FileManagerTUI review
A Vim-oriented, cross-platform terminal manager with previews, editing, batch actions, and S3 browsing.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
FileManagerTUI, presented in the repository as fm-tui, is a Rust-based terminal file manager for navigating and managing local files. It is aimed at users who prefer keyboard-driven workflows, particularly Vim-style navigation, while still wanting visual context from a dual-pane file tree, live previews, and syntax highlighting. Official binaries are listed for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and the project is distributed under the MIT License. Core file actions include creating, renaming, deleting, copying, cutting, pasting, undoing, multi-selecting, and processing batches of files.
Its strongest area is the concentration of editing and navigation tools inside one terminal interface. A fuzzy finder and inline directory filtering support quick movement, while the preview system covers syntax-highlighted content, Jupyter notebooks, and large files. The embedded PTY terminal uses VT100 emulation, and the inline editor includes syntax highlighting, undo and redo, and find-and-replace. Configurable themes and TOML-based configuration add control for users who want to shape the interface around an established terminal workflow.
The platform and ecosystem fit are broad for a terminal application: FileManagerTUI supports Windows, macOS, and Linux, with AWS S3 and AWS CLI integrations for read-only bucket browsing. That makes it useful for local file management with a defined path into AWS-hosted files, but remote access is narrower than local operations and does not provide the same management scope as its filesystem tools. Choose FileManagerTUI if Vim-style controls, previews, an embedded terminal, and an inline editor matter more than a graphical interface. Users who need writable S3 management or a primarily graphical file manager should choose an alternative.
FileManagerTUI pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Dual-pane previews with syntax highlighting and large-file support
- Vim navigation, fuzzy finding, filtering, and batch operations
- Embedded terminal, inline editor, and read-only AWS S3 browsing
- Where it doesn't
- AWS S3 access is limited to read-only bucket browsing
- Its terminal interface may not suit users seeking graphical file management
- Remote browsing is tied to AWS S3 and the AWS CLI
FileManagerTUI fact sheet, pricing and score →
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