pointer vs Rat Commander
pointer
github.com
Rat Commander
rat-commander.comSide by side
| Figure | pointer | Rat Commander |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · File managers | 8.5 (#8) | 8.8 (#2) |
| Spec score · Terminal File Managers | 8.3 (#11) | 8.3 (#12) |
| Archives | It browses and edits zip, tar, gz, bz2, xz, rar, and 7z archives as virtual directories. | ZIP, TAR and several compressed TAR formats, 7z, and RAR archives can be browsed, with RAR read-only. |
| Archive support | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-pane layout | Yes | Yes |
| File operations | It supports asynchronous copy and move operations and undo for delete, move, rename, copy, symlink, permissions, and bulk rename. | It supports file copy, move, delete, permissions, ownership, symlinks, and directory creation. |
| License | The project is released under the Unlicense, described on the page as public domain. | The project is licensed under GNU General Public License version 2, GPL-2.0-only. |
| Linux support | Yes | Yes |
| macOS support | Yes | Yes |
| Preview pane | Yes | Yes |
| Product | Pointer is a Rust terminal file manager and feature clone of RTFM. | Rat Commander is a self-contained, two-panel terminal file manager written in Rust with Ratatui. |
| Remote file access | Yes | Yes |
| Windows support | No | Yes |
Plans
In their own words
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.
Rat Commander
Rat Commander is a free, two-panel terminal file manager for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It brings file browsing and media viewing together with editing, archives, Git, remote filesystems, and system tools. Panels can show files as lists, trees, thumbnail grids, or interactive 3D views, and can be split vertically or horizontally. The built-in viewer and editor support syntax highlighting, search and replace, Markdown, tables, images, and in-place hex editing. Git tools cover tasks including staging, commits, branches, diffs, and history. Remote connections over SFTP, SCP, FTP, and FTPS let users work with remote filesystems in a local-disk-like way. ZIP, TAR variants, 7z, and other archives can be browsed and edited; RAR is read-only. QR codes support sending and receiving files over a local network. Linux disk tools can mount, format, flash, and image disks and USB devices. On Windows, Drive Manager and Network Connections are unavailable. Rat Commander is written in Rust with Ratatui and is licensed under GNU GPL-2.0-only.