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

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score 102 · Accepted Answer

Double Commander

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Top Pro

Multi-platform (Linux, Windows, MacOS X)

you can use same tool in all desktop OS enviroments See More

Top Con

Apparently only one developer

HealthyTiamat's Experience

fast and most mime support See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, MacOS, FreeBSD

Cross Platform:Yes

Top Pro

Configurable

Lots of options allow you to configure DC the way it suits you best: Tools, Fonts, Colors, Hotkeys, Mouse, Fileviews, Plugins, Layout, Toolbars, Tabs, Icons etc. See More

Top Con

Source code written in Pascal language

But this does not affect users negatively. It's just programmers problem See More

Shahram Bekhrad's Experience

I think it’s been 10 years now that I‘ve replaced the windows explorer with an amazingly better file manager. Although that is not free but totally worth it if I can get rid of a headache called “explorer.exe”. This double commander is exactly that good (it won’t be shocking if both soft-wares have the same architecture base) with the price of $0, so it presents all the pros and one MORE. See More

Top Pro

Powerful tcmd-like search tool (alt+F7)

Top Con

Much slower on Linux and Mac than on Windows

chan's Experience

When I switched at home from Windows to Linux I could use Total Commander under Wine, but it wasn't so convenient, e.g. hitting Enter on an XLS file didn't start LibreOffice (I guess I would have to install the Windows version of LibreOffice under Wine, which IMO doesn't make sense). Now with DoubleCommander it works fine, so I probably will switch in my office (still using Windows with no possibility changing to Linux in sight) to DoubleCommander as well. See More

Top Pro

Source code is available (true free software)

If the developer loses interest there is at least the possibility that someone else will pick up the torch. See More

Top Con

Can't edit files on remote FTP servers

ReliableApep's Experience

I use it every day on windows and linux. It has a couple of little niggles but nothing major. Alexx2000 does update it, which is nice. See More

Top Pro

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

ResponsibleAmechania's Experience

Was using krusader which works great but needs a lot of dependencies from KDE , which is not installed on my current machine. See More

Top Pro

DC uses TCmd plugin API

so you can use documentation from Total Commander for writing plugins. WCX (packer), WDX (content), WFX (file system), WLX (lister) See More

Top Pro

Directory Hotlist

Save shortcuts to folders. Organize them in a treeview with submenus. Define a name and sorting for each entry. See More

Top Pro

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

Top Pro

Very sophisticated

Although it is lightweight and simple to use, it can do very sophisticated tasks, like copying files from directories which have a certain extension or file size or have a certain text pattern in them. Also, it's very customizable and stable. See More

Top Pro

Closely follows TotalCommander UX

For instance, the 'Settings | Layout' pane is quasi-identical to TCs. See More

Top Pro

Source Code written in (Object) PASCAL

It's all a matter of perspective. I'm not for an argument about IDE's, frameworks etc, but to me that's a big plus. I think it should be a tie, it's either a pro or a con or should that be neither a pro nor a con. It just depends on context. See More

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Specs

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The Best 1 of 14 OptionsWhy?

My Recommendation for Double Commander

My Recommendation for Double Commander

Multi-platform (Linux, Windows, MacOS X)

Apparently only one developer

Configurable

Source code written in Pascal language

Powerful tcmd-like search tool (alt+F7)

Much slower on Linux and Mac than on Windows

Source code is available (true free software)

Can't edit files on remote FTP servers

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

DC uses TCmd plugin API

Directory Hotlist

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

Very sophisticated

Closely follows TotalCommander UX

Source Code written in (Object) PASCAL

13 Other Options Considered

My Recommendation for Midnight Commander

My Recommendation for Midnight Commander

Works perfectly in remote terminal

File viewer: searching can be quite cumbersome

Similar layout to Total Commander

Missing "multi-rename" tool

Can be run in the terminal

Many key combinations are hard-coded and not configurable

Stable

Can only be run in the terminal

Intuitive interface

Quirky 2-key shortcuts

Lightweight

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

Easy to use

Quirky and hard to remember shortcuts

Often available in default repository

Does not use screen space as effective as a GUI application

Lynx-like motion

No directory bookmarks

Very intelligent and fast

No tabs

Well-presented

No easy way to change colors matching certain files

Emacs-ish keybindings

Lacks drag and drop feature

Missing optional "vim-like" key binding

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

Easily used with SSH

Extensible, scriptable

Minimalist and efficient

File preview

Multi platform (Linux/Mac/Windows)

Image preview support

Fast and responsive

Bookmark system

Vim-like bindings

Treeview and listview (equal viewports) possible

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 Sunflower Twin-Panel File Manager

My Recommendation for Sunflower Twin-Panel File Manager

Open-source

Doesnt start on Fedora 26

Python code

Lightweight