Shell Integration
Windows Explorer context menu with 15 configurable operations, drag-and-drop handlers, and automatic named-pipe IPC with the running application.
Context Menu
Right-click any file or folder in Windows Explorer to access up to 15 Brutal Copy operations (configurable in Settings > Shell):
- Copy with Brutal Copy / Move with Brutal Copy (always shown)
- Paste with Brutal Copy
- Delete with Brutal Copy
- Properties
- Search
- Rename
- Hash
- Secure Delete
- Duplicate Finder
- Disk Analyzer
- Space Map
- File Unlocker
- Folder Snapshot
- Symlink Manager
- AI Pipeline
Selected files are sent to the running instance via a named pipe. If Brutal Copy isn’t running, it launches automatically.
Drag & Drop
Drag files from Explorer and drop them onto a Brutal Copy destination to start a copy or move job. The drag-drop handler registers as a COM shell extension and communicates with the main application through the same named-pipe IPC channel.
Registration
Register or unregister the shell extension from Settings > Shell Integration, or use the CLI commands brutalcopy register-shell and brutalcopy unregister-shell (requires Administrator). Both 32-bit and 64-bit DLLs are provided for full Explorer compatibility.
After registration, you may need to restart Windows Explorer (via Task Manager) or log out and back in for the entries to appear. On Windows 11, Brutal Copy entries may appear under “Show more options”.
Configuration
Toggle individual context menu entries on or off in Settings > Shell. Choose which operations to show for files vs. folders vs. both. The shell extension reads its configuration from the registry, so changes take effect on the next right-click without restarting Explorer.