I built a Windows utility that copies 20,000 files in 7.7 seconds instead of File Explorer's 3 min 11 s

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Hi everyone! I'm an independent developer, and over the last few months I have been working on Saetta, a small Windows utility that copies, moves and deletes files. I'm sharing it because I put a lot of work into it and I'd be glad if someone found it useful. Why I made it The idea came from copying folders with thousands of small files: File Explorer took minutes, and I got curious about why. It copies one file at a time, and with small files the time goes more into handling each single file than into actually copying it. I wanted to see how much better it could be done while staying inside File Explorer, without changing the way you use it. How it works I wrote a copy engine from scratch in native C++. Before it starts, it looks at the kind of drive it is writing to and changes strategy: * SSD: it copies many files at once. * Hard disk: it writes them in one ordered stream, so the head does not jump back and forth. * USB stick: it writes small files in parallel. Deleting runs in parallel too. I use robocopy only for network folders and folder sync. The times I measured On my PC (i7-9750H, Samsung 990 PRO SSD, Windows 11, median of three runs), compared with File Explorer: * 20,000 files of 64 KB, SSD to SSD: 7.7 s vs 3 min 11 s * Deleting 10,000 small files in 2,000 folders: 1.6 s vs 17.8 s * 20,000 files from one external hard disk to another: 37.6 s vs 2 min 38 s I published every measurement, the ones where the difference is small too, like copying a few very large files, because it seemed right to be transparent. How you use it From File Explorer's right-click menu, on Windows 11 and in the classic menu. If you turn it on, also with Paste, Ctrl+V, dragging files and Delete. The window shows the real speed and the time left, and you can pause. A file in use does not stop the job: it is skipped and reported at the end. ### Free, no ads It is free, with no ads and no account, and it collects no data. There is also Saetta Professional, a one-time purchase for those who want something more, such as verified copies or scheduled backups: it is how I hope to support the project. ### A gift for the first 30 To thank those who try it, I have 30 Saetta Professional licences to give away: the first 30 who open this link get it for free, for good (a Microsoft account is needed). Saetta on the Microsoft Store Website Thanks to everyone who read this far. If you try it and have any questions, I'm here.   submitted by   /u/Wuming4901 [link]   [comments]