[Feature]: True portable mode #1196

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1. Feraris20

   added

   enhancementNew feature or requestNew feature or request

   on Nov 5, 2026
2. KnifeLemon commented on Nov 6, 2026

   

   KnifeLemon

   on Nov 6, 2026

   Owner

   More actions

   Thanks, @Feraris20! This is the same wish as #879 and #1107, and yours is the clearest shape so far, so let's use this issue for it.

   The design works for me:

   • An empty filee.portable next to Filee.exe turns it on.
   • Settings, downloaded engines and logs go to a data folder next to the executable.
   • Start Filee when I sign in and the Convert with Filee menu are off, and portable mode doesn't register them. Filee already skips them when started with FILEE_DATA_DIR, so this can build on that path.

   A few things to settle in a PR:

   • A folder that can't be written (a read-only USB stick) should give a clear message rather than quietly falling back to %APPDATA%.
   • Work and temp files: please say where they go. Temp can stay in the system's temp folder, but nothing else should stay behind.
   • The portable ZIP should ship with the marker, or not: please say which you prefer. Shipping it changes where existing portable users' settings are, so they'd need a way to bring them along.

   Would you like to build it? #1195 comes first. If you'd rather not, just say so, and it stays open as a request.
3. Feraris20 commented on Nov 6, 2026

   

   Feraris20

   on Nov 6, 2026

   ContributorAuthor

   More actions

   Implemented in #1241.

   • Read-only folder: Filee shows a clear error with the data folder's path and stops. It does not fall back to %APPDATA%.
   • Work and temp files: Their existing locations and cleanup behavior remain unchanged. This PR does not change work folders or engine caches.
   • Portable ZIP: The marker is included by default, since the download is already called portable. Existing settings and engines are not imported automatically. The documentation explains how to copy them into the adjacent data folder manually.
   • Integration: Startup and file-manager integration are disabled in portable mode. Existing installed entries are left untouched.

   The final focused checks passed on Windows and Linux. The PR description lists the results and the remaining testing limits.
4. KnifeLemon

   assigned

   Feraris20

   on Nov 9, 2026