Filen Menubar

A lightweight, native menubar/system tray application for Filen.io cloud sync on macOS and Linux.

Features

• Menubar-only interface - No windows, just a clean system tray icon
• Real-time sync status - Shows current sync state with live file count updates
• Live menu updates - Menu items update in-place without closing the menu
• Cross-platform - macOS and Linux support
• Native KDE support - Uses StatusNotifierItem (SNI) via ksni for first-class KDE integration
• Auto-sync - Optionally start syncing on launch
• Logout confirmation - Prevents accidental logout with a confirmation dialog
• Update check - Manually check GitHub for a newer release from the tray menu

Requirements

Filen CLI

This app wraps the Filen CLI. Install it first:

npm install -g @filen/cli

Verify installation:

filen --version

Important: You must login to the Filen CLI before using this app:

filen

This opens an interactive session where you can login.

Build Dependencies

• Rust (latest stable)
• Node.js (v18+)
• Tauri CLI

macOS:

xcode-select --install

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev build-essential curl wget file \
  libxdo-dev libssl-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev

Linux (Fedora):

sudo dnf install webkit2gtk4.1-devel openssl-devel curl wget file \
  libxdo-devel libappindicator-gtk3-devel librsvg2-devel

Linux (Arch/CachyOS/Manjaro):

sudo pacman -S webkit2gtk-4.1 libappindicator-gtk3 librsvg base-devel \
  curl wget file openssl libxdo

Note: The webkit2gtk-4.1 package is essential - it provides javascriptcoregtk-4.1 required by Tauri.

Installation

Pre-built Binaries

Download the latest release from the Releases page:

• macOS: .dmg installer
• Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): .deb package
• Linux (Fedora/RHEL): .rpm package

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

# Install the deb package
sudo dpkg -i filen-menubar_*.deb

# Install any missing dependencies
sudo apt-get install -f

Linux (Fedora/RHEL/openSUSE)

# Install the rpm package
sudo rpm -i filen-menubar-*.rpm

# Or with dnf
sudo dnf install filen-menubar-*.rpm

Linux (Arch/CachyOS/Manjaro)

Use the install script for a complete installation with autostart:

git clone https://github.com/philippgerard/filen-menubar.git
cd filen-menubar
./scripts/install-linux.sh install

This will:

• Install all build dependencies
• Build the application
• Install binary to /usr/local/bin
• Create desktop entry and icons
• Configure autostart on login

Or build manually:

# Install build dependencies
sudo pacman -S webkit2gtk-4.1 base-devel curl wget file openssl libxdo \
  libappindicator-gtk3 librsvg nodejs npm rust

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/philippgerard/filen-menubar.git
cd filen-menubar
npm install
cargo install tauri-cli --version "^2" --locked
npm run tauri build

# Binary will be in src-tauri/target/release/filen-menubar

Note: AppImage is not supported due to sandboxing issues with accessing the Filen CLI.

Install Script Options

The install script supports several commands:

./scripts/install-linux.sh install    # Full install (build + setup + autostart)
./scripts/install-linux.sh build      # Build only
./scripts/install-linux.sh setup      # Install pre-built binary + autostart
./scripts/install-linux.sh autostart  # Setup autostart only
./scripts/install-linux.sh uninstall  # Remove everything
./scripts/install-linux.sh deps       # Install dependencies only

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/philippgerard/filen-menubar.git
cd filen-menubar

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Install Tauri CLI
cargo install tauri-cli --version "^2" --locked

# Run in development mode
npm run tauri dev

# Build for production
npm run tauri build

Configuration

Configuration is stored in a JSON file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/io.filen.menubar/config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/filen-menubar/config.json

Options

{
  "localPath": "~/Filen",
  "remotePath": "/",
  "syncMode": "twoWay",
  "autoStart": true,
  "locale": "de",
  "loggingEnabled": true,
  "logLevel": "info"
}

Option	Description	Default
localPath	Local folder to sync	~/Filen
remotePath	Remote Filen path	/
syncMode	Sync direction: twoWay, localToCloud, cloudToLocal	twoWay
autoStart	Start syncing on app launch	true
locale	UI language (en, de). If omitted, uses system locale	System locale
loggingEnabled	Enable file logging for debugging	false
logLevel	Log verbosity: trace, debug, info, warn, error	info

Logging

File logging is disabled by default. When enabled, logs are written to a single file that is overwritten on each app launch:

• macOS: ~/Library/Logs/io.filen.menubar/filen.log
• Linux: ~/.local/share/filen-menubar/logs/filen.log

To enable logging, add "loggingEnabled": true to your config file. You can also set the log level with "logLevel": "debug" for more verbose output.

Access logs via the "Show Logs..." menu item, or use the helper script:

./scripts/logs.sh

Usage

1. First: Login to the Filen CLI by running filen and following the prompts
2. Launch: Start the menubar app
3. Click "Login..." in the tray menu to start syncing (uses CLI's stored session)

Menu Options

Status: Synced
Up to date              ← Shows "X files remaining..." when syncing
─────────────
Open Local Folder       → Opens your local sync folder in Finder/file manager
Open Web UI             → Opens Filen web interface in browser
─────────────
Pause Syncing           → Pause/resume syncing (label toggles with state)
Logout                  → Stop sync and clear session (with confirmation)
─────────────
Settings...             → Opens config file in editor
Show Logs...            → Opens log folder (for debugging)
About Filen Menubar     → Shows version and app info
Check for Updates...    → Checks GitHub for a newer release, opens download page
─────────────
Quit                    → Stop syncing and exit

Sync States

State	Description
Not Logged In	No CLI session found. Run filen to login first.
Synced	All files are up to date
Syncing...	Files are being transferred (shows count)
Paused	Sync is paused
Sync Error	An error occurred during sync

Tooltip

Hover over the tray icon to see real-time status:

• Filen - Synced when idle
• Filen - Syncing 5 files when transferring

The tooltip updates in real-time, even while the menu is open.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Filen Menubar                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────────┐   │
│  │   macOS Tray    │  │    Linux Tray       │   │
│  │  (Tauri Icon)   │  │      (ksni)         │   │
│  └────────┬────────┘  └──────────┬──────────┘   │
│           │                      │              │
│           └──────────┬───────────┘              │
│                      │                          │
│  ┌───────────────────▼──────────────────────┐   │
│  │              App State                    │   │
│  │  (sync status, login state, pending cnt) │   │
│  └───────────────────┬──────────────────────┘   │
│                      │                          │
│  ┌───────────────────▼──────────────────────┐   │
│  │            CLI Manager                    │   │
│  │  (subprocess, JSON event parsing)        │   │
│  └───────────────────┬──────────────────────┘   │
│                      │                          │
└──────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┘
                       │
              ┌────────▼────────┐
              │   Filen CLI     │
              │  (@filen/cli)   │
              │  --verbose mode │
              └─────────────────┘

CLI Event Parsing

The app runs the Filen CLI with --verbose flag to get JSON event output. Key events:

Event	Description
cycleProcessingTasksStarted	Sync cycle starting, set state to Syncing
deltasCount	Number of files to sync
transfer + success	A file completed, decrement pending count
cycleSuccess	Sync cycle completed, set state to Synced
cycleError	Sync cycle failed, set state to Error

Tech Stack

• Tauri v2 - Cross-platform app framework
• Rust - Backend logic
• ksni - Linux StatusNotifierItem (KDE support)
• tokio - Async runtime for subprocess management
• tauri-plugin-dialog - Native dialogs

Platform Notes

macOS

• The app hides from the Dock (menubar-only)
• Uses Tauri's native TrayIcon with in-place menu updates
• Template icon support for automatic dark/light mode
• Settings open in TextEdit for easy editing

Linux (KDE)

• Uses ksni for native StatusNotifierItem support
• First-class KDE Plasma integration
• No libappindicator fallback issues

Linux (GNOME)

• Requires AppIndicator extension
• Works via ksni's SNI protocol

Known Limitations

• CLI Dependency: The app requires the Filen CLI to be installed and logged in separately
• CLI Sunset: Filen is rewriting their CLI in Rust (expected Q4 2025/Q1 2026). This app will need updates when released.
• Login UI: Currently requires running filen in terminal to login. A proper login dialog is planned.
• Storage Display: Not available (CLI v0.0.39 doesn't expose storage quota)

Development

Quick Start

# Start development (with debug logging)
./scripts/dev.sh

# Or manually
RUST_LOG=debug npm run tauri dev

Development Scripts

The scripts/ directory contains helper scripts for common tasks:

Script	Description
./scripts/dev.sh	Start development server with debug logging
./scripts/clean.sh	Clean build cache and kill running instances
./scripts/rebuild.sh	Clean rebuild (use after locale/compile-time changes)
./scripts/test.sh	Run all tests
./scripts/lint.sh	Check formatting and run clippy
./scripts/lint.sh --fix	Auto-fix formatting issues
./scripts/release.sh	Build production release (runs tests first)
./scripts/logs.sh	Open log folder for current platform

Manual Commands

# Run with info logging (less verbose)
RUST_LOG=info npm run tauri dev

# Check for issues
cargo clippy --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml

# Format code
cargo fmt --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml

Building a Notarized macOS Release

To build a signed and notarized macOS release locally:

1. Prerequisites:

   • Apple Developer ID Application certificate installed in Keychain
   • App-specific password from appleid.apple.com → Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords

2. Create a .env file (already gitignored):

   export APPLE_SIGNING_IDENTITY="Developer ID Application: Your Name (TEAM_ID)"
   export APPLE_ID="your-apple-id@email.com"
   export APPLE_TEAM_ID="YOUR_TEAM_ID"
   export APPLE_PASSWORD="xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx"  # App-specific password

3. Build:

   source .env && npm run tauri build -- --target aarch64-apple-darwin

4. Output: The signed and notarized DMG will be at:

   src-tauri/target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/bundle/dmg/Filen Menubar_<version>_aarch64.dmg
   

5. Verify notarization:

   spctl -a -vvv "src-tauri/target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/bundle/macos/Filen Menubar.app"
   # Should show: source=Notarized Developer ID

Troubleshooting

Locale changes not reflected?

The rust_i18n crate compiles translations at build time. If you modify locale files (src-tauri/locales/*.yml), you need a clean rebuild:

./scripts/rebuild.sh
./scripts/dev.sh

Project Structure

src-tauri/
├── src/
│   ├── lib.rs          # Main app setup, action dispatch, status loop
│   ├── actions.rs      # Tray action handlers (command pattern)
│   ├── cli/            # CLI subprocess management, JSON event parsing
│   ├── config.rs       # Configuration loading/saving
│   ├── credentials.rs  # CLI session detection
│   ├── state.rs        # Shared app state (sync status, pending count)
│   ├── update.rs       # GitHub release update check
│   └── tray/
│       ├── mod.rs      # TrayInterface trait
│       ├── macos.rs    # macOS tray implementation (Tauri TrayIcon)
│       └── linux.rs    # Linux tray implementation (ksni)
├── Cargo.toml
└── tauri.conf.json

License

MIT

Acknowledgments

• Filen.io for their cloud storage service
• Tauri for the excellent cross-platform framework
• ksni for Linux tray support