LittleFS Browser

A web-based file browser for LittleFS filesystems on Ubuntu. Access files from embedded devices (ESP32, STM32, nRF52, etc.) through a React interface built with shadcn/ui.

Installation

One-Command Install

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/finorr/littlefs-browser/main/install/install.sh | bash

Manual Install

git clone https://github.com/finorr/littlefs-browser.git
cd littlefs-browser
chmod +x install/install.sh
./install/install.sh

Usage

Start the application:

cd ~/littlefs-browser
./run.sh

Open http://localhost:5000 in your browser.

1. Insert your SD card or USB drive with LittleFS
2. Click "Scan Devices"
3. Click on your device to mount it
4. Browse and download files as needed
5. Click "Disconnect" when finished

Features

• React UI with shadcn/ui components
• Automatic device detection
• Automatic mounting with common parameter detection
• File browser with breadcrumb navigation
• Individual file downloads or bulk extraction
• Toast notifications for user feedback
• Responsive design
• Dark/light mode toggle
• Proper unmounting and cleanup

System Requirements

• Ubuntu 20.04 or newer (Debian-based distros should work)
• Python 3.8+
• Node.js 18+ (for development)

Quick Start

For Users (Production)

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Build frontend (one time)
cd frontend && npm install && npm run build && cd ..

# Run the application (requires sudo for mounting devices)
sudo -E .venv/bin/python app.py

Visit http://localhost:5000

For Developers

# Easy way
./start-dev.sh

# Manual way - Terminal 1
sudo -E .venv/bin/python app.py

# Manual way - Terminal 2
cd frontend && npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:5173 for development with hot reload.

Technology Stack

• Frontend: React + TypeScript + Vite
• UI Components: shadcn/ui
• Styling: Tailwind CSS v4
• Backend: Flask (Python)
• API: RESTful JSON endpoints

What Gets Installed

The installer will:

• Install Python 3 and Flask
• Install build tools (gcc, make, pkg-config)
• Install FUSE development libraries
• Build and install littlefs-fuse from source
• Create a Python virtual environment
• Set up the application in ~/littlefs-browser
• Create a desktop launcher

Manual Installation Steps

If the automatic installer fails:

# Install dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential libfuse-dev pkg-config git python3 python3-pip python3-venv

# Install littlefs-fuse
git clone https://github.com/littlefs-project/littlefs-fuse
cd littlefs-fuse
make -j$(nproc)
sudo cp lfs /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/lfs
cd ..

# Set up application
mkdir -p ~/littlefs-browser/templates
cd ~/littlefs-browser

# Copy app.py and templates/index.html to appropriate locations

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install flask

# Run
sudo -E venv/bin/python3 app.py

How It Works

1. Uses lsblk to detect block devices
2. Attempts to mount LittleFS with common parameters (block sizes: 512, 4096; read/prog sizes: 16, 512)
3. Uses littlefs-fuse to mount the filesystem via FUSE
4. Flask serves a web interface on localhost:5000
5. Files are accessed directly from the FUSE mount point

Troubleshooting

Device not detected

• Verify it's connected: lsblk
• Click "Scan Devices" again
• Check kernel messages: dmesg | tail

Mount fails

• Verify the device contains a LittleFS filesystem
• Some devices may require custom parameters
• Check device readability: sudo file -s /dev/sdX

Port 5000 already in use

Edit app.py and change the port number:

app.run(debug=True, host='0.0.0.0', port=5001)

Permission errors

The application requires sudo for device access. Use the provided run.sh script which handles this automatically.

littlefs-fuse build fails

Ensure all dependencies are installed:

sudo apt install build-essential libfuse-dev pkg-config

Security

• Requires sudo for device mounting
• Listens on localhost only by default
• Uses FUSE for sandboxed filesystem access
• No network exposure unless you modify the host setting

File Locations

• Application: ~/littlefs-browser/
• Desktop launcher: ~/.local/share/applications/littlefs-browser.desktop
• Binary: /usr/local/bin/lfs
• Temporary mount points: /tmp/littlefs_mounts/
• Downloaded files: ~/Downloads/littlefs_export/

Uninstallation

rm -rf ~/littlefs-browser
rm ~/.local/share/applications/littlefs-browser.desktop
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/lfs  # optional

Use Cases

• Extract logs from microcontroller SD cards
• Browse filesystems from IoT devices
• Recover data from LittleFS volumes
• Verify files written by embedded systems
• Backup device data before reflashing

Project Structure

littlefs-browser/
├── app.py              # Flask backend
├── templates/
│   └── index.html     # Web interface
├── install.sh         # Installation script
└── README.md          # Documentation

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• littlefs-fuse - FUSE driver for LittleFS
• LittleFS - The filesystem implementation
• Flask - Web framework