Browser-based file access for SMB shares and local drives

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.

Deploy with Docker

cloud\_lock 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.

horizontal\_distribute 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.

verified\_user 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.

Self-hosted control

Keep file access in your own environment instead of routing everyday file handling through cloud storage.

Better file handling

Browse large SMB directories with search, keyboard shortcuts, dual-pane navigation, and instant navigation to any directory.

Rich previews

View images, PDFs, and Markdown directly in the browser, including formats browsers do not handle well on their own.

Native editing

Open files in Word, Photoshop, LibreOffice, and other installed desktop apps through Sambee Companion.

Built for desktop & mobile

Use the same system from a workstation, tablet, or phone without giving up core functionality.

Fits existing infrastructure

Deploy with Docker, place it behind your reverse proxy, and connect it to the SMB storage you already use.

folder\_managed

Access

Connect Sambee to your existing storage. Access local drives in the same way as remote SMB shares.

1. 01. SMB shares Connect to Windows file servers, NAS devices, Samba servers, and other SMB-compatible storage. 2. 02. Local drives Connect to local drives (requires the optional Sambee Companion app).

route

Navigate

Move through large file trees quickly with an interface built for speed.

1. 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. 2. 04. Efficient keyboard navigation Move through large file trees faster with keyboard-first controls built for speed and efficiency. 3. 05. Instant navigation to any directory Jump straight to your target folder instead of having to remember and navigate complex directory hierarchies.

pageview

Preview

Inspect many types of files directly in the browser.

1. 06. Fast swiping through images Move quickly even through large image sets with a fast and responsive viewer. 2. 07. Desktop and mobile-friendly viewing Viewing, browsing, and searching files feels natural on both desktop and mobile devices. 3. 08. PDF search Search inside PDF documents to quickly find specific content.

markdown

Markdown

View, search, and edit Markdown files without opening another app.

1. 09. First-class Markdown support Full Markdown support for rendering, searching, and editing without needing to switch into a separate editor. 2. 10. View and edit View Markdown files with rich formatting, seamlessly switch to editing mode when needed. 3. 11. WYSIWYG editing Edit directly in the rendered view. Switch to Markdown syntax only upon preference.

drive\_file\_move

File management

Handle the everyday file operations that normally force users back to desktop file managers.

1. 12. Rename, delete, upload, and download Take care of common file and folder operations from one browser interface. 2. 13. Copy and move across storage locations Move files and folders between local drives and SMB shares.

open\_in\_new

Edit in desktop apps

Open and edit any file in its installed desktop application directly from your browser.

1. 14. Native editing via Sambee Companion Open files in Word, Photoshop, LibreOffice, and other installed desktop apps directly from Sambee. 2. 15. Save back to source location Sambee collects edited files from the desktop app and saves them back to their source location. 3. 16. Conflict handling and recovery Never lose work with built-in conflict handling.

palette

UI themes

Choose between different themes or create your own to make the user interface your own.

1. 17. Adjustable interface appearance Tune Sambee's UI to your preferences and environments with themes. 2. 18. Included light and dark themes Choose between friendly light and dark themes, designed to be easy on the eyes.

bolt

Speed and efficiency

Support fast day-to-day browsing by keeping the underlying system efficient as well as the interface.

1. 19. Optimized SMB protocol implementation Modern SMB protocol implementation optimized for high throughput and low latency. 2. 20. Low resource requirements Sambee requires only a single Docker container and runs efficiently even on smaller machines. 3. 21. On-the-fly format conversions Sambee converts files only when needed while previewing them in the browser.

Sambee supports in-browser previewing for a broad range of file types, including images, PDFs, and Markdown.

• JPG JPEG interchange format
• PNG Portable Network Graphics
• GIF Graphics Interchange Format
• SVG Scalable Vector Graphics
• BMP Bitmap image format
• ICO Windows icon resource
• HEIC High Efficiency Image Container
• JXL JPEG XL container
• AVIF AV1 image file format
• WEBP Google WebP image format
• PSD Adobe Photoshop document
• AI Adobe Illustrator artwork
• EPS Encapsulated PostScript
• TIFF Tagged Image File Format
• PDF Portable Document Format
• MD CommonMark-compatible text

See full viewer support →

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

Install Companion

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.

Single-Container Architecture

Designed for control

Built for your environment

Sambee is designed for environments that value control, inspectability, and infrastructure fit.

SOHO NAS devices & Samba serversProtocol Support SMB2 & SMB3Enterprise Windows file serversClient Access Desktop & mobile browsersInstallation Self-hosted deploymentsGovernance Open-source codebase