Alternatives to Nimble Commander
A free dual-pane file manager for macOS built around speed and keyboard navigation. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Nimble Commander
A free dual-pane file manager for macOS built around speed and keyboard navigation.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Nimble Commander.
Commander One
A dual-pane file manager for macOS with FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, cloud storage and archive support.
Commander One is freemium and closed source, adding FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3, cloud drives and archive editing, with App Store and direct versions differing.
ForkLift
Dual-pane macOS file manager with built-in SFTP, S3 and WebDAV.
ForkLift is a paid, closed-source macOS dual-pane manager where SFTP, S3 and WebDAV mount as panes, with folder sync and comparison.
Marta
A native, extensible dual-pane file manager for macOS with archive support and a Lua plugin API.
Marta is a free but closed-source native macOS dual-pane manager with archive editing and a Lua plugin API, still pre-1.0 with slow releases.
Path Finder
Professional Finder replacement for macOS with dual panes and a drop stack.
Path Finder is a paid Finder replacement with dual panes, a drop stack, a built-in terminal and folder comparison.
QSpace
A multi-pane file manager for macOS that works like Finder and connects to remote storage.
QSpace is a paid proprietary macOS manager with 12 multi-pane layouts and built-in FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, SMB, S3 and cloud connections.
Double Commander
A free dual-pane file manager in the Total Commander tradition, running on Linux and macOS too.
Double Commander is open source and also runs on Windows and Linux, adding multi-rename and FTP, but its macOS builds are not notarised.
muCommander
An open-source, cross-platform dual-pane file manager with remote filesystem, cloud storage and archive support.
muCommander is open source across macOS, Windows and Linux, browsing FTP, SFTP, SMB, S3 and cloud storage, though its Java interface feels less native.
far2l
A port of the Far Manager v2 dual-panel console file manager to Linux and macOS.
far2l replaces the native macOS interface with a Far Manager style console dual-panel layout running in the terminal.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Default Folder X
A Mac utility that adds quick folder navigation and recent items to Open and Save dialogs.
Fileside
A multi-pane file manager for Mac and Windows that saves folder layouts as project workspaces.
Midnight Commander
Two-panel file manager for the terminal, with an editor and remote access.
Owlfiles
A cross-platform file manager for local, network, NAS and cloud storage, formerly FE File Explorer.
TagSpaces
An offline file organizer that adds color-coded tags to files and folders without a database.
ranger
A console file manager with vi keybindings and a three-column view showing parent, current and preview.
