lf
A fast terminal file manager in the ranger style, as a single binary with no runtime dependencies.
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4 more ways to get lf
Other download sites
Run by third parties, not by gokcehan. Prefer the official page above when it works.
Package managers
- winget
winget install --id gokcehan.lf - Chocolatey
choco install lf - Homebrew
brew install lf
About lf
lf, short for list files, is a terminal file manager heavily inspired by ranger but written in Go, which is the important difference: it is a single static binary that starts instantly and uses very little memory, rather than a Python program that has to boot an interpreter first.
It does asynchronous IO so the interface never locks up on a slow directory, has a server and client architecture with remote commands for managing several instances, and uses vi and readline keybindings by default. It is deliberately incomplete: no tabs, no built-in pager or editor, and no built-in file operations, on the grounds that your window manager, your editor and the shell already do those jobs.
It runs on Linux, macOS, the BSDs and Windows.
Strengths
- A single static binary with no runtime dependencies and near-instant startup
- Asynchronous IO, so a slow directory never freezes the interface
- Extended entirely with shell commands, so no plugin language to learn
- vi and readline keybindings by default, and fully remappable
Limitations
- No tabs or windows by design; you use your terminal multiplexer instead
- No built-in pager or editor
- File operations are delegated to shell tools rather than built in
- Previews need external programs configured by you
Details
- Pricing
- Free · Free and open source under the MIT licence.
- License
- MIT
- Developer
- gokcehan
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Moving around the filesystem quickly in a terminal, with vi keys
- Categories
- Command line tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Utilities); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 3 sources on file.