Newt vs superfile
Newt
newt-fm.orgsuperfile
superfile.devSide by side
| Figure | Newt | superfile |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · File managers | 8.9 (#1) | 8.5 (#9) |
| Spec score · Terminal File Managers | 8.4 (#9) | 8.1 (#18) |
| Archive support | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-pane layout | Yes | Yes |
| File operations | Users can view, copy, delete, move, edit, pack, or reveal files from the interface. | It supports copying, moving, deleting, renaming, fuzzy search, bulk operations, and image preview. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source license | Newt source code is available under the GNU GPL v3. | The project describes itself as open source and MIT licensed. |
| Linux support | Yes | Yes |
| macOS support | Yes | Yes |
| Preview pane | Yes | Yes |
| Windows support | Yes | Yes |
Plans
In their own words
Newt
Newt is a free, open-source file manager for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its two-pane interface handles local and remote filesystems, connecting through SSH, containers, Kubernetes pods, and WSL distributions. Remote sessions can run file operations, searches, terminals, and mounts on the remote host. Users can view, copy, move, delete, or edit files, and pack or reveal them. ZIP, TAR, compressed TAR, and CPIO archives can be browsed as directories, including nested and encrypted archives; ISO 9660 and UDF images can be browsed without extraction. S3 filesystems can be mounted, with range reads for large images. Recursive filename and content searches stream results into a pane linked to the files. Common actions have direct key controls, with configurable bindings and mouse controls also available. The backend uses Rust, while the interface uses React and TypeScript and packaging uses Tauri. Source code is available under the GNU GPL v3. No free-tier limits are stated.
superfile
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.