Dolphin is the default file manager on the KDE desktop, helping you navigate and browse your local and cloud files. Even though it’s usually discussed as a Linux application, you can actually install it on Windows as an alternative to Microsoft’s built-in File Explorer.
Many KDE applications are available and fully supported on Windows and Mac, such as theKdenlive video editorandKrita digital art creator. Dolphin is also in that category of cross-platform KDE apps, though the Windows version is more of an experimental project. You have todownload the latest daily versionfrom KDE’s build server. After installation, Dolphin is available in the Start menu.
Dolphin, Minus Linux
Dolphin might feel a bit out of place on Windows, but it generally works the same as on Linux. The sidebar already has common Windows folders like Desktop, Documents, Music, and Pictures, as well as any internal or external drives. You can change the order of the shortcuts, remove some of them, or add more folders by dragging them from the main window.
Dolphin also has the expected multi-tab and dual-pane views, so you may quickly jump between different folders without a mess of overlapping windows. The File Manager on Windows 11finally added tabs in 2022, but if you’re still on Windows 10, that might be a helpful upgrade. The keyboard shortcuts and menus also seem to be roughly on par with Dolphin on Linux.
One helpful feature is the ‘Open Terminal Here’ option in the right-click menu for a folder. On my Windows 11 PC, it opens the Windows Terminal with a PowerShell prompt at the selected folder.
Unfortunately, Dolphin on Windows doesn’t have the extensions and cross-app integrations that you get with the full KDE desktop on Linux. I can’t right-click a ZIP file to quickly extract it, for example. It also doesn’t use Windows File Explorer extensions, like 7-Zip’s context menu options, but that makes sense—those integrations are built specifically for Microsoft’s own File Manager.
There are some system integrations that do work, though. One helpful feature is the ‘Open Terminal Here’ option in the right-click menu for a folder. On my Windows 11 PC, it opens the Windows Terminal with a PowerShell prompt at the selected folder. I use that shortcut all the time on Linux and macOS, and it’s great to have the same shortcut in Dolphin that is properly connected to the Windows equivalent of a terminal.
The main catch is that you’re able to’t actually delete files. There is an option to move files to the trash, but clicking it doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t seem to be a new bug, since there arereports from August 2024(and possibly earlier) about it. You can drag the file to the Recycle Bin on your Windows desktop, though.
It’s Not Bad
Dolphin on Windows is an interesting experience, but there’s not much of a reason to use over the default File Explorer, at least for me. I can see the appeal when compared to the dilapidated File Explorer in Windows 10, but with the release of Windows 11 and its subsequent updates, Microsoft finally got around to adding tabs and other much-needed interface improvements in File Explorer.
There might still be a few reasons to try Dolphin on your Windows computer, though. Maybe you use it all the time on Linux, and you don’t want to give up your customized toolbar or memorized keyboard shortcuts when using a Windows PC. If youreallydon’t like File Explorer, Dolphin could be an alternative, but there areother third-party file managerswith better Windows integration than Dolphin.
Dolphin for Windows is definitely an experimental project, at least for now. The daily builds are hidden, there’s no automatic update mechanism, and (as previously stated) the trash doesn’t work. There arediscussions in Dolphin’s issue trackerabout solving those problems and creating a fully-supported Windows build, but there hasn’t been much progress there yet.
If you want to try out Dolphin on your PC, you candownload the latest daily buildfrom KDE’s website. Hopefully, the KDE developers can polish it up and release a stable Windows version at some point, and maybe even a Mac version.
