Vifm vs ForkLift 3
When comparing Vifm vs ForkLift 3, the Slant community recommends Vifm for most people. In the question“What are the best Total Commander alternatives for Linux and OSX?” Vifm is ranked 10th while ForkLift 3 is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose Vifm is:
Since it runs in a terminal, it may live within ssh sessions, tmux/screen sessions, etc.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Allows you to stay in the terminal
Since it runs in a terminal, it may live within ssh sessions, tmux/screen sessions, etc.
Pro Nice Themes for a terminal app
Vifm has a lot of good themes that you can easily grab from the main site and use with the :colorscheme command.
Pro Great integration with vim
The vifm.vim plugin allows you to use vifm as a powerful filepicker for vim.
Pro Configurable
You can easily configure almost all aspects of vifm by just editing the dotfile which is pretty easy is you are comfortable with configuring apps.
Pro Default key mappings will be comfortable to vim users
Vifm uses vim-esque key mappings. Makes for extremely efficient and---perhaps more importantly---intuitive interactions. The key mappings can be changed.
Pro Dual pane
The dual pane nature of vifm makes copy paste and moving files from one folder to another super easy.
Pro Best UX/UI'd file manager on the market
It's just a perfectly crafted app, try and enjoy
Pro Rewritten in Swift
Forklift 3 is a significant update from FL2, having been rewritten entirely in Swift.
Pro Optional dark UI
In addition to the default Mac gray UI, Forklift 3 offers an alternate "Dark Mode" featuring light text elements against dark backgrounds.
Pro Connect to and mount lots of storage options
FTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, Rackspace CloudFiles, SMB, AFP, NFS, VNC, etc.
Pro Easily toggle hidden files
Pro Built-in application remover
Cons
Con Useless for non-vi users
Even to quit one has to use ":q".
Con Very high learning curve for newbies
Con Can only be used in terminal
Vifm lacks a standalone GUI option.
Con Like Apple, it does not standardize file size. Mixes up KBs, MBs GBs in the same column which makes it very difficult to review file sizes
Con Like Apple, shows the date of Today's file as "Today" instead of the actual date
Con Does not sync the "selected" folders (i.e. highlighted ones), but the "current" folders (i.e. the top of the visible tree.)
Con Does not show the fixed tree section in the left pane of a dual horizontal panes
