Yazi review
A capable open-source terminal file manager for cross-platform power users.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Yazi is an open-source, Rust-based terminal file manager for people who work primarily in command-line environments. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and combines multi-tab navigation with bulk renaming, archive extraction, file previews, search integrations, Git integration, and remote file management through a virtual filesystem. Its asynchronous operations report task progress and support cancellation, giving terminal-oriented users more control over longer file tasks.
Its feature depth is the main reason to consider it. Previews can be scrolled for files, directories, code, videos, and PDFs, while archive previews and extraction keep common inspection work inside the file manager. Incremental filename search and content-search integrations support faster navigation, and the plugin system and package manager extend the interface with plugins and themes. The surrounding ecosystem includes ripgrep, fd, fzf, zoxide, 7-Zip, ffmpeg, jq, poppler, and ImageMagick, which gives Yazi useful connections to established command-line and media tools.
Yazi suits users who want a keyboard-driven file workflow with broad file handling rather than a conventional desktop browser. It is less appropriate for people who prefer a point-and-click interface or want a mature, fixed release cycle: the project is listed as a public beta, and its maintainers warn that it is under heavy development with possible breaking changes. Choose Yazi for cross-platform terminal work, asynchronous tasks, previews, plugins, and remote management; consider an alternative if graphical-first navigation or release stability matters more than terminal integration.
Yazi pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Asynchronous operations include progress reporting and cancellation.
- Tabs, bulk renaming, archives, previews, search, and Git integration.
- Runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS with plugins and virtual filesystems.
- Where it doesn't
- Its terminal interface is less suited to point-and-click file browsing.
- The project is in public beta and may introduce breaking changes.
- Its broader workflows span plugins and companion tools such as ripgrep and ffmpeg.
Yazi fact sheet, pricing and score →
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