AutoExtract 2

AutoExtract

Automatically extract compressed folders in your downloads folder so you don't have to!

About

AutoExtract, or AE for short, is a small project designed to perform a big task, its job is to manage the contents of your downloads directory, and automatically extract any compressed folders that may end up there.

Supported files

AutoExtract has been designed to support the most common compressed folder types, including: .zip, .7z, .tar, .gztar, .bztar and .xtar.

Features

• Passive directory management - Instead of checking the contents of your downloads folder over an interval, AutoExtract listens for file events and will automatically run when needed, saving resources.
• Multiple compressed file types - Allowing for the extraction of a whole range of file formats.
• Easy to install and manage - AutoExtract is just one small file, meaning you can put it wherever you want.
• Reversible - Once a file has been extracted, the compressed file is sent to the recycle bin, not detected forever.
• Automatic downloads folder detection - Like organizing your folders? Well don't worry, this program will automatically detect where your downloads folder is.
• Multi-platform support - This program works on Windows and Linux (and probably other operating systems too)
• Fast extraction - AutoExtract is faster than Window's default extraction utility, and even beats 7-Zip in some tasks.

Installation

Installation on Windows:

1. Head over the the releases section and grab the latest release.
2. Download the executable file.
3. Run the executable file to begin!

Optionally, you can hit Win + R and type shell:startup to place a shortcut to the executable there, then the program runs at startup.

Installation on other operating systems:

1. Head over to the releases section and download the source code.
2. Make sure to download and install Python.
3. Run pip install -r requirements.txt from a terminal inside the downloaded folder to download requirements.
4. Run the Python file!

Performance Comparison

AutoExtract

AutoExtract

A small project designed to automatically extract archives from the downloads folder

Overview

This project is designed to run in the background of your computer and every 10 seconds it will scan your downloads folder for archives, if it finds an archive then it will automatically extract the file to the downloads folder and remove the original file. Unfortunately, this has only be tested on Windows (10 and 11), but Linux compatibility will be added in a future revision.

Features

AutoExtract is fast, outpacing Windows' default extraction utility and at times even 7-zip!
AutoExtract is small, it uses approximately 9.9 mb of memory and only checks for new files every 10 seconds to reduce CPU-usage.
AutoExtract is super easy to uninstall and uninstall, not requiring any changes to registry or environment variables and does not rely on having other apps installed.*

(*Compiled editions only here, running the python file from source WILL require an install of Python 3)

Additional Information

Setting AutoExtract to run on system-start-up

This small tutorial will only work for compiled editions of the project.

1. Download the compiled version from the releases section.
2. Accept any Windows security pop-ups, this happens when downloading all exe files from GitHub and this project is tested to be safe.
3. Move the file to a folder of your choosing.
4. Right-click on the file and click "Create Shortcut".
5. Cut (or copy) that shortcut to the compiled version of AutoExtract
6. Navigate to the start menu and under the 'apps' menu, right-click on an app. We are looking for an 'Open file location' option, not all apps have this, we do this to open the folder where start menu shortcuts are located.
7. Then locate the folder named 'start-up' and open it#.
8. Paste the file shortcut here, then when you restart your computer, the project will run in the background automatically helping you to extract any downloaded archives.

Supported Files

Currently the project only supports '.zip' archives, other file types may be added in future revisions, apologies if this is inconvenient. Also, ALWAYS make sure your downloading files you trust, this project will not touch other files in the download folder, including other executables, but extracting archives can be dangerous if you do not trust the creator, so be careful and I hope this project has been helpful!