How to Set Your Preferred File Manager as Default in Windows 11

There are a couple of big things to note before you make the changes we're going to mention here. First of all, a few file managers such as OneCommander and TotalCommander already provide built-in options for replacing File Explorer. Essentially, those apps do the registry hacks for you, so the process is a lot more seamless this way. What's more, each app can support additional arguments for handling file management more naturally. For example, they can ensure that new folders are open in an existing window rather than opening a new one each time. As such, if you can, you should try to look for the option to replace File Explorer in the app you're currently using. The steps below are meant for apps that don't give you this option, or if you just want a more general solution that works for any app.

Hack the Windows Registry to change your default file manager

1. Find the file location of the app you're trying to use as a file manager. For this example, we're using OneCommander, which is stored in C:\Program Files\OneCommander by default. However, this will vary depending on the program you're using. For most apps, the best way to find this information is to right-click the desktop or Start menu shortcut and choose Open file location.
2. Right-click the EXE file for the app and select Copy as path.
3. Now, open the Start menu or Windows Search and search for regedit then select the first option (or press Enter).
4. Once in the Registry Editor, use the left-side panel (or copy and paste the text below) to navigate to:
   • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell
5. Right-click the shell folder and choose New > Key.

Reverting the changes

If you change your mind and want to go back to opening folders in File Explorer, simply delete the open folders you created in Registry Editor. Be sure to delete them from both the Directory and Drive parent folders.

Redirect the Windows + E keyboard shortcut

1. Download and install AutoHotKey from the official website.
2. Open Notepad and enter the following text, replacing "C:\Program Files\OneCommander\OneCommander.exe" with the path for the program you want to use:
   • #e::Run "C:\Program Files\OneCommander\OneCommander.exe"
3. Click File > Save as.
4. Set the Save as type setting to All files (.) and name the file something like FileManager.ahk (you can change the name, but you have to keep .ahk at the end).

With all of these steps, you can now use the file manager of your choice as your default file explorer in Windows 11 (or previous versions, too). It's not a perfect solution since some dialogs still rely on the File Explorer UI, but this already goes a long way in making the experience better. Hopefully Microsoft introduces a way to change the default file manager in Windows at some point.