A modern, cross-platform, dual-pane file manager inspired by Norton Commander, built with Rust, tui-rs, and crossterm.
Geek Commander brings the classic Norton Commander experience to modern terminals, providing:
- Dual-pane interface with independent navigation
- Keyboard-driven controls (F1-F10 function keys, arrows, Tab)
- File operations: copy, move, delete, rename, create directory
- Archive support: browse and extract ZIP, TAR, TGZ files
- Cross-platform: Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS
- Configurable: Customizable keybindings and colors
- Fast and lightweight: Built with Rust for performance and safety
You'll need Rust installed on your system. If you don't have Rust installed:
- Download and run 'rustup' - the official Rust toolchain installer and version manager - from https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install
- Follow the installer prompts (use default options)
- Restart your terminal/PowerShell
Alternatively you can download the Windows build geekcommander.exe from the repository. However I do encourage you to create the build yourself following the instructions in this guide.
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source ~/.cargo/env-
Obtain the repository
You have two main options to get the code without needing a GitHub account:
A. Clone via Git (no credentials required for public repos)
-
Windows (PowerShell or Git Bash)
- Install Git for Windows if you don’t already have it:
- Download from https://git-scm.com/download/win and run the installer (choose “Use Git from the Windows Command Prompt” or “Git Bash only,” whichever you prefer).
- Open Git Bash (or PowerShell, if you added Git to your PATH).
- Navigate to the folder where you want to store the project, for example:
cd C:\Users\<YourName>\Projects
- Run the clone command (this does not require a GitHub login if the repo is public):
git clone https://github.com/akram0zaki/geekcommander.git
- Change into the new directory:
cd geekcommander
- Install Git for Windows if you don’t already have it:
-
Linux (any distro with Git installed)
- Make sure Git is installed. On Ubuntu/Debian you can run:
On Fedora:
sudo apt update sudo apt install git
sudo dnf install git
- Open your terminal and go to the folder where you want to clone:
cd ~/projects
- Clone the repo (no login needed for a public repository):
git clone https://github.com/akram0zaki/geekcommander.git
- Enter the directory:
cd geekcommander
- Make sure Git is installed. On Ubuntu/Debian you can run:
B. Download the ZIP archive (no Git needed at all)
- Open a web browser and go to:
https://github.com/akram0zaki/geekcommander - Click the green Code button (top right) → Download ZIP.
- Extract the downloaded
geekcommander-main.zip(on Windows: right-click → “Extract All…”; on Linux/macOS:unzip geekcommander-main.zip). - Rename or move the extracted folder so it’s easy to find. For example:
- On Windows Explorer, extract to
C:\Users\<YourName>\Projects\geekcommander - On Linux:
mkdir -p ~/projects unzip ~/Downloads/geekcommander-main.zip -d ~/projects/ mv ~/projects/geekcommander-main ~/projects/geekcommander cd ~/projects/geekcommander
- On Windows Explorer, extract to
-
-
Open a terminal in the project directory
- If you cloned using Git Bash/PowerShell (Windows) or a regular terminal (Linux), make sure your current working directory is the
geekcommanderfolder. - If you extracted from ZIP, open a terminal (or PowerShell) and
cdinto the folder you unzipped (e.g.,cd geekcommander).
- If you cloned using Git Bash/PowerShell (Windows) or a regular terminal (Linux), make sure your current working directory is the
-
Build the project:
A. Option 1: Use the Build Scripts (Recommended)
Windows (PowerShell):
# Build debug version
.\build.ps1
# Build release version (optimized)
.\build.ps1 -Release
# Build and install to system PATH
.\build.ps1 -Release -Install
# Show help
.\build.ps1 -HelpLinux/macOS:
# Make script executable
chmod +x build.sh
# Build debug version
./build.sh
# Build release version (optimized)
./build.sh --release
# Build and install to system PATH
./build.sh --release --install
# Show help
./build.sh --helpB. Option 2: Use Cargo Directly
# Build debug version
cargo build
# Build release version
cargo build --release
# Run directly
cargo run
# Install to system
cargo install --path .- Run the application:
After building:
Debug version:
# Windows
.\target\debug\geekcommander.exe
# Linux/macOS
./target/debug/geekcommanderRelease version:
# Windows
.\target\release\geekcommander.exe
# Linux/macOS
./target/release/geekcommanderIf installed to system:
geekcommander-
Launch the application:
geekcommander
-
Navigate using:
- ↑/↓: Move cursor up/down
- Tab: Switch between left and right panes
- Enter: Enter directory or view file
- Backspace: Go to parent directory
-
Use function keys for file operations:
- F1: Help
- F5: Copy
- F6: Move/Rename
- F7: Create directory
- F8: Delete
- F10: Quit
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F1 | Show hel 8000 p screen |
| F3 | View file |
| F4 | Edit file |
| F5 | Copy selected files |
| F6 | Move/rename files |
| F7 | Create new directory |
| F8 | Delete selected files |
| F10 | Quit application |
| Tab | Switch active pane |
| ↑/↓ | Move cursor |
| Enter | Enter directory/open file |
| Backspace | Go to parent directory |
| Insert | Select/unselect file |
| Ctrl+A | Select all files |
geekcommander [OPTIONS]
Options:
--config <FILE> Use custom config file
--left <PATH> Set left pane start directory
--right <PATH> Set right pane start directory
--no-color Force monochrome mode
-h, --help Show help information
-V, --version Show version information
Examples
# Start with specific directories
geekcommander --left /home/user/documents --right /tmp
# Use custom config
geekcommander --config my-config.ini
# Start in monochrome mode
geekcommander --no-colorGeek Commander creates a configuration file at:
- Linux/macOS:
~/.geekcommanderrc - Windows:
%USERPROFILE%\.geekcommanderrc
[Keybindings]
Help=F1
Copy=F5
Move=Shift+F5
Delete=F8
Rename=F6
NewDir=F7
Quit=F10
View=F3
Edit=F4
Select=Insert
SelectAll=Ctrl+A
Wildcard=*
Reload=Ctrl+R
[Colors]
ActivePaneBorder=cyan
InactivePaneBorder=white
SelectedItem=yellow
StatusBar=white
DirectoryFg=blue
FileFg=white
[Panels]
Left=~
Right=~
[Logging]
Level=INFO
File=~/.geekcommander.log
[General]
ShowHidden=false
FollowSymlinks=true- Keybindings: Modify the
[Keybindings]section to change key mappings - Colors: Available colors: black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white
- Start Paths: Set default directories for left and right panes
- Hidden Files: Toggle visibility of hidden files (files starting with
.)
- Independent navigation in left and right panes
- Visual indication of active pane
- Path display in pane headers
- File size and type indicators
- Copy (F5): Copy files between panes with progress indication
- Move (F6): Move files or rename single files
- Delete (F8): Delete files and directories with confirmation
- Create Directory (F7): Create new directories
- File Selection: Multi-select with Insert key
- Browse Archives: Navigate inside ZIP, TAR, and TGZ files
- Extract Files: Extract archive contents to filesystem
- Create Archives: Add files to ZIP archives
- Windows: Native Windows Terminal and PowerShell support
- Linux: Works with all major terminal emulators
- macOS: Full Terminal.app and iTerm2 compatibility
src/
├── main.rs # Application entry point
├── config.rs # Configuration handling
├── core.rs # File operations and pane management
├── ui.rs # Terminal UI with tui-rs
├── archive.rs # Archive file support
├── platform.rs # Cross-platform utilities
└── error.rs # Error types and handling
# Windows (from Linux/macOS)
cargo build --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
# Linux (static binary)
cargo build --target x86_64-unknown-linux-musl
# macOS
cargo build --target x86_64-apple-darwin# Run unit tests
cargo test
# Run with output
cargo test -- --nocapture
# Run specific test
cargo test test_nameThe application creates a config file at:
- Windows:
%USERPROFILE%\.geekcommanderrc - Linux/macOS:
~/.geekcommanderrc
You can customize keybindings, colors, and default paths by editing this file.
- Read the full README.md for detailed documentation
- Check out the CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines
- Report issues or request features on the project repository
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
- Inspired by the original Norton Commander
- Built with tui-rs and crossterm
- Thanks to the Rust community for excellent libraries and tools
If Rust is not found:
- Make sure you've installed Rust and restarted your terminal
- Try running:
rustup update
If build fails:
- Make sure you have an internet connection (for downloading dependencies)
- Try:
cargo cleanthen rebuild
If the application doesn't start:
- Make sure your terminal supports colors and function keys
- Try running with
--no-colorflag
Terminal Size Too Small:
Error: Terminal too small. Minimum size: 80x24
Solution: Resize your terminal window or use --no-color flag.
Permission Denied:
Error: Permission denied accessing directory
Solution: Check file permissions or run with appropriate privileges.
Config File Errors:
Warning: Invalid keybinding 'F99' - using default
Solution: Check your ~/.geekcommanderrc file for invalid entries.
Debug information is logged to:
- Linux/macOS:
~/.geekcommander.log - Windows:
%USERPROFILE%\.geekcommander.log
Set log level in config file:
[Logging]
Level=DEBUG # Options: ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG, TRACEFor more information, visit the project repository or open an issue.