deep-search

Targeted file-type search inside .img disk images with a graphical interface.

Main script: deep-search-gui.py

What's New in v1.0.11

• Refined project documentation for a clearer setup flow.
• Improved onboarding instructions for Linux and Windows users.
• Kept the release focused and stable with no behavior changes in scanning features.

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• Tkinter (usually included with Python)
• pytsk3

Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Install pytsk3 in a virtual environment (venv)

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install pytsk3

On Windows (PowerShell):

python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install pytsk3

On Windows (Command Prompt):

python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate.bat
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install pytsk3

Install all project dependencies in the same venv:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Run

python3 deep-search-gui.py

Run inside venv

Linux/macOS:

source .venv/bin/activate
python deep-search-gui.py

Windows (PowerShell):

.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python deep-search-gui.py

Windows (Command Prompt):

.venv\Scripts\activate.bat
python deep-search-gui.py

Linux Launcher (.desktop)

This project includes deep-search.desktop. The launcher icon is assets/deep-search-icon.svg.

Install it in the user applications menu:

chmod +x deep-search.desktop
cp deep-search.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/ 2>/dev/null || true

Add it to the desktop as well:

cp deep-search.desktop ~/Desktop/
chmod +x ~/Desktop/deep-search.desktop

Main Features

• Select .img disk image files
• Filter by type (Documents, Images, Audio, Video, Archives, Executables, Code, All)
• Add custom extensions (for example: log,csv,bak)
• Scan partitions and internal filesystems
• Stop an active scan at any time (Stop scan button)
• Live status counter during scanning (Found: N files)
• Sequential numbering of found files (# column)
• Export results to CSV with clearer columns (Full Path, Size (human)) and timestamped filename
• Open the last exported CSV quickly (Linux: xdg-open)

Screenshots

1. Main interface and image-file selection.

2. Search setup with type filters and custom extensions.

3. Scan results view with found files and CSV export.

Notes

The script reads filesystems directly from the disk image without mounting it. If some partitions are unsupported or damaged, they are skipped and the scan continues on the others.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3).

Copyright (C) 2026 Alessandro Orlando

See the LICENSE file for details.