TFM (Terminal File Manager)

Terminal file manager (TUI) with dual-pane navigation and preview.

Downloads and installable packages are attached to each GitHub Release: https://github.com/MichaelWeissDEV/TFM/releases

CI pipeline (builds .deb/.rpm/.pkg.tar.zst/AppImage + binaries) runs on tags vX.Y.Z.

Features

• Dual-pane navigation with preview.
• Regex file search (case-insensitive).
• Marker system with search (name/path).
• Open With picker and quick open slots.
• Shell suspend/return (t opens a subshell).

Functions

• Navigate directories and open files with the system default handler.
• Create files/dirs, rename, delete.
• Cut/copy/paste; copy path to clipboard.
• Toggle hidden files and metadata/list columns.
• Preview text/images/binary metadata.

Config

• Default path: ~/.config/tfm/config.toml (fallbacks: ~/.tfm.toml, YAML variants).
• Env override: TFM_CONFIG=/path/to/config.toml.
• If no config exists, TFM writes a default one and uses built-in defaults.
• Example config (all defaults): example_config.toml.

Install

From GitHub Releases (binary)

• Download the tfm-<version>-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz asset.
• Extract and install:
  • tar -xzf tfm-<version>-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
  • sudo install -m755 tfm /usr/local/bin/tfm

Debian / Ubuntu (.deb)

• Download the .deb asset and install:
  • sudo apt install ./tfm_<version>_amd64.deb

Arch Linux (.pkg.tar.zst)

• Download the .pkg.tar.zst asset and install:
  • sudo pacman -U ./tfm-<version>-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst

openSUSE / RPM (.rpm)

• Download the .rpm asset and install:
  • sudo zypper install ./tfm-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm

AppImage

• Download the .AppImage asset and run:
  • chmod +x ./tfm-<version>.AppImage && ./tfm-<version>.AppImage

License

GPLv3 (GNU General Public License v3.0 only). See LICENSE.

Theme Colors

Theme colors are strings (named colors or #RRGGBB):

• background, foreground: base UI text/background.
• accent: borders/titles.
• folder: folder entries.
• selection_bg, selection_fg: selection highlight.
• warning, error: warnings/errors (warning is used in preview mismatches).

Keybinding Format

Each binding is a list of strings:

• Single characters: "q", "/", "M".
• Special keys: "enter", "esc", "backspace", "up", "down", "left", "right".
• Modifiers: "ctrl+o" (use uppercase letters for shifted chars, e.g. "O").

Keybindings (Default)

Normal mode:

• q: quit
• up/k: move up
• down/j: move down
• left/h: parent dir
• right/l/enter: open entry
• /: search (regex)
• a: add prefix
• r: rename
• d: delete prefix
• m: set marker
• M: marker list
• g: jump marker
• s: settings prefix
• v: view prefix
• c: copy (prefix for copy-path)
• x: cut
• p: paste
• t: open shell (exit returns to TFM)
• o: open-with quick prefix
• ctrl+o or O: open-with picker

Add prefix (a then):

• d: add dir
• any other key: add file (starts input with that key)

Settings prefix (s then):

• r: toggle permissions (metadata bar)
• d: toggle dates (metadata bar)
• o: toggle owner (metadata bar)
• m: toggle metadata bar
• h/H: toggle hidden files

View prefix (v then):

• p: toggle list permissions columns
• o: toggle list owner columns

Copy prefix (c then):

• p: copy selected path to clipboard

Delete prefix (d then):

• d: confirm delete (then y/n)

Marker list (M):

• up/k, down/j: move
• enter: jump
• r: rename
• e: edit path
• d: delete
• a: add marker
• /: search markers (n:/p: prefixes)
• esc: close

Open With picker (ctrl+o or O):

• type to filter, backspace to delete
• up/down: move
• enter: open
• esc: close

Open With Quick Slots

Configure quick opens in TOML:

[open_with]
quick = { 1 = "nvim", 2 = "vim"}

Use o1, o2, o3 in normal mode. Programs must be in PATH or use full paths.

Marker Search Filters

In marker search (/ inside marker list), you can scope:

• n: or n/ for name only
• p: or p/ for path only