Free Windows utility

See where your
files actually are

FolderLamp watches your folders and lights up the ones that contain files, so you can start finding things faster.

Windows · Free · No account needed

Less clicking.
More finding.

When multiple people add files to a shared folder structure, things can end up in unexpected folders. Finding something means opening folder after folder until you stumble across it.

FolderLamp runs in the background and updates folder icons automatically. Folders containing files get a distinct coloured icon — visible instantly in Windows Explorer, without opening anything.

Without FolderLamp

With FolderLamp

📁 01_Briefs

📂 01_Briefslit

📁 02_Research

📁 03_Drafts

📂 03_Draftslit

📁 04_Finals

📁 05_Archive

📂 05_Archivelit

Get started

Set it once,
forget it exists

No process changes. No new habits for your team to learn.

Install & point

Install FolderLamp and point it at your project root — a local folder, a network share, or a cloud-synced drive.

It scans quietly

A lightweight background service periodically walks your folder tree, checking which folders contain files anywhere inside them.

Folders light up

Folders containing files get a distinct coloured icon — visible instantly in Windows Explorer right from the parent level, no clicking required.

Features

Quietly does its job

Built for real shared environments — network drives, deep structures, teams of all sizes.

No server required

Runs entirely on each client machine. Local folders, network shares, and cloud-synced drives all work — point it at as many roots as you need.

System tray control

A small tray app lets you add or remove scan roots, adjust the scan interval, and check status at a glance.

Lightweight & fast

Uses just 3 MB of memory while running. Scans 10,000 folders in under 0.7s. Built in Rust — designed for speed and reliability.

For IT admins

Deploy to everyone at once

The installer supports silent install and can pre-configure which folders to scan — useful for GPO or Intune rollouts.

Silent install with pre-configured path

FolderLampSetup.exe /VERYSILENT /ConfigPaths="\\server\projects"

Multiple paths (semicolon-separated)

FolderLampSetup.exe /VERYSILENT /ConfigPaths="\\server\projects;C:\Company\Work"

Installs as a Windows service (auto-starts on boot) with a tray app for per-user control.
No reboot required. Service starts and tray launches automatically after install.

How FolderLamp touches your file system

FolderLamp writes a small desktop.ini file into any folder that has files anywhere inside its subtree, and sets the ReadOnly attribute on the folder, which is necessary for Windows Explorer to read these natively and display custom folder icons.

Never modifies a desktop.ini it didn't create. Any pre-existing content is left completely untouched.
When a folder becomes empty, the service removes only the entries it wrote. Your own ini files are never affected.
A full cleanup function removes every desktop.ini FolderLamp has written, and resets the ReadOnly attribute on the folder, leaving your folder tree exactly as it was.

See where yourfiles actually are

Less clicking.More finding.

Set it once,forget it exists