far2l vs pointer
far2l
github.compointer
github.comSide by side
| Figure | far2l | pointer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · File managers | 8.6 (#5) | 8.5 (#8) |
| Spec score · Terminal File Managers | 8.5 (#6) | 8.3 (#11) |
| Archive support | Yes | Yes |
| Downloads | The README describes Debian and Ubuntu packages, Homebrew installation, macOS releases, Docker usage and community maintained packages. | The latest release lists binaries for Linux x86_64 and aarch64 and macOS x86_64 and aarch64. |
| File operations | The README lists plugins including archive handling, file comparison, image viewing, and text transformations. | It supports asynchronous copy and move operations and undo for delete, move, rename, copy, symlink, permissions, and bulk rename. |
| License | The README identifies the license as GNU/GPLv2. | The project is released under the Unlicense, described on the page as public domain. |
| Linux support | Yes | Yes |
| macOS support | Yes | Yes |
| Remote access | Its NetRocks plugin supports SFTP, SCP, SHELL, FTP, FTPS, SMB, NFS, WebDAV, and AWS S3. | It supports SSH/SFTP remote browsing. |
| Remote file access | Yes | Yes |
| Windows support | No | No |
Plans
In their own words
far2l
far2l is a free Linux port of FAR Manager v2, with macOS support also listed. It offers graphical wxWidgets and SDL interfaces as well as terminal backends, whose dependencies and keyboard support vary. Its NetRocks plugin supports remote access through SFTP, SCP, SHELL, FTP, FTPS, SMB, NFS, WebDAV, and AWS S3. Other listed plugins handle archives, file comparison, a calculator, image viewing, Git gutter, Python scripting, and text transformations. Python plugin support is optional and requires the relevant Python development packages when building. Installation options include Debian and Ubuntu packages, Homebrew, source builds, and Docker. The project identifies far2l as GNU/GPLv2 software, but labels it beta and advises using it at one's own risk. It recommends checking out a stable release tag because the master branch is considered unstable. The compact Homebrew TTY build lacks Python plugins and SMB support in NetRocks. The project lists English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian as valid translations; other languages need substantial correction.
pointer
Pointer is a free, open-source terminal file manager for Linux and macOS. It presents files in a two-pane layout with configurable width ratios and border styles, plus previews with syntax highlighting for more than 20 languages and inline image display through kitty, sixel, or w3m protocols. Archives including zip, tar, gz, bz2, xz, rar, and 7z can be browsed and edited as virtual directories. File operations include asynchronous copying and moving, undo for several actions, and deletion with a flag-then-purge process and default confirmation. Pointer supports SSH/SFTP remote browsing, filename and content search, extension or regex filters, bookmarks, tabs, and file-picker mode. JSON-manifest plugins bind external commands to keys. The README describes OpenAI integration and Claude-powered descriptions and sessions. Linux and macOS binaries are listed for x86_64 and aarch64.