How to open .VUE files (Vue components) on Android, Windows and Linux

Q: How do I open a PHP file in a browser?

Through a web server with PHP, such as php -S localhost:8000 or XAMPP, then visit the page's address. Opening the file directly only shows its code or downloads it.

Q: Is a .php file safe?

Reading one is safe; Folders never runs it. But a PHP file found on a hacked website can be a "web shell" that gives attackers control, and config files like wp-config.php contain passwords, so handle both with care.

Q: Vue vs Svelte vs Astro: what's the difference?

Vue adds a reactive framework that runs in the browser. Svelte compiles components into small plain JavaScript. Astro builds mostly static pages and adds JavaScript only where you ask for it, and can use Vue or Svelte components inside.

Q: How do I convert a PHP file to PDF?

If it's a misnamed download, rename it as described above. If it's a real PHP page, run it on a server, open it in a browser and print or save the page as PDF.

What VUE, SVELTE, ASTRO and PHP files are and how to open, read and edit them for free on Android, Windows and Linux, plus what to do with a download.php file.

Satyam Mishra6 November 20265 min read

Cover: Folders' text editor on two phones, labelled .VUE

Modern websites are built from files that most apps don’t recognise: App.vue, Button.svelte, index.astro. Older and bigger sites, WordPress among them, run on PHP. And sometimes a PHP file turns up when you didn’t want one at all: you clicked Download on a website and got download.php instead of the PDF you expected.

Folders opens all four types in its text editor on Android, Windows and Linux, so you can read them, search them, fix something and save. It doesn’t run PHP or build components. And for a mystery download.php, it can help you work out what the file really is.

What is a .VUE file?

Vue, Svelte and Astro files are single-file components: one file holds a piece of a website’s markup, its code and often its styles. PHP files are server scripts that produce web pages.

Extension	What it is
.vue	A Vue single-file component, with `<template>`, `<script>` and `<style>` blocks
.svelte	A Svelte component: markup with `<script>` and `<style>` sections, which the Svelte compiler turns into plain JavaScript
.astro	An Astro component: a code block between `---` fences at the top, followed by HTML-like markup; it runs when the site is built or on the server, and sends little or no JavaScript to the browser by default
.php	A PHP script: server-side code, often mixed with HTML, between `<?php` and `?>` tags

None of them does anything when you simply open it. Vue, Svelte and Astro files are turned into a working site by the project’s build tool, usually started with npm run dev. PHP needs a web server with PHP installed: the server runs the script and sends the resulting page to the browser. WordPress, Drupal and Laravel are all written in PHP.

One PHP file deserves a warning: wp-config.php in a WordPress site holds the database name, user name and password, plus secret keys. Treat it like a password. Don’t post it in a forum when asking for help.

How to open a .VUE file with Folders

On Android

Install Folders from the download section (Android 7.0 or newer).
Tap Allow access for All files access.
Open the project folder, or type the file’s name or extension into the search box at the top.
Tap the file. If it’s in a ZIP of the project, tap it inside the archive.

From email or a chat app, use Open with → Folders.

On Windows and Linux

Install Folders on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) or Linux.
Double-click the file in Folders.
On Windows, right-click it in File Explorer and choose Open with → Folders. The installer adds Folders to that menu for .vue, .svelte, .astro and .php files.

What you can do with it in Folders

Syntax highlighting for .vue, .svelte and .php files colours keywords, strings, comments and numbers, so script sections read well; the HTML parts are coloured only partly. .astro files open as plain text, without colours, but everything else below works the same.
Tabs keep a component, its parent and a PHP template open at once.
Find and Find and replace with Match case.
Go to line: PHP errors name the file and line, as in in /var/www/html/index.php on line 37, so you can go straight there.
Word wrap, and smaller or larger text.
Document info shows the line, column, encoding and line endings.
Open in hex viewer shows the raw bytes, with Go to offset. That’s how you spot an invisible byte order mark before <?php, or find out what a strange download really is (below).
Undo, redo, edit and Save.

Folders doesn’t run PHP, render components, preview the site or build the project.

Other ways to open .VUE files

Visual Studio Code (free, Windows and Linux), with the official extensions for Vue, Svelte and Astro and a PHP extension, gives full highlighting, autocomplete and error checking.
The project’s own tools: npm run dev in a Vue, Svelte or Astro project starts a local preview of the site.
PHP’s built-in server: php -S localhost:8000 serves the current folder so you can open PHP pages in a browser. XAMPP (free) bundles a web server, a database and PHP for Windows and Linux.

Problems opening a .VUE file?

You downloaded download.php instead of a PDF or ZIP. The website’s download script sent the file without a proper name, so your browser named it after the script. The content is usually exactly what you wanted. Open it in Folders; if the editor shows nonsense, tap Open in hex viewer and look at the first bytes: %PDF means a PDF, PK a ZIP (or a DOCX or XLSX), FF D8 FF a JPEG, ID3 an MP3. Rename the file with the right extension and open it again. If it really starts with <?php, the server sent its source code by mistake, and you’ll need to try the download again or contact the site.
A PHP page shows code instead of a page. You opened it straight from disk. PHP only works through a web server, so use php -S or XAMPP.
PHP says “headers already sent”. Often an invisible byte order mark or a blank line sits before <?php. Check the first bytes in the hex viewer: EF BB BF is a UTF-8 byte order mark. Save the file without it.
An .astro file has no colours. That’s expected in Folders; the file is fine and can still be edited and saved.

Questions people ask

How do I open a PHP file in a browser? Through a web server with PHP, such as php -S localhost:8000 or XAMPP, then visit the page’s address. Opening the file directly only shows its code or downloads it.

Is a .php file safe? Reading one is safe; Folders never runs it. But a PHP file found on a hacked website can be a “web shell” that gives attackers control, and config files like wp-config.php contain passwords, so handle both with care.

Vue vs Svelte vs Astro: what’s the difference? Vue adds a reactive framework that runs in the browser. Svelte compiles components into small plain JavaScript. Astro builds mostly static pages and adds JavaScript only where you ask for it, and can use Vue or Svelte components inside.

How do I convert a PHP file to PDF? If it’s a misnamed download, rename it as described above. If it’s a real PHP page, run it on a server, open it in a browser and print or save the page as PDF.