What are the best Total Commander alternatives for Linux and OSX?

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score 77 · Accepted Answer

Midnight Commander

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Top Pro

Works perfectly in remote terminal

Top Con

Missing "multi-rename" tool

PhilosophicalDerzelas's Experience

Fast, lightweight, robust. See More

Top Pro

Can be run in the terminal

Being a terminal application means that it's suited for people who spend most of their time on the terminal because they don't have to switch windows in order to open their file manager. It also means that they can use it both locally and remotely. See More

Top Con

Can only be run in the terminal

MC lacks a standalone GUI option. See More

Top Pro

Stable

Top Con

Quirky and hard to remember shortcuts

E.g. when trying to take the current directory's path to the command line. See More

Top Pro

Intuitive interface

Midnight commander uses the full screen of the terminal in a very efficient way. It displays two panels for files horizontally. On the bottom it has the most useful commands with their corresponding key attached. All of this makes for a very intuitive interface both for beginners and experienced users. See More

Top Con

Can't replace Total Commander because it's a console application

Sometimes it's just more convenient to have toolbar and modal windows - the same as with ranger. See More

Top Pro

Similar layout to Total Commander

Top Con

File viewer: searching can be quite cumbersome

Especially searching next or previous. See More

Top Pro

Lightweight

Top Con

Does not use screen space as effective as a GUI application

because as a console application it is bound to fixed-width fonts. See More

Top Pro

Often available in default repository

Hence easy to install by usually package manager. See More

Top Con

No directory bookmarks

Top Pro

Lynx-like motion

Cursor+left to go to parent directory, cursor+right to go into child directory. See More

Top Con

No tabs

There is no way to use multiple tabs like Total Commander, Krusader or even Ranger. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

Midnight commander is easy and intuitive to use. The most common commands are displayed in the bottom (move, copy, paste, delete, edit, view, make directory). Files can be selected with the arrow keys which move the cursor through them. The Enter key goes down in a directory. To move the focus between two panels the tab key is used. See More

Top Con

No easy way to change colors matching certain files

There probably is a possibility, but it is not easy. See More

Top Pro

Very intelligent and fast

Some file managers are bulky but not so intelligent. For example, when copying files, MC will display the current speed of transfer whereas other file managers might only give you a hint. It can also do symlinks very simply and intuitively. And it is very fast. See More

Top Con

Quirky 2-key shortcuts

E.g. to copy name or full path of the selected file to the command line. See More

Top Pro

Emacs-ish keybindings

Top Con

Lacks drag and drop feature

With midnight commander you cannot drag and drop files to move them around. Instead, you have to do the necessary actions in order to move files around (cut and paste or copy and delete). See More

The Best 1 of 13 OptionsWhy?

My Recommendation for Midnight Commander

My Recommendation for Midnight Commander

Works perfectly in remote terminal

Missing "multi-rename" tool

Can be run in the terminal

Can only be run in the terminal

Stable

Quirky and hard to remember shortcuts

Intuitive interface

Can't replace Total Commander because it's a console application

Similar layout to Total Commander

File viewer: searching can be quite cumbersome

Lightweight

Does not use screen space as effective as a GUI application

Often available in default repository

No directory bookmarks

Lynx-like motion

No tabs

Easy to use

No easy way to change colors matching certain files

Very intelligent and fast

Quirky 2-key shortcuts

Emacs-ish keybindings

Lacks drag and drop feature

Well-presented

Missing optional "vim-like" key binding

12 Other Options Considered

My Recommendation for Double Commander

My Recommendation for Double Commander

Multi-platform (Linux, Windows, MacOS X)

Apparently only one developer

Powerful tcmd-like search tool (alt+F7)

Source code written in Pascal language

Configurable

Much slower on Linux and Mac than on Windows

DC uses TCmd plugin API

Can't edit files on remote FTP servers

Directory Hotlist

Source code is available (true free software)

tcmd-like multi-rename tool (CTRL+M)

It's that good, you can replace tcmd on windows too

Very sophisticated

Source Code written in (Object) PASCAL

My Recommendation for ranger

My Recommendation for ranger

Vim-like keybindings

Difficult learning curve for people who are not used to Vim

Works in terminal

A great idea but not GUI friendly

Customizable

Can't replace Total Commander because it's console application

Customizable keybindings

Works in terminal

Extensible, scriptable

Easily used with SSH

Minimalist and efficient

File preview

Multi platform (Linux/Mac/Windows)

Bookmark system

Vim-like bindings

Treeview and listview (equal viewports) possible

Fast and responsive

Image preview support

My Recommendation for muCommander

My Recommendation for muCommander

Available on Linux, Mac, and Windows

Documentation could be improved

Easy to use directory bookmark manager

A little bit ugly

Customizable shortcuts

Internal viewer supports images

My Recommendation for fman

My Recommendation for fman

GoTo on Steroids (w fuzzy search)

No built-in terminal

Command Palette

My Recommendation for Sunflower Twin-Panel File Manager

My Recommendation for Sunflower Twin-Panel File Manager

Open-source