I'm trying to move most of my AI workflow into herdr and one of the missing link is a terminal based file manager. I've also created one, but I got curious what's available already in open source land so I take a look around.
My requirements are quite simple:
- No double pane
- No editing or advanced manipulation
- Let me browse file quickly and jump directories
- "Feel right"
The last option is both the easiest and hardest to satisfy. All I need is something that fits right into a split view terminal in a small window. After spending some time searching, I've found a great site called Terminal Trove which had a good selection of utility software and it really helped me come up with this shortlist.
Here are the contestants:
- LF: https://terminaltrove.com/lf/
- BT: https://terminaltrove.com/bt/
- ELIO: https://terminaltrove.com/elio/
- FEX: https://terminaltrove.com/fex/
- FM: https://terminaltrove.com/fm/
LF
Not my favorite, I couldn't figure out intuitively how to change a directory which is a kinda big fail. The file preview is a nice touch, but all I want is to navigate easily and the TUI was not really helpful in guiding me how to get to what I want.
BT
It needs installing via Go CLI and after fixing my paths I got it running. The UI is better than LF, but I seem to be locked into the directory I opened BT in, which is a dealbreaker. I also couldn't use my PgUp/Down keys to move faster in a directory with lots of files. I also failed to figure out change the current dir to another.
ELIO
This one is really nice, I was instantly able to navigate, preview files. The syntax highlighting and file icons are a really nice touch. Keyboard shortcuts are very sane, TAB navigates the common locations, pagers work, o just opens the directory in the OS default explorer and Enter just opens the file with the natively associated app.
I really like this experience and I'll probably explore more of the features I didn't figure out by myself.
FEX
Feels a bit like the BT experience, I wasn't able to navigate with pager keys, couldn't close the directory once opened.
FM
I had high hopes as the name stands for file manager. I had a pleasant surprise that on the right pane I can see the help permanently displayed so I don't have to parse readme or find the docs. Navigation is easy and straightforward, the file preview is easy to navigate and digest. It's also missing a few things I'd consider essential, like searching in a large dir, like my home folder or just navigating my shell to a destination.
Conclusion
Overall, I think ELIO and FM are the best tools I've tried, and I'll dive deeper into ELIO as its mental model just clicks for me. I'm really surprised that I can't just use these tools to navigate me to where I want. I've created a simple utility tool to do just that I'm planning to release in a followup post.