Alternatives to nnn
A terminal file manager of about 150 KB that starts instantly, uses under 4 MB of memory and needs almost no configuration. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
nnn
A terminal file manager of about 150 KB that starts instantly, uses under 4 MB of memory and needs almost no configuration.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as nnn.
Yazi
A terminal file manager where nothing blocks: every read, preview and copy happens asynchronously.
Yazi is a fully asynchronous terminal manager with built-in image previews and Lua plugins that also runs on Windows, but it is heavier and configured through TOML files.
ranger
A console file manager with vi keybindings and a three-column view showing parent, current and preview.
ranger offers a three-column view with vi keys and configuration in Python, but Python startup makes it noticeably slower and development has slowed.
superfile
A terminal file manager with a modern, colourful interface, built in Go with themes and plugin support.
superfile trades nnn's minimalism for a themed interface with built-in previews and fuzzy search, installable on Windows, though it is heavier and younger with fewer plugins.
xplr
Explore files with a configurable terminal interface.
xplr is an MIT-licensed terminal file explorer on macOS and Linux with scriptable navigation, but customisation requires configuring the surrounding workflow.
broot
Navigate large directory trees and find files in the terminal.
broot focuses on tree navigation and interactive search and runs on Windows, but changing the parent shell directory requires shell integration.
Midnight Commander
Two-panel file manager for the terminal, with an editor and remote access.
Midnight Commander uses a two-panel layout with a built-in editor and remote filesystem browsing, with function-key bindings instead of nnn's terse keys.
Joshuto
A ranger-like terminal file manager written in Rust with Miller-column navigation.
Joshuto gives ranger-style Miller-column navigation written in Rust with optional fzf and zoxide integration, and needs a recent Rust toolchain to build.
Vifm
A terminal file manager with a curses interface and Vim-like keybindings.
Vifm uses Vim keybindings and commands and ships Windows binaries, but it is listed as not open source.
Also worth comparing
These listings name nnn as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
clifm
A shell-like terminal file manager that works directly on the command line, without menus or panes.
nnn is a tiny full-screen terminal file manager with a large plugin repository, replacing the command-typing approach with terse keybindings.
felix
A terminal file manager written in Rust with Vim-like key bindings and file previews.
nnn is a tiny BSD-2-Clause terminal manager with a large plugin repository, configured through environment variables rather than a config file.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
