Alternatives to Nemo

Cinnamon's file manager, a Nautilus fork with more built-in options. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Nemo.

  • Double Commander

    A free dual-pane file manager in the Total Commander tradition, running on Linux and macOS too.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Double Commander is a GPL dual-pane manager that is not tied to Cinnamon and runs on Windows and macOS too, with multi-rename and FTP, though it looks dated.

  • Sigma File Manager

    Modern file manager with tabs, dual-pane view, global search and media previews.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsLinux

    Sigma File Manager offers tabs, dual pane, global search and media previews on Linux and Windows, but it is a heavier Electron app maintained by one developer.

  • Spacedrive

    Cross-device file explorer built on a distributed virtual filesystem.

    FreeProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    Spacedrive adds cross-device libraries with content hashing and peer-to-peer sync on Linux, Windows and macOS, but it is source-available and still pre-release.

  • Caja

    The file manager of the MATE desktop, used to browse files and manage the desktop on Linux.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Caja is the MATE desktop's file manager, with an extension interface, and fits best on MATE rather than Cinnamon.

  • Thunar

    The lightweight default file manager of the Xfce desktop environment for Linux.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Thunar is Xfce's lightweight default with a built-in bulk renamer and custom actions, but it is single pane and has fewer advanced features.

  • PCManFM

    A lightweight, tabbed GTK file manager from the LXDE desktop project for Linux.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    PCManFM is a lightweight tabbed GTK manager from LXDE with very low resource use, but fewer advanced features and slow development.

  • PCManFM-Qt

    A Qt-based file manager and desktop icon manager, the default file manager of the LXQt desktop.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    PCManFM-Qt is a light Qt manager for LXQt that also handles desktop icons, though dual panes are not documented.

  • COSMIC Files

    The Rust-based file manager of System76's COSMIC desktop environment for Linux.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    COSMIC Files is written in Rust for System76's COSMIC desktop and is less suited to Cinnamon or other desktops.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Nemo as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Deepin File Manager

    The default file manager of the Deepin desktop environment for Linux.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Nemo is Cinnamon's GPL-2.0 file manager, a Nautilus fork that keeps dual panes, a type-ahead path bar and an extension system for actions and scripts.

  • GNOME Files

    The default GNOME desktop file manager, also called Nautilus, for browsing local and network files.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Nemo is a GPL-2.0 fork of Nautilus for Cinnamon that keeps dual panes, the type-ahead path bar and toolbars GNOME Files dropped.

  • Index

    A multi-platform file manager from KDE's Maui project for Linux desktops and mobile devices.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Nemo is Cinnamon's GPL-2.0 file manager with dual panes, a type-ahead path bar and an extension system, built for desktops.

  • Krusader

    A twin-panel commander-style file manager for KDE Plasma and other Linux and Unix desktops.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Nemo is the Cinnamon file manager with dual panes and extensions, lacking Krusader's sync and comparison tools.

  • Pantheon Files

    The file manager designed for elementary OS and its Pantheon desktop.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Nemo is Cinnamon's GPL-2.0 Nautilus fork adding dual panes, a type-ahead path bar and an extension system for actions and scripts.

  • Xfe

    A fast, lightweight file manager for X on Linux and Unix with Explorer- and Commander-style layouts.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Nemo is Cinnamon's Nautilus fork with dual panes and extensions, fitting best on Cinnamon and pulling extra dependencies elsewhere.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.