Creative workflow / Photoshop plugin

BetterFiles

Less searching. More making.

The project

I’m building BetterFiles to browse, preview, and place local images and design files inside Photoshop. It keeps those files close to the document I’m working on.

Switching between folders and Photoshop interrupts the work. I wanted to see enough of a file to choose it, then place it without leaving the design workflow.

Product design
UI development
Plugin engineering

BETTERFILESPhotoshop

Noira mark.svgPreview ▾

Interface preview · Sample library
Search or select a sample file to preview it. This preview does not insert files into Photoshop.

In development. Explore the sample library here; inserting files requires the plugin. End-to-end testing inside Photoshop is still pending.

How I built it.

Keep the loop short

I organized the plugin around three actions: browse, preview, and insert. Libraries, search, and favorites make frequently used files easier to find.

Bring assets closer

A thumbnail grid and larger preview help the designer choose a file before it enters the Photoshop document.

Separate browsing from placement

I separated file browsing from the code that places, scales, centers, and names an asset in the document. The plugin still needs end-to-end testing inside Photoshop.

Under the hood

Tech stack

React / TypeScript: The panel interface and typed application logic.
Adobe UXP / Photoshop APIs: Local file access and integration with the document.
Zustand: Shared panel state for the browsing experience.
esbuild / Vitest: Plugin builds and pure-logic verification.

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