Alternatives to Pantheon Files
The file manager designed for elementary OS and its Pantheon desktop. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Pantheon Files
The file manager designed for elementary OS and its Pantheon desktop.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Pantheon Files.
GNOME Files
The default GNOME desktop file manager, also called Nautilus, for browsing local and network files.
GNOME Files is the simple default GNOME file manager with network browsing and plugin support, designed around the GNOME desktop.
Thunar
The lightweight default file manager of the Xfce desktop environment for Linux.
Thunar is the lightweight Xfce file manager with fast startup, a built-in bulk renamer, custom actions and plugins for archives and shares.
Nemo
Cinnamon's file manager, a Nautilus fork with more built-in options.
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.
Caja
The file manager of the MATE desktop, used to browse files and manage the desktop on Linux.
Caja is the MATE desktop file manager with an extension interface, best integrated with MATE rather than elementary OS.
PCManFM
A lightweight, tabbed GTK file manager from the LXDE desktop project for Linux.
PCManFM is a GPL-2.0 tabbed GTK manager from LXDE with very low resource use, though development activity is slow.
PCManFM-Qt
A Qt-based file manager and desktop icon manager, the default file manager of the LXQt desktop.
PCManFM-Qt is a light Qt file manager from LXQt that also manages desktop icons and works on other Linux desktops.
COSMIC Files
The Rust-based file manager of System76's COSMIC desktop environment for Linux.
COSMIC Files is a Rust-based manager built for the COSMIC desktop, with its own thumbnailer and applet.
Deepin File Manager
The default file manager of the Deepin desktop environment for Linux.
Deepin File Manager is the default Deepin desktop manager, actively developed and translated into many languages, but tied to Deepin.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Pantheon Files as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Index
A multi-platform file manager from KDE's Maui project for Linux desktops and mobile devices.
Pantheon Files is the minimal elementary OS file manager with plugin support and Git status integration.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Xfe
A fast, lightweight file manager for X on Linux and Unix with Explorer- and Commander-style layouts.
Krusader
A twin-panel commander-style file manager for KDE Plasma and other Linux and Unix desktops.
Konqueror
KDE's combined web browser and file manager, using Qt WebEngine for pages.
Spacedrive
Cross-device file explorer built on a distributed virtual filesystem.
