nnn vs RTFM
nnn
github.comRTFM
github.comSide by side
| Figure | nnn | RTFM |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · File managers | 8.7 (#4) | 8.6 (#6) |
| Spec score · Terminal File Managers | 8.5 (#7) | 8.2 (#13) |
| Archive support | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-pane layout | No | Yes |
| File operations | It can analyze disk usage, batch rename, launch apps, pick files, and copy, move, delete, archive, and link selections. | It supports bulk file operations, pattern-based bulk rename, optional trash with restore, and undo for common operations. |
| Installation | The project offers a statically linked binary and packages, and can also be compiled from source. | The README recommends installation with RubyGems and provides full-installation instructions for Ubuntu/Debian, Arch Linux, and macOS. |
| Integrations | Remote mounts can use sshfs or rclone, and nnn supports desktop openers, shell integration, and FreeDesktop-compliant trash utilities. | The project lists Git status, fzf fuzzy search, Navi command cheatsheets, and OpenAI among its integrations. |
| Intended users | The project describes nnn as unobtrusive and designed for smart workflows, and documents beginner and power-user quickstarts. | The README describes RTFM as suited to power users wanting SSH workflows, undo, AI integration, and a broad feature set. |
| License | The GitHub repository identifies the project license as BSD-2-Clause. | The repository identifies the license as Unlicense and describes the software as public domain. |
| Linux support | Yes | Yes |
| macOS support | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | The project says nnn runs on Linux, macOS, Android through Termux, Cygwin, and WSL, among other environments. | The installation instructions list Ubuntu/Debian, Arch Linux derivatives, and macOS. |
| Preview pane | Yes | Yes |
| Product | nnn is a full-featured terminal file manager designed to be small, fast, and nearly zero-configuration. | RTFM is a feature-rich terminal file manager written in pure Ruby. |
| Purpose | nnn is a full-featured terminal file manager. | RTFM is a feature-rich terminal file manager written in pure Ruby. |
| Remote file access | Yes | Yes |
Plans
In their own words
nnn
nnn is a terminal file manager designed to be small, fast and nearly zero-configuration. It handles copying, moving, deleting, archiving and linking selections, alongside batch renaming, disk-usage analysis, app launching and file picking. Navigation includes contexts, sessions, bookmarks and directory marks, while search options include instant filtering, fuzzy matching, regular expressions and string filters. It provides directory and text previews, and can create, list, extract and mount archives. Plugins can add functions such as live previews, disk mounting, file comparison and uploads. Remote mounts require optional sshfs or rclone dependencies. The project says nnn typically needs less than 3.5 MB of resident memory; it has no configuration file and uses defaults, with optional environment-variable settings. It is free and open source under the BSD-2-Clause license, and is listed for Android, Linux, macOS and Windows. The project offers packages and a statically linked binary, or users can compile it from source.