Top 20 Best File Managers for Linux

Users always desire a simple and easy-to-use file manager or file browser because file management is so crucial on a computer. However, having a feature-rich and highly configurable file manager for performing both simple actions like finding, copying, moving, creating, and deleting files, as well as more advanced operations like remote file access and SSH connections, can be extremely useful. Today we will talk about the best file managers for Linux. It all depends on how you use your system and whether you prefer a light file manager with fewer capabilities or a heavy file manager with many features and functionalities.

Below is a list of some of the top GUI file managers, Console file managers, and browsers that you can discover on various Linux distributions and install using the default system package management tool called apt, yum, or DNF.

1. Konqueror File Manager

Konqueror is a powerful and great file manager for the KDE desktop. It includes basic file management features like copying, moving, searching, and deleting files, as well as more advanced features and functionalities like access to archives, browsing and ripping audio CDs, and support for FTP and SFTP servers, as well as some(Windows) shares.

It has the following key characteristics:

The rendering engine is KHTML.
It makes use of a universal file viewer.
Has a lot of uses that can be customized.

2. Nautilus File Manager

It is a basic and default file manager for the GNOME desktop that allows users to navigate and manage files on a Linux system. It was previously known as Nautilus (one of the best file managers for Linux).
GNOME Files is widely supported across a variety of Linux desktop environments, making it one of the best and most popular.

It has a number of appealing properties, including:
Menus that are simple to use
Provides file security.
At a look, everything is clear.

3. Dolphin File Manager

Dolphin is a lightweight file manager that is part of the KDE applications package. It is free and open-source. This helps users to explore, locate, open, copy, and move files around a Linux system with ease. It is designed for simplicity, versatility, and full customization. Dolphin is the default file manager for KDE desktops starting with KDE 4, however, it may also be installed and used by KDE 3 users. With the following features, it supplanted Konqueror as the default file manager in KDE:

Previews of files
Navigation bar with breadcrumbs
There are three different modes of viewing (icons, compact, and details)
Files may be moved more simply with split views.
Shortcuts are supported.
Undo/redo capabilities
Navigation via tabs
Sorting and grouping files by name, size, type, and a variety of additional criteria

4. GNU Midnight Commander

It is a full-screen, text-mode, freeware visual file manager that allows users to search, copy, move, and delete files as well as entire directory trees.

This tool has a lot of cool features, especially for individuals who like to use the terminal:

Allows you to run commands in a subshell.
It has a built-in viewer and editor.
It works on a standard console, in an X Window Term, or over SSH 5 because it is based on adaptable text interfaces like Ncurses or S-Lang.

5. Krusader File Manager

Krusader File Manager is a program that allows you to manage your files. It’s also a powerful twin-panel file manager that operates similarly to GNU Midnight Commander but with a graphical user interface and includes a number of useful functions, such as:

Mounted filesystem support
Module for advanced search
Archive handling is extensive, with support for a variety of archive formats.
FTP support is available.
Synchronization of directories
Comparisons of the file content
Easily adaptable and user-friendly

6. PCManFM File Manager

PCManFM is the standard and feature-rich file manager for the LXDE desktop and is supposed to be a substitute for the popular Nautilus, Konqueror, and Thunar file managers. It contains the following features:

GVFS is fully supported, with access to remote filesystems.

There are four different view modes available (icon, compact, detail, and also thumbnail)

Desktop management assistance
Picture thumbnails are displayed.
Bookmarks are a useful feature.
Tabbed windows are supported.
Support for dragging and dropping
User-friendly
The GTK+2 user interface
As I previously stated, it is feature-rich and supports default file associations, among other things.

7. XFE File Manager

It’s an X Windows commander-style file manager based on X Win Commander, whose development has been halted for various reasons. This one of the best file managers for Linux was created with the primary goal of providing a lightweight file manager for Unix-like operating systems, and it works well for those of you who prefer to work on the terminal.

XFE has a lot of features, but we won’t go through them all here. Some of them are:

The interface is quite quick.
Memory footprints are little.

There are four different file manager modes: one panel, directory tree, and one panel, two panels and directory tree, and two panels and directory tree.

Support for UTF-8
Look for files and folders.
Status lines for the disc usage command
Root mode with authentication using sudo and su tools
Bookmarks are helpful.
Support for toolbars
Auto-save registry functionality, as well as a slew of other features

8. Nemo File Manager

Nemo is the primary file manager on the Cinnamon desktop, and it is a derivative of the more popular GNOME Files. Linux Mint users should be familiar with it.

It’s also compact and offers a number of useful features, including:

GVFS and GIO are used.
Support for open in terminal
Support for opening as root
GTK bookmarks management that works
Back, forward, up, and refresh are all available navigation options.
Several configuration choices are supported, as well as many others.

9. Thunar File Manager

Thunar is a lightweight and amongst the best file managers for Linux and the Xfce desktop that is designed to be quick, responsive, and simple to use. Its sleek and intuitive layout, with only a few and vital user settings, is one feature you’ll appreciate.

It has a lot of wonderful features, such as:
Pluggable to the max
Settings that are hidden
Several files can be renamed at the same time.
Associated with common extensions are custom commands.
Send to menu customization, as well as a slew of other features

10. SpaceFM File Manager

For Linux desktops, SpaceFM is a fantastic multi-panel tabbed file manager. Some of its features include an in-built VFS, a HAL-based device manager, a customized menu system, and bash integration. It was created to provide a stable, efficient, and highly customizable file manager.

11. Caja — File Manager

Caja is the mate desktop’s primary file manager, allowing you to browse directories, preview files, and run programs associated with them. It also works on local and remote filesystems and can handle the icons on the Mate desktop environment.

12. Ranger Console File Manager

Ranger is an open-source terminal file manager with VI key bindings that offers a more simple and user-friendly interface with a directory hierarchy view. It includes a “rifle,” a file starter that automatically detects which software to employ for which file format.

13. Command Line File Manager

Although it isn’t quite a file manager, what is file management on a Linux system if we don’t mention the command line? Very powerful and flexible, especially if you grasp the Linux filesystem, and includes basic and complex file management features like finding, copying, moving, creating, and deleting files, as well as FTP, SFTP, SMB server access, and SHH connections, among others.

14. Deepin File Manager

Deepin File Manager is a powerful, classic, inventive, and easy-to-use file manager created by the Deepin operating system’s creators. This file manager, like most open source file managers, simplifies user operation and includes a number of unique features such as an easy-to-use navigation bar and a variety of view and sorting options.

15. Polo File Manager

Polo is a Linux file manager with several windows and tabs that is modern, lightweight, and advanced. A device manager, archive support, PDF, ISO, and picture operations, checksums and hashing, and video downloads are all included. It also supports cloud storage, as well as running and managing KVM images, and much more.

16. Double Commander

Double Commander is a free cross-platform open-source file manager that displays two panels side by side, similar to Total Commander but with several extra capabilities. It comes with a built-in text editor with syntax highlighting, a file viewer that can display files in hex, binary, or text format, and a multi-rename tool.

Furthermore, it treats archives as if they were subdirectories, allowing you to copy files to and from them with ease. It also has a powerful search tool that allows you to search for full-text in any file, as well as a slew of other intriguing features.

17. Emacs File Manager

Emacs is a well-known, versatile text editor used mostly by programmers, scientists, engineers, students, and system administrators on Unix-based platforms such as Linux. Unlike most Linux text editors, an emacs is an outstanding file management tool. You may use it in the same way as the Linux shell to list files, copy/delete, resize, move, and create/delete directories.

18. Pantheon Files

Pantheon Files is a file manager that is simple, powerful, elegant, and minimal. On Elementary OS, it is the default file manager. Pantheon Files is simple and straightforward to use. It’s a good file manager for Linux newcomers since it puts all useful commands right in front of you – on the toolbar or in the sidebar.

19. Vifm File Manager

Vifm is a full-featured cross-platform file manager with a curses interface that provides a Vi/m-like environment for managing objects in file systems. It borrows a number of useful concepts from Mutt, a powerful text-based email client. Vifm provides complete keyboard control over your files to vi users without the need to learn a new set of commands.

Vifm has vim-like user mappings, vim-like command-line mode with ranges and abbreviations, vim-like marks and registers, directory tree comparison, operation undoing/redoing/backgrounding, and FUSE file system support, among other things.

20. Worker File Manager

The worker is a two-pane file manager for the X Window System on Unix-like systems that is lightweight, simple, easy-to-use, and feature-rich. It’s designed to make file management simple with full keyboard control. Worker file manager displays directories and files in two separate panels and includes a number of advanced file manipulation features such as the ability to search for files and directories using the history of accessed directories, live filtering, and keyboard access to commands.