superfile vs xplr
superfile
superfile.devxplr
xplr.devSide by side
| Figure | superfile | xplr |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · File managers | 8.5 (#9) | 7.2 (#26) |
| Spec score · Terminal File Managers | 8.1 (#18) | 7.0 (#29) |
| Customization | Users can remap every hotkey, choose themes, and adjust borders and colors. | Users can configure xplr with Lua through an init.lua file in a user or system configuration directory. |
| Dual-pane layout | Yes | Yes |
| File operations | It supports copying, moving, deleting, renaming, fuzzy search, bulk operations, and image preview. | xplr describes itself as an explorer that delegates file management operations to external commands. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| License | The project describes itself as open source and MIT licensed. | The project repository identifies xplr as MIT licensed. |
| Linux support | Yes | Yes |
| macOS support | Yes | Yes |
| Plugins | Community plugins extend superfile with Git status integration, system monitoring, custom commands, and other functions. | Plugins can be installed manually or with a plugin manager, and some may require LuaRocks. |
| Preview pane | Yes | Yes |
| Product | superfile is a modern terminal file manager built with Go and Bubble Tea. | xplr is a terminal UI based file explorer intended to help improve terminal productivity. |
| Support | The project invites users to join its Discord community and use GitHub issues and discussions for bugs, ideas, and help. | The introduction invites users to report performance issues, and the integrations page invites users to share integrations they create. |
Plans
In their own words
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.