USB Manager (DankMaterialShell)

Bar widget for removable USB drives: list devices, mount/unmount, eject, format (FAT32 / exFAT / ext4), and resize partitions. A background daemon watches udisksctl and shows connect/disconnect notifications.

What this solves

Manage removable drives from the desktop shell instead of switching between command-line tools. This project demonstrates QML user interfaces, Linux device integration, background monitoring, and shell helpers.

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Formatting erases the selected filesystem and resizing changes partitions. Back up the drive and verify the selected device before using those actions; removable-drive checks do not replace that review.

Screenshots

Bar popout (device list)	Mounted drive + path

Format flow	Resize flow

Requirements

• DankMaterialShell with plugin support
• udisks2 (udisksctl), lsblk, bash
• For format/resize: parted, mkfs.vfat / mkfs.exfat / mkfs.ext4, resize2fs (ext4), optional fatresize (FAT32 grow), Polkit/agent for privileged operations

Install

DMS Plugins UI

Settings (e.g. Mod+,) → Plugins → Browse → install USB Manager once it appears in the registry.

Manual

git clone https://github.com/NordicsSys/dms-usb-manager.git \
  ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/plugins/USBManager
dms restart   # or reload your session

Enable USB Manager and its daemon in plugin settings.

Repository layout

Path	Role
plugin.json	Plugin manifest
USBManager.qml	Bar widget
USBManagerPopout.qml	Popout UI (list, format, resize)
daemon.qml	Background monitor + notifications + IPC
main.qml	Panel UI
helpers/*.sh	List/mount/format/resize helpers

Recent fixes (high level)

• Reliable plugin path resolution (usbManager vs USBManager install folder).
• NVMe / mmcblk parent-disk detection in usb_manager.sh.
• Mount-then-open-file-manager waits for device list refresh (no race).
• Safer format/resize: USB transport required, stricter removable sysfs checks, stderr merged for pkexec errors.
• udisksctl monitor restart backoff (avoids tight loops if the binary is missing).
• UI: RowLayout spacers, corrected widths, mount/unmount icon semantics.

License

See LICENSE.