FloppyManager

Python PySide6 GUI for managing FAT12 floppy disk images

A modern, easy-to-use GUI application for creating and managing raw FAT12 floppy disk images (.img) used with Gotek/FlashFloppy drives in vintage piano keyboards. Eliminates the hassle of mounting virtual disks—simply create an image, drag and drop your files, and copy to USB. Verified working with Yamaha DGX-500 + Gotek SFR1M44-U100LQD (FlashFloppy firmware)

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Why this exists

Couldn't find a simple way to create FAT12 images, add files, and copy to USB without juggling multiple mounting/formatting tools. This does it all in one place.

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Yamaha DGX-500 Specific Gotek FlashFloppy Configuration

If using Gotek Flashfloppy ensure there is FF.CFG file with the following contents:

display-type = oled-128x64-rotate
pin34 = nrdy

On the Gotek just need a jumper on S0 or S1. A second jumper is not needed. Verified to work on my Yamaha DGX-500 keyboard and Gotek SFR1M44-U100LQD 3.5inch USB 1.44M. The Gotek replaced the existing floppy drive.

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Build Instructions

Windows Build Instructions

1. Install Python 3

   • Download and install from python.org
   • Ensure "Add Python to PATH" is checked during installation.

2. Install Dependencies

   pip install PySide6 pyinstaller

3. Build Application

   • Double-click BUILD.bat
   • Or run in Command Prompt:

     python -m PyInstaller --clean --noconfirm floppymanager.spec

   Note: The executable will be in the dist folder.

Linux Build Instructions

1. Install Python 3 and pip

   sudo apt install python3 python3-pip

2. Install Dependencies

   pip install PySide6 pyinstaller

3. Build Application

   python3 -m PyInstaller --clean --noconfirm floppymanager.spec

macOS Build Instructions

1. Install Python 3

   • Recommended: Install via Homebrew:

     brew install python

2. Build Application

   • Double-click BUILD_MAC.command
   • Or run in terminal:

     chmod +x BUILD_MAC.command
     ./BUILD_MAC.command

   Note: The executable will be in the dist folder.

Features

General

• FAT12 Support - Standard FAT12 format verified to work with Yamaha DGX-500
• Modern UI - Native OS styling with Toolbar and Light/Dark themes
• Persistent Settings - Remembers last opened image and settings between sessions

File Management

• Create new blank floppy images - Supports 1.44MB, 720KB, 1.68MB DMF, 2.88MB, 1.2MB, and 360KB formats
• Open existing floppy images - Open and manage files on existing .img files
• Close image - Close the current image to return to empty state
• Sector-Level Precision: Writes directly to the image file without needing to mount it as a drive
• Smart Truncation: Automatically converts long filenames (e.g., My_Favorite_Song.mid) to the hardware-compliant 8.3 format (MY_FAV~1.MID) (Windows or no numeric tail option).
• VFAT Filename Displayed in Table - Displays both long filenames and 8.3 short names as well as size and type
• Save floppy images - save copies of floppy images
• Directory Support - Create, rename, and delete folders; navigate subdirectories
• File Attributes - View and edit file attributes (Read-only, Hidden, System, Archive)
• Add files - Drag any files or add file(s) with "Add Files" button
• Drag and Drop - Move files between folders, or hold Ctrl to copy
• Rename files - Windows-style inline editing (F2)
• Delete files - Delete selected files (Del/Backspace key)
• Extract files - Extract selected files, all files, drag to extract, or export all to a ZIP archive
• Format disk - Erase all files and reset the disk to empty state
• Defragment disk - Optimize disk by making all files contiguous
• Sort columns - Click any column header
• Search/Filter - Filter files by filename
• Disk space - Real-time monitoring

Viewers & Tools

• Boot Sector info - View boot sector information
• Root Directory info - View complete root directory information with timestamps
• FAT Viewer - View File Allocation Table as a grid with cluster chains
• Log Viewer - View application logs for debugging and tracking operations

Settings

• Confirmations - Toggle on/off for delete/replace
• Numeric Tails - Toggle on/off for numeric tails (Windows-style vs. Linux truncation option)

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Delete/Backspace - Delete selected files
• Ctrl+A - Select all
• Ctrl+N - Create new image
• Ctrl+O - Open image
• Ctrl+W - Close image
• Ctrl+X - Cut files
• Ctrl+C - Copy files
• Ctrl+V - Paste files
• Ctrl+D - Duplicate files
• Ctrl+Q - Exit FloppyManager
• Ctrl+Shift+S - Save image as
• Ctrl+Shift+F - Format disk
• Ctrl+Shift+D - Defragment disk
• Del/Backspace - Delete selected files

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Development & Testing

The project includes a comprehensive suite of unit tests ensuring reliability for file operations and filesystem integrity.

• Backend Coverage: ~99% (Core FAT12 logic, VFAT utilities)
• Test Framework: pytest

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License

© 2026 Stephen P Smith | MIT License | Support Development ☕