SkyBit

A self-hosted, web-based personal file explorer with a cyberpunk aesthetic. Upload, browse, organize, and share your files from any browser — or install it as a PWA directly on your phone's home screen.

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Features

File Management

• Full file browser — navigate folders, view file sizes and modified dates
• Upload — drag-and-drop onto any folder, or use the upload button; large files stream directly to disk
• Background uploads — uploads keep running while you navigate; a floating queue panel shows live progress
• Download — individual files or entire folders as a ZIP archive
• Rename, move, copy — inline rename and a folder-tree picker modal for move/copy
• Create — new folders and new empty files (any extension) from the toolbar
• Delete — with a confirmation modal so nothing disappears by accident
• Trash — deleted files and folders go to a hidden trash folder for 30 days. Admins and mods open Trash from the toolbar to restore one to where it was, delete it for good, or empty the trash

Multi-Select & Bulk Actions

• Toggle selection mode to check multiple files/folders
• Bulk delete, move, copy, or download in a single action via the floating selection bar

Photo Gallery & Lightbox

• Image-heavy folders automatically switch to a grid gallery view
• Gallery shows everything — folders, images, videos, documents, and all other file types appear as tiles; click a folder to navigate in, click a non-image file to preview it
• RAW camera file support — Sony ARW, Canon CR2/CR3, Nikon NEF, DNG, and more display as previews without any extra software
• Thumbnails load lazily as you scroll — large galleries stay fast even with hundreds of photos
• EXIF auto-rotation — portrait-mode photos display upright automatically
• Click any photo to open a full-screen lightbox with:
  • Left/right arrow navigation (keyboard ← → supported)
  • Touch swipe on mobile
  • Click anywhere outside the image to close
  • Close, Download, and Delete buttons in the bottom bar
  • Escape key also closes

Sharing

• Temp share links — generate time-limited, token-based download links
• Link passwords — optionally give a link a password. Until it's typed in, the link shows nothing, not even the file name
• Share link always opens a preview page first — shows the exact filename before the recipient clicks download (no automatic download on open)
• Recipients need no account; links expire automatically
• Admins can view, extend, or revoke all active share links

User Management

• Three roles: admin, mod, user
  • admin — full access: user management, share link management, all file operations
  • mod — all file operations (upload, rename, delete, move, copy, share)
  • user — read-only: browse, download, view
• Admin panel at /admin for adding, editing, and deleting accounts

Backups, updates and sign-ins

• Backups — every night SkyBit copies data.json (accounts, share links, the trash list, settings) into /app/config/backups and keeps the last 7. The admin page has Download backup and restore from a file or a saved copy, with a copy saved before every restore. Your files aren't included; back up the files folder your own way
• Update notice — the admin page says when a newer image is on Docker Hub (checked once a day; nothing about you is sent)
• Sign-ins — your profile lists recent sign-ins and wrong-password tries, with Sign out everywhere else. Admins can sign anyone out of every device

Mobile & PWA

• Responsive layout — works on phones and tablets
• Hamburger menu on small screens
• Installable as a PWA: Add to Home Screen on iOS/Android for a native app feel
• Offline shell caching via service worker

Interface

• File count status bar — a slim bar pinned to the bottom of the screen shows how many folders and files are in the current directory; updates to show filtered results when searching

Design

• Cyberpunk purple (#7c0eb3) + cyan (#22d3ee) color palette
• Neon glow effects, animated grid mesh background
• Animated circuit-board traces on the login page
• JetBrains Mono for monospace elements

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Quick Start (Docker)

docker run -d \
  --name skybit \
  -p 7070:7070 \
  -v /path/to/your/files:/data \
  -v /path/to/config:/app/config \
  -e SECRET_KEY=change-this-to-a-long-random-string \
  rayderc/skybit:latest

Open http://localhost:7070 — default login is admin / admin.
Change the password immediately via the Profile page.

docker-compose

services:
  skybit:
    image: rayderc/skybit:latest
    container_name: skybit
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "7070:7070"
    volumes:
      - /path/to/your/files:/data
      - /path/to/config:/app/config

Set SECRET_KEY in a .env file next to your compose file and reference it with env_file: [.env], or pass it directly via the environment: key.

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Sign in with Amethyst (optional)

If you run Amethyst, people can sign in here with their Amethyst account. In Amethyst, open Dashboard → System and turn on shared login. Then on this app's admin page, under Sign in with Amethyst, put in Amethyst's address and paste the shared secret. The login page gets a Sign in with Amethyst button.

It signs in the account here with the same username as the Amethyst one, so create the accounts here first. Passwords keep working. You can also set AMETHYST_URL and AMETHYST_SSO_SECRET on the container instead.

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
SECRET_KEY	(insecure built-in)	Session encryption key — must be set in production (≥ 32 characters)
BASE_DIRECTORY	/data	Root directory served by the file browser
SITE_NAME	SkyBit	Display name shown in the navigation bar
PORT	7070	Port the HTTP server listens on

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Volumes

Container path	Purpose
/data	Your files — mount your file storage directory here
/app/config	App data — user accounts, share links (data.json), and the RAW thumbnail cache (thumbcache/). Persist this or you will lose accounts on container restart.

The container starts as root, chowns both volumes to the nextjs user, then drops privileges before starting the server.

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Updating

docker pull rayderc/skybit:latest
docker stop skybit && docker rm skybit
# re-run the docker run command above

With docker-compose:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

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Running Locally (Development)

Requirements: Node.js 20+

git clone https://github.com/RayderC/SkyBit.git
cd SkyBit
npm install
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:7070. Files are served from the data/ folder in the project root by default (created automatically on first run).

Environment (local)

Create a .env.local file:

SECRET_KEY=any-long-string-for-local-dev
BASE_DIRECTORY=./data
SITE_NAME=SkyBit
PORT=7070

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Tech Stack

Concern	Choice
Framework	Next.js 15 (App Router for pages, Pages Router for API routes)
Language	TypeScript (strict)
Auth	iron-session — encrypted HTTP-only cookies, 30-day sessions
Passwords	bcryptjs — pure JS, no native compilation required
File uploads	busboy — streams directly to disk, handles large files
ZIP downloads	archiver
Data store	JSON file (config/data.json) — no database server needed
Styling	Custom CSS with design tokens, no UI framework

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Security Notes

• Set SECRET_KEY before exposing to the internet. The built-in default is not secret.
• Change the default admin password (admin / admin) immediately after first login.
• All file path inputs are validated server-side against BASE_DIRECTORY to prevent path traversal.
• The only unauthenticated endpoint is the temp-share access route (/api/temp-shares/access?token=...).
• Session cookies are httpOnly, secure (in production), and sameSite: lax.

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License

MIT