A terminal UI based (TUI) file explorer is software which lets you explore the file system offering the ability to quickly navigate through directories and peek at files. View code files with syntax highlighting, format JSON files, render images, convert data files to navigable datatables, and more. This type of software offers different functionality to that provided by a file manager.
A file explorer aims to boost terminal productivity by offering a flexible, interactive orchestrator for the range of command-line utilities that work with the file system.
Note, a file explorer is not designed to replace standard shell commands, or file managers.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.
Click the links in the table below to learn more about each file explorer.
| TUI File Explorers | Language | License |
|---|---|---|
| xplr | Rust | MIT License |
| nvim-tree | Lua | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| NERDTree | VimL | WTFPL License |
| Treemacs | Emacs Lisp | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| browsr | Python | MIT License |
| termscp | Rust | MIT License |
| vim-fern | VimL | MIT License |
| tere | Rust | European Union Public License 1.2 |
| CHADTree | Python | * |
| Rust-Traverse | Rust | MIT License |
| fex | Zig | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| StygianSift | Rust | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 |
| transgender | Rust | BSD 2-Clause “Simplified” License |
| Hop | Python | MIT License |
| faint | Shell | GNU General Public License v2.0 |
| twf | Go | * |
| kupo | Python | * |
| * We've contacted the developer(s() seeking license information and will update this table. | ||
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