Secure File Manager (CLI + GUI)

A robust file manager written in C that provides strong encryption, a personal vault for managing sensitive files, and hashing utilities for verifying file integrity.

Originally designed as a command-line application, it now includes a simple GTK GUI for beginners who prefer a graphical interface.

Cryptography is powered by the industry-standard OpenSSL library.

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✨ Features

• Strong Encryption: Uses AES-256-CBC for file encryption, ensuring confidentiality.
• Secure Key Derivation: PBKDF2 with SHA-256 + random salt to derive keys from passwords.
• Personal Vault: Local .vault directory to store, list, retrieve, and delete encrypted files.
• File Integrity: Hashing utility supporting SHA-256 and SHA-512.
• Cross-Platform: Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows (via WSL).
• Now with GUI: Simple GTK3 interface to perform vault and utility operations without using the terminal.

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📂 Project Structure

secure-file-manager/
├── .vault/          # Auto-generated: Stores encrypted files
├── bin/             # Auto-generated: CLI and GUI executables
│   ├── secure_file_manager   # CLI tool
│   └── secure_gui            # GTK GUI
├── build/           # Auto-generated: Object files (.o)
├── src/             # Source code
│   ├── main.c              # CLI entry point
│   ├── file_manager.c/.h   # Vault operations
│   ├── crypto.c/.h         # Encryption/Decryption + hashing
│   └── gui_gtk.c           # GUI entry point (new)
└── Makefile         # Build script

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⚙️ Setup and Prerequisites

On Linux (Debian/Ubuntu/Kali)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential libssl-dev libgtk-3-dev git

On Windows (via WSL)

1. Install WSL (Ubuntu recommended).
2. Open your WSL terminal.
3. Install prerequisites:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install build-essential libssl-dev libgtk-3-dev git

4. Navigate to your repo folder (Windows drives are under /mnt/).

On macOS

Using Homebrew:

brew install gcc make openssl gtk+3 git

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🛠️ Building the Project

Clone the repository:

git clone <your-repository-url>
cd secure-file-manager

Build everything (CLI + GUI):

make

• CLI executable → bin/secure_file_manager
• GUI executable → bin/secure_gui

Build only the CLI:

make cli

Build only the GUI:

make gui

Clean build files:

make clean

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▶️ Running the Application

1. Command-Line Interface (CLI)

Create a test file:

echo "This is my top secret data." > secret_note.txt

Vault Commands:

./bin/secure_file_manager add secret_note.txt MyStrongPassword123
./bin/secure_file_manager list
./bin/secure_file_manager retrieve secret_note.txt.enc decrypted_note.txt MyStrongPassword123
./bin/secure_file_manager delete secret_note.txt.enc MyStrongPassword123

Utility Commands:

./bin/secure_file_manager hash sha256 secret_note.txt
./bin/secure_file_manager hash sha512 secret_note.txt
./bin/secure_file_manager encrypt secret_note.txt manual_encrypted.dat MyStrongPassword123
./bin/secure_file_manager decrypt manual_encrypted.dat manual_decrypted.txt MyStrongPassword123

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2. Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Run:

./bin/secure_gui

The GUI window provides tabs/buttons for:

• Vault Operations
  • Add File → encrypt and store in .vault/
  • List Files → view encrypted files
  • Retrieve File → decrypt a vault file
  • Delete File → remove from vault
• Utility Operations
  • Hash File → choose algorithm (SHA-256/SHA-512)
  • Encrypt/Decrypt → manual operations outside vault

👉 The GUI is intentionally simple and beginner-friendly, using text boxes and basic dialogs.

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🧰 Troubleshooting

• make: command not found → Install build tools (sudo apt install build-essential).
• openssl/evp.h: No such file → Install OpenSSL dev (sudo apt install libssl-dev).
• gtk/gtk.h: No such file → Install GTK3 dev (sudo apt install libgtk-3-dev).
• GUI doesn’t open → Run inside a desktop environment (not headless server).

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✅ Conclusion

The Secure File Manager now provides both:

• A powerful CLI tool for scripting and advanced users.
• A beginner-friendly GUI using GTK for interactive workflows.

By leveraging OpenSSL, it ensures confidentiality and integrity of your sensitive files in both terminal and graphical modes.