File Generator (formerly Disk Tools): Generate Custom File Images & Fixtures

File Generator (formerly Disk Tools): Fast, Simple File Creation

What it is
File Generator (formerly Disk Tools) is a lightweight utility for quickly creating files of arbitrary size and type—useful for testing, benchmarking, or generating fixtures.

Key features

• Quick file creation: Generate files with specified sizes instantly (bytes, KB, MB, GB).
• Custom content options: Fill files with zeros, random data, repeated patterns, or specified text.
• Batch mode: Create multiple files with incremental names and sizes in one command.
• Preset templates: Save and reuse common file-generation settings.
• Cross-platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux (CLI and simple GUI where available).
• Checksum support: Optionally compute MD5/SHA hashes after creation for verification.
• Sparse file support: Create sparse files when supported by the filesystem to save disk space.

Common use cases

• Benchmarking disk I/O and storage performance.
• Testing file upload/download flows and storage quotas.
• Generating fixtures for automated tests.
• Creating large dummy files to simulate storage usage.
• Verifying backup and integrity workflows with checksums.

Basic workflow

1. Choose filename and size (e.g., 100MB).
2. Select content type (zeros, random, pattern, text).
3. (Optional) Enable checksum and sparse-file mode.
4. Run generation — file appears at target location.

Tips

• Use sparse files to simulate large sizes without actual disk use when supported.
• Use random-content for realistic I/O testing; zeros can compress well and may skew results.
• Combine batch mode with templates for reproducible test setups.

Limitations

• Performance depends on storage speed and system resources.
• Random-content generation may be CPU-bound for very large files.

If you want, I can provide example commands for Windows/macOS/Linux or a short CLI cheat sheet.