Fix Missing Directories & External Drives in Thunar File Manager on Hyprland

If you're running Hyprland (or another minimal window manager) and notice that your file manage like Thunar doesn't show your usual Documents, Downloads, Pictures, or external drives in the sidebar - That's because you are simply missing a couple of packages that a full desktop environment (like GNOME) would normally install by default.

Quick Fix

Just install the following:

sudo pacman -S gvfs xdg-user-dirs

• gvfs: Lets you do things like move files to the trash, access network shares, and mount USB drives easily in your file manager. In most cases, this alone solves the issue.

• xdg-user-dirs: Creates standard folders like "Documents", "Downloads", "Pictures", etc., in your home directory, according to the XDG (Freedesktop.org) specifications.

How I Debugged It

When I first switched to Hyprland, I hit this problem. Searching online didn’t help, so I tried installing Nautilus (GNOME’s file manager) just to test.

To my surprise, not only did Nautilus work - it also fixed Thunar. That was the clue.

To dig deeper I checked Nautilus' dependencies:

❯ pacman -Si nautilus                                                                                                             20:35 
Repository      : extra
Name            : nautilus
...

Depends On      : ...  gvfs  ...  xdg-user-dirs-gtk  ...

...
Download Size   : 2.39 MiB
Installed Size  : 13.59 MiB
Validated By    : SHA-256 Sum  Signature

With the help AI explanation on dependencies, among the many packages, two stood out. That's what Nautilus was pulling gvfs and xdg-user-dirs, which Thunar quietly relies on but doesn't require by default.

Takeaway

If you’re using Thunar in Hyprland (or any barebones WM) and the sidebar looks empty:

1. Install gvfs (and optionally xdg-user-dirs).

2. Restart Thunar.

3. Enjoy your standard folders and USB drives showing up again.

Hopefully this saves you from the same rabbit hole I went down. Minimal WMs are powerful, but they don’t hold your hand — sometimes you need to add the missing plumbing yourself.

I'm grateful you took the time to read what I've shared. Until next time — FlareXes

Further Reading

If you’re exploring Hyprland further, you might also enjoy my step-by-step guide on configuring essentials like screen lock, brightness, and authentication.