nnn command line file manager

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

For those of you who do like file managers, but you’d be willing to take a look at a variety of options, including a command line file manager, here’s a link to a file manager that I have NOT been familiar with, the nnn file manager.

“Manage your file system from the Linux terminal
The nnn file manager on Linux exists in a terminal only, but it feels like a modern keyboard-driven application with intuitive actions and easy navigation.
By Seth Kenlon”

Manage your file system from the Linux terminal

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Brian Masinick

[Member techore]

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@masinick, does it continue use only environment variables for configuration?

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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I don’t know; so far I’ve just used it as is, and it is sufficient.
I haven’t studied any documentation; that’s probably the best place to find out more.

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Brian Masinick

[Member techore]

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It’s still using environment variables for configuration.

https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/Usage#configuration

[Member blur13]

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I use nnn everyday, its my main file manager. Its worth putting some time in reading the documentation to get the most out of it (as with all software). On old computer it just flies, the binary is tiny and running it consumes like 2 MiB of memory. Its completely keyboard driven (although you can use the mouse too).

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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I haven’t gotten deeply into it (yet) but it does look like my kind of tool too.

However, when it comes to file management, a lot of times I don’t even use a file manager at all; I use command line tools like cd, ls, etc.
If I do happen to be using a desktop environment on some systems, (which I do when I’m NOT using antiX, I most commonly use a moderately configured Xfce desktop; even then, I seldom use ALL of the desktop features; that’s why I’ve never become enamored with full featured desktops, such as KDE, GNOME, or any of the other newer desktops.

Back in the very early days when KDE was small and new, I used it, but even then, I’d often use window managers, such as fvwm, fvwm-crystal, and IceWM. I used Fluxbox too, but since I do use a variety of tools and systems (even Windows at work when I had a job), having something configurable that had at least a few key sequences in common with commercial tools (or the ability to configure my own setup) made it advantageous to use them, so the quick access keystrokes, buttons, or function keys had at least a 25% or greater common press for a few of the most common operations, and that certainly raised IceWM in my personal ratings, plus at one time it was in the top 3 in terms of moderate window manager image size. I’m glad we offer it because even novices, if they’re willing to learn, can either use the defaults or take the time to learn a few simple customization changes, and those are easy enough that someone with basic reading and searching skills can locate and figure out how to fine tune them. So that’s a big reason why I have long endorsed IceWM.

Regarding nnn, it fits well into the IceWM world so I look forward to using it more often.

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Brian Masinick

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