Distro News

Nautilus My Computer adds drive overview and Miller column view to GNOME Files

Key Takeaway

A third-party extension called Nautilus My Computer restores a dedicated computer view to GNOME's file manager, showing all drives with storage usage bars and an optional Miller-style column view.

Summary

Nautilus My Computer is a third-party extension for GNOME Files that adds a centralized 'Computer' view listing all drives, mounts, and partitions with visual storage usage indicators. The add-on also includes a beta-grade Miller-style column view for hierarchical browsing, plus sidebar customization options. It is distributed via a PPA for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS with GNOME 50, with 26.10 support planned. The extension patches directly into Nautilus rather than using official APIs, so it may break with future Nautilus updates.

What Nautilus My Computer adds

  • Drive overview page: Lists all mounts, volumes, and partitions with storage usage bars showing available vs. used space
  • Preferred Folders section: Pinnable shortcuts to common locations at the top of the view
  • View modes: Toggle between big and compact layouts for the overview
  • Sidebar customization: Hide entries like Recent or Starred, change bookmark icons
  • Miller column view (beta): Hierarchical column browsing with drag-and-drop between columns; file preview column shows stats, multi-selection renders as stacked icons with combined size
  • Settings: Configurable drive visibility (including system partitions like EFI, boot, swap), usage bar colors, option to open Nautilus directly to My Computer view
  • Installation: PPA at ppa:yannmasoch/nautilus-my-computer, package nautilus-my-computer; requires full Nautilus restart

Why it matters

The extension fills a long-standing gap for users who preferred Nautilus's removed Computer view, though its unofficial patching approach carries stability risks that may limit adoption among cautious users.

Original reference: www.omgubuntu.co.uk →