FileManagerTUI vs superfile

FileManagerTUI is a free terminal file manager built with Rust and Ratatui, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its dual-pane interface combines a file tree with a live preview and syntax highlighting. Users can navigate with Vim-style keys or arrow keys, search project files with a Ctrl+P fuzzy finder, and filter directories inline. File operations include creating, renaming, deleting, copying, cutting, pasting, and undoing. The inline editor supports syntax highlighting, undo and redo, find and replace, auto-indent, text selection, and mouse cursor positioning. An integrated PTY shell panel uses VT100 emulation, and notebook previews render Jupyter cells with syntax highlighting. Files over a configurable threshold use a head/tail preview mode. The software can browse S3 buckets through the AWS CLI, but that mode is read-only and requires valid AWS credentials. Building from source requires a Rust toolchain. It is distributed under the MIT License, which permits use, modification, distribution, sublicensing, and resale; the software is provided without warranty or liability.

superfile is a free, open-source terminal file manager built with Go and Bubble Tea, aimed at developers who work in the terminal. It supports copying, moving, deleting, renaming, fuzzy search, bulk operations, and image preview, alongside archive support. Users can split the view into multiple directory panes and copy or paste between them. Hotkeys are remappable, and themes, borders, and colors can be adjusted. The project lists more than 20 built-in themes and community plugins for functions such as Git status, system monitoring, custom commands, metadata, MD5 checksums, and smart directory jumping. Official support covers Linux, macOS, and Windows, though the project notes that Windows is not fully supported yet. Installation options include shell scripts for Linux and macOS, PowerShell, Winget, Scoop, Homebrew, Arch, NixOS, Pixi, and X-CMD. The installation guide recommends a Nerd Font, but superfile works without one. Its stated focus is lightweight file and directory tasks, rather than the full feature set of some other terminal file managers. The project is MIT licensed and self-installed.