Local Explorer - Open File Links in Chrome

Enable local file links to hard disk, Azure AD & company shared folders, mapped network drive directly in corporate/local host site.
Download Install ↔ Compare

Local Explorer is a Chrome and Edge extension that allows you to open local file and folder links directly from your web browser on Windows. By integrating with an external Windows application, it enables seamless access to files on hard drives, mapped network drives, Azure Active Directory shares, and company shared folders. You can simply click on file links like documents, videos, or folders within corporate websites or intranet pages to launch them in their associated applications, such as Windows Explorer, MS Word, or Windows Media Player.

Setting up Local Explorer involves installing the browser extension, enabling file URL access, and installing the complementary Integration module on Windows. This integration ensures security while providing a smooth user experience for enterprises needing quick access to local and network resources via browsers. It supports Unicode file paths and offers silent installation options for enterprise deployments. This free tool is ideal for corporate users who frequently access local or network file locations through internal web portals.

Manifest V3 Productivity Developer Tools Utilities Professional Services
Users:
100,000+
Rating:
3.62
(327)
Version:
2023.1.15.1 (Last updated: 2023-01-20)
Creation date:
2020-07-04
Permissions:
  • storage
Host permissions:
  • <all_urls>
Size:
152.58K
Full description:
See detailed description
Updated:
a day ago

Ranking

# 1,978 ▼ 5
Other rankings
Upgrade to see more rankings

Other platforms

Local Explorer: Open Local File Links in Edge (v2023.1.15.1)
18,015+ 5.00 (7)

User reviews

Users find Local Explorer useful for quickly opening local and network file links from Chrome on Windows, significantly saving time. However, multiple reviews report that recent Chrome updates have broken the extension's functionality, especially with network UNC paths. There are also issues with non-English characters in paths, and the extension is not usable on Chrome OS. While it generally works well on Windows, users are seeking updates to fix these compatibility and encoding problems.
Pros
  • Effectively opens local and network file links directly from Chrome.
  • Saves time by allowing direct access to folders and files without manual navigation.
  • Simple and straightforward to use for opening local explorer windows.
  • Supports opening Windows file paths including network shares.
  • Works well on Windows platforms and integrates with Windows Explorer.
Cons
  • Compatibility issues with the latest versions of Chrome, particularly from version 127 and onwards.
  • Fails to open UNC network paths correctly after recent Chrome updates, leading to blocked or blank pages.
  • Limited support for non-English or special characters in file and folder names, including German, Japanese, and Chinese characters.
  • Not supported on non-Windows platforms like Chrome OS (Chromebooks) as it requires LocalExplorer.exe.
  • Occasional difficulties requiring manual workarounds such as encoding of backslashes to %5C.
Recent reviews
Klasse Extension erfüllt bei mir genau seinen Zweck ...
by Daniel Belleflamme, 2025-04-09
Works verry well except german special characters and root-share like "\\server\share" Thank you for programming updateing this
by Karl Schrott, 2025-02-20
Extension works again in version 133.0.6943.60 (Officiële build) (64-bits)
by Bart Laureys, 2025-02-12
View all user reviews

Extension safety

Risk impact
Moderate risk impact

Local Explorer - Open File Links in Chrome requires a few sensitive permissions. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk impact analysis details
  • Critical Allows access to all websites, posing a significant security risk as it can monitor and modify data from any visited site.
  • High ******* ******* **** *** ****** ***** *** ***** ** ******* **** ********* ********* ** * *********** *****
Risk likelihood
Very low risk likelihood

Local Explorer - Open File Links in Chrome has earned a good reputation and can be trusted.

Risk likelihood analysis details
  • High This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
  • Low **** ********* *** ******* **** **** * ****** **** ***** ******** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
  • Low **** ********* *** ***** **** **** * ****** **** ***** ********** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
  • Good **** ********* ** * ******** ********* ** ****** *** *****
  • Good **** ********* *** **** **** *******
Upgrade to see full risk analysis details

Promo images

Local Explorer - Open File Links in Chrome marquee promo image
Marquee promo image
Small promo image

Compare extensions

Similar extensions

Here are some Chrome extensions that are similar to Local Explorer - Open File Links in Chrome:

Open local file links
Open local file links
kanitz.dev
50K 2.60 (5)
Open local folder by explorer
Open local folder by explorer
Takashi Sugimoto (tksugimoto)
9K 5.00 (3)
Open local Link
Open local Link
hashed tomato
2K 3.00 (2)
Enable local file links
Enable local file links
Takashi Sugimoto (tksugimoto)
3M 3.93 (75)
File Management - WebDav
File Management - WebDav
hocgin
1,000 4.50 (4)
Open Local Files in Google Chrome™
Open Local Files in Google Chrome™
Free Software Extensions
4K 2.43 (14)
Downloads Folder Launcher
Downloads Folder Launcher
https://browsernative.com
10K 4.55 (31)
External Application Launcher
External Application Launcher
yokris.dev
6K 4.33 (43)
Local Image File Viewer
Local Image File Viewer
Sam Larison
10K 4.35 (157)
Enable local file links
Enable local file links
https://peruse.io
100K 5.00 (1)
Enhanced File Explorer for Chrome
Enhanced File Explorer for Chrome
federicobrancasi
963 3.13 (8)
DatAnswers Chrome Local File Opener
DatAnswers Chrome Local File Opener
varonis.com
3K 3.25 (16)