Vifm is a terminal-based file manager
Vifm is a terminal-based file manager (text user interface using curses/ncurses) rather than a graphical GUI tool.
It gives us a Vim-like environment for managing files: keybindings, modes, commands, registers, etc. Much like how Vim works for editing text, but applied to file management.
Vifm supports a rich set of file-system operations: moving, copying, deleting, renaming, opening files, previews, directory comparisons, and more.
If we already know Vim, we will feel right at home.
Vifm uses a config file where we can define our own keybindings, file-type associations (which external program opens a given type), color schemes, custom commands, bookmarks, and more.
We can customize how files are displayed (table, grid, tree, list), filter or sort them, view previews (e.g., with external tools for images, PDFs, archives), and even integrate with other tools like tmux, FUSE, or external commands.
This is great for terminal workflows and we don’t need a mouse. Also often faster and lighter than GUI file managers.
Vifm works on many Unix-like systems, and there is experimental support for Windows (through Cygwin).
Installation:
sudo apt install vifm
dnf install vifm
Launch it by typing vifm.
Users are comfortable with Vim and already edit code with it.
Vifm is just what they want/need.
Some people prefer terminal-based tools over GUI, perhaps working on servers, minimal distros, or just wanting speed and resource-light tools.
Also, a good software package for developers, sysadmins, or power-users exploring many directories, dealing with many files, needing to script or automate file operations, rename in bulk, compare directories, and manage archives.
We all want a keyboard-driven, efficient file management system with deep customization (colors, previews, custom commands, shell integration, scripting).
Enjoy #linux
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