pointer vs RTFM
pointer
github.comRTFM
github.comSide by side
| Figure | pointer | RTFM |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 8.5 (#8) | 8.6 (#6) |
| Spec score · Terminal File Managers | 8.3 (#11) | 8.2 (#13) |
| AI features | It lists OpenAI and Claude integrations, including Claude file descriptions and interactive sessions. | OpenAI integration provides file and directory descriptions and an interactive chat assistant. |
| Archive support | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-pane layout | Yes | Yes |
| Extensibility | Its plugin system uses JSON manifests to bind external commands to keys, and scripts receive Pointer context through environment variables. | RTFM has a Ruby plugin system with a built-in manager that can enable or disable plugins live without restarting. |
| File operations | It supports asynchronous copy and move operations and undo for delete, move, rename, copy, symlink, permissions, and bulk rename. | It supports bulk file operations, pattern-based bulk rename, optional trash with restore, and undo for common operations. |
| Integrations | The README lists fzf, navi, locate, git, bat, ImageMagick, pdftotext, xclip, and curl as integrations or optional runtime dependencies. | The project lists Git status, fzf fuzzy search, Navi command cheatsheets, and OpenAI among its integrations. |
| License | The project is released under the Unlicense, described on the page as public domain. | The repository identifies the license as Unlicense and describes the software as public domain. |
| Linux support | Yes | Yes |
| macOS support | Yes | Yes |
| Maker | The repository credits Geir Isene as creator. | The repository names Geir Isene as author and links to his personal website. |
| Preview pane | Yes | Yes |
| Product | Pointer is a Rust terminal file manager and feature clone of RTFM. | RTFM is a feature-rich terminal file manager written in pure Ruby. |
| Remote access | It supports SSH/SFTP remote browsing. | It supports browsing remote directories over SSH/SFTP, opening remote shells, and transferring files. |
| Remote file access | Yes | 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.