The Problem
Cloud Lock-In
Cloud-first file access tools are not the right fit for every environment. Many teams want browser access to internal files without giving up infrastructure control or pushing storage into the cloud.
Free and Open Source Software Designed for Self-Hosting
Browser-based file access for SMB shares and local drives
Explore, preview, and manage files directly in the browser.
The Gap
Legacy Tools
Traditional file managers still work well on local desktops, but they are less suited to browser-based work styles and mobile access. Sambee closes that gap by bringing SMB shares and local drives into the browser.
The Value
Convenience & Control
Use Sambee when you want cloud-like convenience for browsing and previewing files, but need deployment, access, and storage to stay under your control.
Why Sambee
Benefits
01 // OWNERSHIP
Self-hosted control
Keep file access in your own environment instead of routing everyday file handling through cloud storage.
02 // NAVIGATION
Better file handling
Browse large SMB directories with search, keyboard shortcuts, dual-pane navigation, and instant navigation to any directory.
03 // PREVIEW
Rich previews
View images, PDFs, and Markdown directly in the browser, including formats browsers do not handle well on their own.
04 // EDITING
Native editing
Open files in Word, Photoshop, LibreOffice, and other installed desktop apps through Sambee Companion.
05 // MOBILITY
Built for desktop & mobile
Use the same system from a workstation, tablet, or phone without giving up core functionality.
06 // INTEGRATION
Fits existing infrastructure
Deploy with Docker, place it behind your reverse proxy, and connect it to the SMB storage you already use.
What Sambee Does
Features
Access
Connect Sambee to your existing storage. Access local drives in the same way as remote SMB shares.
- 01.SMB shares
Connect to Windows file servers, NAS devices, Samba servers, and other SMB-compatible storage.
- 02.Local drives
Connect to local drives (requires the optional Sambee Companion app).
Navigate
Move through large file trees quickly with an interface built for speed.
- 03.Single-pane and dual-pane layouts
Switch between focused browsing and side-by-side workflows depending on whether you are reviewing, comparing, or moving files.
- 04.Efficient keyboard navigation
Move through large file trees faster with keyboard-first controls built for speed and efficiency.
- 05.Instant navigation to any directory
Jump straight to your target folder instead of having to remember and navigate complex directory hierarchies.
Preview
Inspect many types of files directly in the browser.
- 06.Fast swiping through images
Move quickly even through large image sets with a fast and responsive viewer.
- 07.Desktop and mobile-friendly viewing
Viewing, browsing, and searching files feels natural on both desktop and mobile devices.
- 08.PDF search
Search inside PDF documents to quickly find specific content.
Markdown
View, search, and edit Markdown files without opening another app.
- 09.First-class Markdown support
Full Markdown support for rendering, searching, and editing without needing to switch into a separate editor.
- 10.View and edit
View Markdown files with rich formatting, seamlessly switch to editing mode when needed.
- 11.WYSIWYG editing
Edit directly in the rendered view. Switch to Markdown syntax only upon preference.
File management
Handle the everyday file operations that normally force users back to desktop file managers.
- 12.Rename, delete, upload, and download
Take care of common file and folder operations from one browser interface.
- 13.Copy and move across storage locations
Move files and folders between local drives and SMB shares.
Edit in desktop apps
Open and edit any file in its installed desktop application directly from your browser.
- 14.Native editing via Sambee Companion
Open files in Word, Photoshop, LibreOffice, and other installed desktop apps directly from Sambee.
- 15.Save back to source location
Sambee collects edited files from the desktop app and saves them back to their source location.
- 16.Conflict handling and recovery
Never lose work with built-in conflict handling.
UI themes
Choose between different themes or create your own to make the user interface your own.
- 17.Adjustable interface appearance
Tune Sambee's UI to your preferences and environments with themes.
- 18.Included light and dark themes
Choose between friendly light and dark themes, designed to be easy on the eyes.
Speed and efficiency
Support fast day-to-day browsing by keeping the underlying system efficient as well as the interface.
- 19.Optimized SMB protocol implementation
Modern SMB protocol implementation optimized for high throughput and low latency.
- 20.Low resource requirements
Sambee requires only a single Docker container and runs efficiently even on smaller machines.
- 21.On-the-fly format conversions
Sambee converts files only when needed while previewing them in the browser.
Broad file type support
Viewers
Sambee supports in-browser previewing for a broad range of file types, including images, PDFs, and Markdown.
01 // Classic image formats
- JPG JPEG interchange format
- PNG Portable Network Graphics
- GIF Graphics Interchange Format
- SVG Scalable Vector Graphics
- BMP Bitmap image format
- ICO Windows icon resource
02 // Modern image formats
- HEIC High Efficiency Image Container
- JXL JPEG XL container
- AVIF AV1 image file format
- WEBP Google WebP image format
03 // Professional graphics
- PSD Adobe Photoshop document
- AI Adobe Illustrator artwork
- EPS Encapsulated PostScript
- TIFF Tagged Image File Format
04 // Documents
- PDF Portable Document Format
- MD CommonMark-compatible text
Companion App
Extend Sambee to the local desktop
The companion app extends Sambee to the local desktop, connecting Sambee to local drives and enabling native desktop editing.
- access local drives
- open files in installed desktop applications
- return edited files to the source location
Self-hosted and easy to fit
Sambee is designed for environments that care about control. Deploy it with Docker, run it behind your reverse proxy, and connect it to the SMB storage you already use.
The goal is to make the storage you already trust easier to access from the browser.
Designed for control
Built for your environment
Sambee is designed for environments that value control, inspectability, and infrastructure fit.