Opportunities › Fast local file search for Windows desktop users › Proposed app
Skimmer
Instant, keyboard-first file search for Windows, with plugins and synced settings
- Score
- 54
- confidence 53
- Evidence
- 7
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 2
- named in sources
- First version
- 45 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2008
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Windows users perform file searches, manage filters and configure plugins through a keyboard-driven power tool at their computer. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Search
1,284,330 files indexed4 ms
About this appAI proposal
Skimmer finds files on your Windows PC as you type. A small background indexer reads the NTFS file table directly and follows changes as they happen, so new and renamed files show up without a rescan. You search from an installed app window opened with one hotkey.
It is made for power users and knowledge workers who search folders all day and find Windows Search slow. Everything is driven by the keyboard: type, arrow, open, reveal, copy path. Filters, result layout and shortcuts are yours to change.
Your settings, saved searches and plugins follow your account across PCs. File names and paths stay on your machine; only your preferences sync.
- Tagline
- Type. Find. Gone from your mind that it was ever slow.
- Voice
- QuickPlainPrecise
- Why this name
- To skim is to scan quickly and land on what you want. The word is short, plain and easy to say.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Results as you type
Searches the local index on every keystroke, so the list updates while you are still typing.
No member yet
Live index
Follows file changes in real time, so a file you saved a second ago is already findable.
No member yet
Keyboard only
Open, reveal in folder, copy path and open with, all from shortcuts you can rebind.
No member yet
Saved filters
Combine type, folder, size and date into named searches you recall with a short prefix.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#0F6E6EDeep Teal · primary#F6F3ECPaper · surface#1F2A2EInk · text#E4572ESignal Orange · accent#D9D2C0Sand · borders and dividers
Typography
Aa
Skimmer
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Type. Find. Gone from your mind that it was ever slow.
PricingAI proposal
The material gives no verified competitor prices. The opportunity text cites about $20 for Listary and a $15-40 one-time or $3-8 monthly range; these tiers are an unverified starting point to test.
Free
Free
- Instant search on one PC
- Live index
- Rebindable hotkey
- Up to 2 saved filters
Pro
$24 once
- Unlimited saved filters
- Plugins
- Settings sync across 3 PCs
- Updates for one year
Pro Monthly
$4 a month
- Everything in Pro
- Updates while subscribed
- Cancel any time
Would you pay Pro Monthly · $4 a month?
Your answer tells PWAS which prices people accept. It changes no score.
No answers yet.
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- No loop in the product. Skimmer is a personal tool and its output is not shared. It reaches people through content, comparisons, communities and word of mouth among power users.
- Do they become customers?
- Every reader of a post or demo is a possible buyer, but nothing in the product brings them in. Test whether a free tier converts to Pro at a useful rate.
- First customers
- Windows power users in software development and IT who already use Everything or Listary and search large drives daily.
- Where to reach them
- GitHub and Hacker News: Publish a speed comparison and a short demo; invite people to try the free tier and give feedback.
- Windows subreddits: Post in productivity and Windows communities with a benchmark on large drives and a plugin sample.
- Tool roundup newsletters: Pitch writers who cover Windows launchers and file search with a free Pro key for review.
- First milestone
- Fifty free installs from developers, and ten paying Pro buyers within eight weeks of launch.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedGitHub repository gained 786 stars in 65 days
- Public claimExisting tools for local file search (Everything, Listary, Windows Search) are in use but seen as slow or legacy
- Public claimThe tool uses high-performance indexing via NTFS MFT parsing and real-time USN monitoring for instant results
- Public claimUsers value customization, keyboard-driven workflows, and plugin extensibility in file search tools
- Verified
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Windows indexerNative background service reading NTFS MFT and USN journalA browser app cannot read the file table; a small signed native helper must build the index.
- This app · Local bridgeLocalhost channel between indexer and installed PWALets the PWA query the local index and ask the helper to open or reveal files.
RisksAI inference
- TechnicalA PWA cannot read the NTFS file table or launch files. The product depends on a native helper plus a localhost bridge, which browsers may restrict or prompt for.
- CommercialEverything is free and Windows Search is built in. Users may not pay unless speed, plugins and sync are clearly better. The material gives no proof of willingness to pay.
- PlatformRaw volume access needs admin rights and may trigger antivirus or SmartScreen warnings until the installer is signed and has reputation.
- DataThe index holds every file name and path on the PC. It must stay local, and any telemetry or sync must be clear and minimal to earn trust.
- Intellectual propertyThe GitHub project cited positions itself against Everything and Listary. Look-alike design or code reuse could cause disputes; the name needs a trademark check.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.