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Network neighborhood & mapped drives (D44 / D3)

Version: 0.18.0 · Decisions D3, D44, D45, D49

MyFileExplorer aims to replace Windows File Explorer for day-to-day LAN and mapped-drive work: browse \\server / shares, keep disconnected mapped letters visible, reconnect without opening Explorer, and rediscover PCs without a permanent “discovering…” spinner.

Related: PRODUCT_SPEC.md · DECISIONS.md · IPC_CONTRACT.md · PROJECT_FORMAT.md · settings export in Advanced (D45).

What you see

Drives (mapped letters)

  • Live mounts appear under the tree Drives section (USB eject removes the letter immediately).
  • Mapped network letters stay listed when disconnected (Explorer red-X / “Disconnected” style): label shows UNC + (Disconnected), dimmed row.
  • Sources: GetLogicalDriveStrings + GetDriveType + HKCU\Network for RemotePath. Does not call WNetGetConnection / GetVolumeInformation on network letters during the drive list (those block Electron main for many seconds on a disconnected map and freeze icons/UI). Reconnect still uses WNet when you open a disconnected letter.
  • Opening a disconnected letter (or any path on that letter, or Offline Retry now) reconnects via WNetAddConnection2W (Explorer click-to-reconnect parity). Credentials → interactive WNetUseConnectionW. WNetRestoreConnectionW is not relied on — often missing from mpr.dll.
  • Successful reconnect clears Offline on the tab and refreshes the Drives list (drops “(Disconnected)”).
  • Disconnect / forget: right-click a mapped letter (connected or disconnected) → Disconnect N:… / Disconnect N: (forget mapping)…. Uses WNetCancelConnection2W with CONNECT_UPDATE_PROFILE so the persistent “Reconnect at sign-in” mapping is removed and the letter leaves the tree. If files are open, you can force disconnect. Section-header Disconnect network drive… still opens the system multi-drive picker.

Network (LAN hosts)

  • Tree section Network appears below Drives only when at least one reachable host is listed.
  • Unlike mapped letters, offline Network computers are not shown — remembered names are probe targets only until TCP 445 / shares answer.
  • This PC is omitted by default; enable Settings → Network → Show local computer NAME to include it when reachable.
  • Hosts show as uppercase NetBIOS-style labels when appropriate (NEWONYX), with UNC \\HOST.
  • Expand a host → disk shares as folders (NetShareEnum; admin $ shares hidden by default).
  • Address bar / navigation accepts UNC like Explorer: \\server, \\server\share, deeper paths.
  • Bare \\server lists shares as directory entries (not a real filesystem directory).

Context menu

Where Actions
Network section header Map network drive… · Disconnect… · Refresh Network
Drives section header Computer Manager · Device Manager · Control Panel · Open / Empty Recycle Bin · Map… · Disconnect… · Properties (This PC)
Host / share folder Map… · Refresh shares (host) · Open in new tab · …
Folder (tree / list / empty pane) Open Command Line here (cmd or PowerShell from Settings; Shift+click = Administrator)

Map / Disconnect open the native Windows WNet dialogs.

Discovery pipeline

Discovery never blocks folder listing or IPC. It runs in a worker thread.

  1. Seed probes — load remembered names from userData/network-hosts.json (not shown yet). Local PC filtered unless showLocalComputer.
  2. Probe remembered — TCP 445 gate + NetShareEnum; only hosts that answer are added to the tree.
  3. Find more — Shell Network neighborhood (PowerShell) + ARP with 445 gate (≈ 20s budget per pass).
  4. Skip legacy NetServerEnum (often ~50s then empty without SMBv1 Computer Browser).

The Network tree section appears only for reachable hosts (respecting the local-computer toggle). During rediscovery, the previous online list is kept until the first verified update (empty running payload). When the section is visible, the header may show discovering… while status === 'running'.

When discovery runs

Trigger Behavior
App launch Always one pass (remembered names probed; tree fills as hosts answer)
F5 / Ctrl+R Rediscover + clear cached share lists
Context Refresh Network / Settings Discover now Same
Settings → Network → Automatic Extra passes on a timer (default every 5 minutes, clamp 1–60)
Settings → Network → Manual Launch + explicit refresh only

While a pass is already running, the auto timer skips stacking another.

Startup

Shell paints as soon as settings/session load. Drives, pane listings, and the first Network discovery pass refresh in the background (discovery starts ~400ms after listings begin so it does not compete with the first fs:list). Drive list polling is every 10s.

Remembered hosts

  • Opening \\server or listing shares remembers the host (for faster probes next time).
  • Persisted in network-hosts.json (capped); collapsed IP ↔ hostname aliases where possible.
  • Remembered ≠ visible: a name stays in the file when offline, but the tree only lists hosts that answered on the latest discovery pass.
  • Included in Settings → About → Export settings (D45). Import replaces the remembered list when the export envelope contains networkHosts.

Settings → Network

Control Meaning
Discovery mode Automatic (timed) or Manual only
Auto refresh every (minutes) 1–60; default 5 (Automatic only)
Enable network discovery Master switch (default on). Off = no LAN discovery; mapped drives unchanged
Show local computer NAME Include this PC under Network (default off)
Discover now Start a pass immediately
Map network drive… / Disconnect… Native WNet dialogs

Prefs live in settings.networkDiscovery: { enabled, mode, intervalMinutes, showLocalComputer } (defaults: true / auto / 5 / false). New fields on this object are included in Export / Import settings (D45) automatically because export serializes the full settingsSchema document.

Offline tabs & mapped drives (D3)

  • Tabs whose path is unreachable (unmounted BitLocker, network not ready, disconnected map) stay Offline and poll / retry — they are not closed.
  • Offline UI: title, path, hint, Retry now (also triggers mapped-drive restore when applicable).
  • Tree Drives poll (~3s) keeps live mount / disconnected labels in sync; Offline-tab retry is separate (~8s).
  • To remove a forever-dead mapping, disconnect the letter from the tree (see above). Offline tabs for that path remain until you close them; they will not come back as a ghost drive.

Listing memory cache (D49)

Re-opening a NAS / UNC / mapped / mfe-remote:// folder used to wait on a full fs:list every time (often ~2 s). Explorer feels faster on the second visit because the shell already has the directory in memory.

MyFileExplorer does the same in the renderer only, session-scoped:

  • Paint the last listing immediately, then refresh from the network in the background.
  • Cap ~24 folders; skip listings larger than 20 000 entries.
  • Drop the snapshot on F5, our own create/rename/delete/move, and fs-changed when that folder is watched.
  • Not local NTFS. Not written to disk. Not used to skip the background revalidate.

UNC path rules (main)

  • Paths are validated/normalized in main before IO. UNC-aware normalize must not turn \\server into \server (Node path.normalize pitfall).
  • NetShareEnum takes a bare server name with str16 structs (koffi void* AV risk avoided).
  • Media protocol allowlist still applies after successful list.

IPC & events

Channel / event Role
network:startDiscovery Start async discovery; returns { generation }
network:listShares { server } → share list
network:mapDriveDialog / disconnectDriveDialog Native dialogs
network:disconnectMappedDrive { path, force? } — cancel + forget one letter
mfe-event network-discovery { generation, status, hosts?, message? } progress / result
fs:listDrives DriveInfo including offline, remotePath
fs:list On drive-letter paths, attempts mapped reconnect first
shell:openCommandLine { path, elevated? } — cmd or PowerShell (commandLineShell); elevated = UAC

Schemas: src/shared/schemas/network.ts, networkDiscovery.ts, networkPaths.ts.

Persistence (userData)

File Contents
network-hosts.json Remembered LAN hosts
settings.json → networkDiscovery Auto/manual + interval + showLocalComputer
settings.json → export envelope Portable backup includes hosts (not window geometry)

Not exported: window-state.json, live session.json tabs (use a named layout to move a workspace).

Non-goals / soft-fail

  • No SMBv1 Computer Browser dependency.
  • Empty LAN / only this PC → Network section stays hidden (no flash then disappear).
  • Bare \\server is not a shell cwd for Open Command Line (item hidden for host-only UNC).
  • Cloud provider namespaces / remote FTP are out of scope here — remotes are REMOTE_FTP.md (D46).

Manual test checklist

  1. Cold start with known LAN PCs — Network section appears as hosts answer (not before); offline remembered names stay hidden; “discovering…” clears when the pass finishes. Cold start with no remotes — Network section stays hidden.
  2. Settings → Network → Manual — no timed rediscovery; F5 still rediscovers.
  3. Automatic + 1 minute — at most one brief discovering pass per interval.
  4. Disconnect a mapped letter (or reboot before VPN) — letter stays under Drives as Disconnected; click reconnects without opening Explorer; contents list; label loses “(Disconnected)”.
  5. Right-click a forever-dead Disconnected letter → Disconnect N: (forget mapping)… — confirm; letter disappears from Drives; no longer in HKCU\Network.
  6. Address bar \\HOST → share folders; expand host in tree → same shares.
  7. Network header → Map / Disconnect dialogs open.
  8. Export settings on PC A → import on PC B → remembered hosts + discovery prefs restored.