WinFR Pro – Free & Open-Source GUI for Windows File Recovery
Data loss can happen to anyone. Whether you accidentally deleted important photos, documents, or videos, recovering them can be stressful. That’s exactly why I created WinFR Pro – a free and open-source graphical user interface (GUI) for Microsoft’s Windows File Recovery tool.
WinFR Pro is designed to make file recovery simple, especially for users who don’t like using the command line.
What Is WinFR Pro?
WinFR Pro is a GUI built on top of Windows File Recovery, an official recovery tool developed by Microsoft. Windows File Recovery is a powerful command-line (CLI) utility, but it requires typing specific commands and flags in the terminal.
Let’s be honest — not everyone enjoys using the terminal. I’m not a big fan of typing long commands either. So I built WinFR Pro to make the entire process easier, faster, and more user-friendly.
Instead of remembering complex commands, you just select your options in a clean interface and click “Start Recovery.” That’s it.
👉 Official GitHub page: https://github.com/kil0bit-kb/winfr-pro
Why I Built WinFR Pro
When I first used Windows File Recovery, I realized how powerful it was. But I also noticed that many users would struggle with it because it’s entirely command-based.
I wanted to:
Remove the need to type commands
Automate the correct flags and scan modes
Make recovery accessible for beginners
Keep it fully free and open-source
So I created WinFR Pro — a simple but powerful interface that does the heavy lifting for you.
Key Features
Here’s what WinFR Pro offers:
1. Simple Source & Destination Selection
Choose the drive where files were deleted (source) and select another drive where recovered files will be saved (destination).
2. Smart File Filtering
You can:
Recover only images, videos, or documents
Add custom file extensions (like .pdf)
Filter by folder path
Search using keywords (like invoice)
This makes recovery faster and more targeted.
3. Automatic Mode Selection
Depending on the drive’s file system (NTFS, FAT32, etc.), WinFR Pro automatically selects the correct recovery mode:
Regular Mode (for recently deleted files on NTFS)
Extensive Mode (for deep scanning or non-NTFS drives)
You don’t need to understand technical flags — the app handles it for you.
4. Real-Time Recovery Progress
During scanning, you’ll see:
A progress bar
Time taken
Files found
Terminal output
Once complete, you can open the recovery folder instantly.
How It Works
WinFR Pro uses Microsoft’s recovery engine in the background. That means the recovery quality depends on Windows File Recovery itself.
For example:
NTFS drives (common Windows drives) usually perform better.
FAT32 drives (like USB flash drives or camera cards) may scan slower.
In some cases, recovered files (especially videos) may be partially corrupted. This is a limitation of Windows File Recovery, not just the GUI. In the future, I’m planning to improve this and possibly add file repair features.
Still in Beta
WinFR Pro is currently in beta. I have fully tested it, but there may still be minor bugs. If you encounter any issues, you can report them on GitHub and I’ll do my best to fix them quickly.
There’s also a roadmap available on the GitHub page where I share upcoming plans and improvements.
Free & Open-Source
WinFR Pro is 100% free and open-source. You can:
Download it from GitHub
Review the source code
Suggest improvements
Contribute to the project
I built this tool to make life easier — both for myself and for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with command-line tools.