecture.
Overview:
Spacedrive is a cross-device data platform and file manager that indexes files, emails, notes, and external sources across macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android into one searchable interface. It runs locally on your machine, connecting devices directly through peer-to-peer sync without requiring servers or cloud infrastructure. The platform can also index cloud storage volumes like S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Azure, and GCS alongside local disks. A built-in safety screening pipeline detects prompt injection in indexed content before exposing data to AI agents. Spacedrive can run as a desktop app, headless server, hosted file service, or be embedded into other products through its APIs and interface components.
Key Decision Points:
Local-first with optional P2P sync: All data processing runs on your device. Metadata syncs between your own devices via Iroh/QUIC without servers, but files stay where they are unless you choose to move them.
AI safety screening is built in: Indexed content passes through a local classifier (Prompt Guard 2) and a quarantine system before becoming searchable, filtering out prompt injection attempts from emails and external sources before AI agents can access them.
Cross-platform and embeddable: Runs on desktop (macOS, Windows, Linux) and mobile (iOS, Android), and can also be deployed as a headless server, a hosted file service, or embedded into other products.
Data archival via script-based adapters: Indexes external sources like Gmail, Apple Notes, Chrome bookmarks, Obsidian, Slack, and GitHub through adapter scripts. Any script that reads stdin and prints lines can serve as an adapter.
Agent access through structured permissions: AI agents (via the optional Spacebot runtime) access files through Spacedrive's permission system mapping, path restrictions, and operation approval requirements, rather than through raw shell commands.
Core Features:
Virtual Distributed File System (VDFS): Files become first-class objects with universal addresses (SdPath) that work across devices, independent of physical location.
Content identity via BLAKE3 hashing: Every file gets a content hash, enabling deduplication and redundancy tracking across all connected devices.
Transactional actions with preview: File operations can be previewed before execution, showing space savings, conflicts, and estimated time, then approved or cancelled.
Leaderless P2P sync: Devices sync directly without central coordinators, using state replication for device-specific data and an HLC-ordered log for shared metadata.
Cloud volumes as first-class storage: Index S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Azure, and GCS alongside local drives, all browsable through the same interface.
File system intelligence layers: Combines file intelligence (OCR, transcripts, thumbnails), directory intelligence (folder context), and access intelligence (permissions across devices and clouds).
Use Cases:
Developers and power users managing files across multiple devices who want a single search interface spanning local disks, external drives, NAS, and cloud storage without uploading data to a third-party service.
Users running local AI agents who need indexed, searchable data with built-in prompt injection screening and a structured permission layer instead of exposing raw file system access.
Self-hosters who want a file manager that can run as a headless server or be embedded into other products, with the option to run their own relay servers for P2P connectivity.
Anyone indexing archival data from external sources like Gmail, Apple Notes, Slack, or Chrome bookmarks who wants those sources searchable alongside their file system.
Open-Source Alternative Value:
Spacedrive is open source and local-first, running entirely on your own devices with no telemetry or required cloud services. It provides a cross-platform file management layer that works across macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, with an architecture designed to be embedded into other products. The built-in content screening pipeline for AI agent safety offers a capability not found in conventional file managers, while the adapter system allows indexing of external data sources through simple scripts. P2P sync operates without central servers, and end-to-end encryption is applied to all P2P traffic.
