nnn in action! (click to play video)
`nnn` is probably the [fastest and most resource-sensitive](#performance) file manager you have ever used. It integrates seamlessly with your DE and favourite GUI utilities, has a unique [navigate-as-you-type](#navigate-as-you-type-mode) mode with auto-select, disk usage analyzer mode, bookmarks, contexts, familiar navigation shortcuts, subshell spawning and much more. [Integrate utilities](https://github.com/jarun/nnn#sample-scripts) like sxiv or fzy easily; `nnn` supports as many scripts as you need! [Quickstart](#quickstart) and see how `nnn` simplifies those long desktop sessions... Have fun with it! Missing a feature? Want to contribute? Head to the rolling [ToDo list](https://github.com/jarun/nnn/issues/110). *Love smart and efficient utilities? Explore [my repositories](https://github.com/jarun?tab=repositories). Buy me a cup of coffee if they help you.*
PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 5034 vaio 20 0 71628 59932 2412 S 0.0 0.7 0:01.22 ncdu / 4949 vaio 20 0 14812 3616 2560 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.83 nnn -S /`nnn` vs. midnight commander vs. ranger memory usage while viewing a directory with 13.5K files, sorted by size:
PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 31885 vaio 20 0 139720 91220 8460 S 0.0 1.1 0:02.96 /usr/bin/python -O /usr/bin/ranger 30108 vaio 20 0 72152 12468 7336 S 0.0 0.2 0:00.06 mc 30168 vaio 20 0 16476 5072 2640 S 0.0 0.1 0:00.22 nnn -c 1 -iIntrigued? Find out [HOW](https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/performance-factors). ### Installation #### Dependencies `nnn` needs libncursesw (on Linux or ncurses on OS X) and standard libc. #### From a package manager - [Arch Linux](https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/nnn/) (`pacman -S nnn`) - [Debian](https://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=nnn&searchon=names&exact=1) (`apt-get install nnn`) - [Fedora](https://apps.fedoraproject.org/packages/nnn) (`dnf install nnn`) - [FreeBSD](https://www.freshports.org/misc/nnn) (`pkg install nnn`) - [Gentoo](https://packages.gentoo.org/packages/app-misc/nnn) (`emerge nnn`) - [Homebrew](http://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nnn) (`brew install nnn`) - [NixOS](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tree/master/pkgs/applications/misc/nnn) (`nix-env -i nnn`) - [OpenBSD](https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/ports/sysutils/nnn/) (`pkg_add nnn`) - [openSUSE](https://software.opensuse.org/package/nnn) (and packages for several other distros) (`zypper in nnn`) - [Raspbian Testing](https://archive.raspbian.org/raspbian/pool/main/n/nnn/) (`apt-get install nnn`) - [Slackware](http://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.2/system/nnn/) (`slackpkg install nnn`) - [Source Mage](http://codex.sourcemage.org/test/shell-term-fm/nnn/) (`cast nnn`) - [Ubuntu](https://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=nnn&searchon=names&exact=1) (`apt-get install nnn`) - [Ubuntu PPA](https://launchpad.net/~twodopeshaggy/+archive/ubuntu/jarun/) (`apt-get install nnn`) - [Void Linux](https://github.com/void-linux/void-packages/tree/master/srcpkgs/nnn) (`xbps-install -S nnn`) #### Release packages Packages for Arch Linux, CentOS, Debian, Fedora and Ubuntu are available with the [latest stable release](https://github.com/jarun/nnn/releases/latest). #### From source To cook yourself, download the [latest stable release](https://github.com/jarun/nnn/releases/latest) or clone this repository (*risky*). Then install the dependencies and compile (e.g. on Ubuntu 16.04): $ sudo apt-get install pkg-config libncursesw5-dev $ make $ sudo make install `PREFIX` is supported, in case you want to install to a different location. ### Shell completion Search keyword and option completion scripts for Bash, Fish and Zsh can be found in respective subdirectories of [`scripts/auto-completion/`](scripts/auto-completion). Please refer to your shell's manual for installation instructions. ### Usage #### Cmdline options ``` usage: nnn [-b key] [-c N] [-e] [-i] [-l] [-p nlay] [-S] [-v] [-h] [PATH] The missing terminal file manager for X. positional args: PATH start dir [default: current dir] optional args: -b key bookmark key to open -c N dir color, disables if N>7 -e use exiftool instead of mediainfo -i start in navigate-as-you-type mode -l start in light mode -p nlay path to custom nlay -S start in disk usage analyser mode -v show program version -h show this help ``` `>` indicates the currently selected entry in `nnn`. #### Keyboard shortcuts ``` Key Function ---- ↑, k, ^P Up ↓, j, ^N Down PgUp, ^U Scroll up PgDn, ^D Scroll down Home, g, ^, ^A First entry End, G, $, ^E Last entry →, ↵, l, ^M Open file/enter dir ←, Bksp, h, ^H Parent dir ^O Open with... Insert, ^I Toggle nav-as-you-type ~ Go HOME & Start dir - Last visited dir / Filter entries . Toggle show hidden ^B Bookmark prompt b Pin current dir ^V Go to pinned dir d Toggle detail view D File details m, M Brief/full media info n Create new ^R Rename entry r Open dir in vidir s Toggle sort by size S Toggle apparent size ^J Toggle du mode t Toggle sort by mtime !, ^] Spawn SHELL in dir R Run custom script e Edit in EDITOR p Open in PAGER f Archive entry F List archive ^F Extract archive Space, ^K Copy file path ^Y Toggle multi-copy y Show copy buffer ^T Toggle path quote ^L Redraw, clear prompt Esc Exit prompt L Lock terminal o Launch GUI app ? Help, settings Q, ^G Quit and cd q, ^X Quit ``` Help & settings, file details, media info and archive listing are shown in the PAGER. Please use the PAGER-specific keys in these screens. #### Filters Filters support regexes to instantly (search-as-you-type) list the matching entries in the current directory. Ways to exit filter prompt: - press ^L to clear filter followed by Bksp (to clear the filter symbol, like vi) - at other prompts ^L followed by Enter discards all changes and exits prompt - run a search with no matches and press Enter Common use cases: - to list all matches starting with the filter expression, start the expression with a `^` (caret) symbol - type `\.mkv` to list all MKV files - use `.*` to match any character (_sort of_ fuzzy search) If `nnn` is invoked as root or the environment variable `NNN_SHOW_HIDDEN` is set the default filter will also match hidden files. #### Navigate-as-you-type mode In this mode directories are opened in filter mode, allowing continuous navigation. Works best with the **arrow keys**. In case of only one match and it's a directory, `nnn` auto selects the directory and enters it in this mode. To disable this behaviour, export NNN_NO_AUTOSELECT=1 #### File indicators The following indicators are used in the detail view: | Indicator | File Type | |:---:| --- | | `/` | Directory | | `*` | Executable | |
| | Fifo |
| `=` | Socket |
| `@` | Symbolic Link |
| `@/` | Symbolic Link to directory |
| `b` | Block Device |
| `c` | Character Device |
#### File handling
| External dependency | Operation |
| --- | --- |
| xdg-open (Linux), open(1) (OS X), cygstart (Cygwin) | desktop opener |
| mediainfo, exiftool | multimedia file details |
| atool, patool ([integration](#integrate-patool)) | create, list and extract archives |
| vidir from moreutils | batch rename, move, delete dir entries |
| vlock (Linux), bashlock (OS X), lock(1) (BSD) | terminal locker |
| $EDITOR (overridden by $VISUAL, if defined) | edit files (fallback vi) |
| $PAGER | page through files (fallback less) |
| $SHELL | spawn a shell, run script (fallback sh) |
- To edit all text files in EDITOR (preferably CLI, fallback vi):
export NNN_USE_EDITOR=1
Customizable script [nlay](https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/all-about-nlay) is used to run terminal locker.
#### Help
$ nnn -h
$ man nnn
To lookup keyboard shortcuts at runtime, press ?.
### Quickstart
1. Install the [utilities required](#file-handling) for your regular activities.
2. Configure [cd on quit](#cd-on-quit).
3. Optionally open all text files in EDITOR (fallback vi):
export NNN_USE_EDITOR=1
4. Run `n`.
5. Press ? for help on keyboard shortcuts anytime.
6. For additional functionality [setup custom scripts](#run-custom-scripts).
### How to
#### add bookmarks
Set environment variable `NNN_BMS` as a string of `key:location` pairs (max 10) separated by semicolons (`;`):
export NNN_BMS='doc:~/Documents;u:/home/user/Cam Uploads;D:~/Downloads/'
The bookmark prompt also understands the ~ (HOME), - (last visited directory) and & (start directory) shortcuts.
#### contexts
Contexts (aka _tabs_ aka _workspaces_) serve the purpose of exploring multiple directories in parallel. `nnn` provides 4 contexts simultaneously. The status of the contexts are shown in the top left corner:
- the current context is in reverse
- other used contexts are underlined
- rest are unused
The bookmark prompt understands contexts. To switch contexts press `^B` and enter the context number (1-4).
The first time a context is entered, it copies the state of the last visited context. Each context remembers its start directory and last visited directory.
#### copy file paths
##### selection shortcuts
Use ^K to copy the absolute path (from `/`) of the file under the cursor to clipboard.
To copy multiple file paths, switch to the multi-copy mode using ^Y. In this mode you can
- select multiple files one by one by pressing ^K on each entry; or,
- navigate to another file in the same directory to select a range of files.
- list the currently copied file paths by pressing `y`.
Pressing ^Y again copies the paths to clipboard and exits the multi-copy mode.
To wrap each file path within single quotes, export `NNN_QUOTE_ON`:
export NNN_QUOTE_ON=1
This is particularly useful if you are planning to copy the whole string to the shell to run a command. Quotes can be toggled at runtime using ^T.
Note that the filename is not escaped. So copying may still fail for filenames having quote(s) in them.
##### default copy
By default file paths are copied to the temporary file `DIR/.nnncp`, where `DIR` (by priority) is:
$HOME or,
$TMPDIR or,
/tmp
To see the path to the temporary copy file, run `nnn`, press `?` and look up `copy file`.
Use ^Y and/or ^K to copy file paths as usual. To use the copied paths from the cmdline, use command substitution. For example, if `DIR` above is `/home/user`:
# bash/zsh
ls -ltr `cat /home/user/.nnncp`
ls -ltr $(cat /home/user/.nnncp)
# fish
ls -ltr (cat /home/user/.nnncp)
An alias may be handy:
alias ncp='cat /home/user/.nnncp'
so you can easily copy, move or delete multiple files together:
# bash/zsh
ls -ltr `ncp`
ls -ltr $(ncp)
cp -rvf `ncp` .
mv `ncp` .
rm `ncp` -rf
# fish
ls -ltr (ncp)
cp -rvf (ncp) .
mv (ncp) .
rm (ncp) -rf
Note that you may want to keep quotes disabled (as it is by default) in this case.
##### to clipboard
`nnn` can pipe the absolute path of the current file or multiple files to a copier script. For example, you can use `xsel` on Linux or `pbcopy` on OS X.
Sample Linux copier script:
#!/bin/sh
# comment the next line to convert newlines to spaces
IFS=
echo -n $1 | xsel --clipboard --input
export `NNN_COPIER`:
export NNN_COPIER="/path/to/copier.sh"
#### copy, move, delete files
The `nnn` workflow to copy, move or delete files is:
1. Copy the absolute paths using ^Y and/or ^K
2. To copy or move files navigate to the destination directory. You can also fire a new instance of `nnn` in another tab of your terminal emulator and open the destination directory.
3. Spawn a subshell in the destination directory (!)
4. While typing the desired command, copy the file paths (usually ^-Shift-V) from the clipboard. If X is unavailable, refer to [this section](#when-x-is-missing).
In addition, `nnn` integrates with vidir. vidir supports batch file move and delete.
#### cd on quit
To quit `nnn` and switch to the directory last opened follow the instructions below.
Pick the appropriate file for your shell from [`scripts/quitcd`](scripts/quitcd) and add the contents to your shell's rc file. You'll need to spawn a new shell for the change to take effect. You should start `nnn` as `n` (or modify the function name to something else). To change directory on quit press `Q` (it's _capital_) or `^G` while exiting.
As you might notice, `nnn` uses the environment variable `NNN_TMPFILE` to write the last visited directory path. You can change it.
#### run custom scripts
`nnn` can invoke custom scripts with the currently selected file name as argument 1.
Export the path to the custom executable script:
export NNN_SCRIPT=/usr/local/bin/nscript
Press R to run the script in the current directory.
It's possible to run multiple scripts with `nnn` as long as the scripts are in the same location and share the same prefix. To enable multiple scripts,
export NNN_MULTISCRIPT=1
With the example of `NNN_SCRIPT` above, some more scripts could be:
/usr/local/bin/nscript1
/usr/local/bin/nscript2
/usr/local/bin/nscriptcustom1
/usr/local/bin/nscriptcustom2
and so on...
Type the correct suffix when prompted on pressing the keybind R. To use the base script (`NNN_SCRIPT`), just press Enter.
##### sample scripts
- Open image files in current dir in **sxiv**:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
sxiv -q * >/dev/null 2>&1
- Fuzzy find files in **fzy** and open with xdg-open:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
xdg-open $(find -type f | fzy) >/dev/null 2>&1
#### change dir color
The default color for directories is blue. Option `-c` accepts color codes from 0 to 7 to use a different color:
0-black, 1-red, 2-green, 3-yellow, 4-blue, 5-magenta, 6-cyan, 7-white
Any other value disables colored directories.
#### integrate patool
On systems where `atool` is not available but `patool` is, drop two copies of the Python3 script [natool](https://github.com/jarun/nnn/blob/master/scripts/natool) as `atool` and `apack` somewhere in `$PATH`.
#### work faster at rename prompt
The rename prompt supports some bash-like command-line shortcuts - ^A, ^E, ^U. ^L clears the name.
#### set idle timeout
The terminal screensaver is disabled by default. To set the wait time in seconds, use environment variable `NNN_IDLE_TIMEOUT`.
#### show hot plugged drives
Enable volume management in your DE file manager and set removable drives or media to be auto-mounted when inserted. Then visit the usual mount point location (`/mnt` or `/media/user`) in `nnn`.
#### tmux config
`nnn` might not handle keypresses correctly when used with tmux (see issue #104 for more details). Set `TERM=xterm-256color` to address it.
### Why fork?
`nnn` was initially forked from [noice](http://git.2f30.org/noice/) but is significantly [different](https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/nnn-vs.-noice) today. I chose to fork because:
- one can argue my approach deviates from the goal of the original project - keep the utility `suckless`. In my opinion evolution is the taste of time.
- I would like to have a bit of control on what features are added in the name of desktop integration. A feature-bloat is the last thing in my mind. Check out [nnn design considerations](https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/nnn-design-considerations) for more details.
### Mentions
- [FOSSMint](https://www.fossmint.com/nnn-linux-terminal-file-browser/)
- [It's FOSS](https://itsfoss.com/nnn-file-browser-linux/)
- [LinuxLinks](https://www.linuxlinks.com/nnn-fast-and-flexible-file-manager/)
- [Ubuntu Full Circle Magazine - Issue 135](https://fullcirclemagazine.org/issue-135/)
### Developers
1. Copyright © 2014-2016 Lazaros Koromilas
2. Copyright © 2014-2016 Dimitris Papastamos
3. Copyright © 2016-2018 [Arun Prakash Jana](https://github.com/jarun)