elio is a terminal file manager that combines fast file browsing with rich previews in a three-pane text user interface.
It’s aimed at users who spend much of their time in a terminal but still want conveniences normally associated with graphical file managers, including image previews, file metadata, trash handling, quick navigation, application launchers, and configurable themes.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Three-pane interface with Places, Files, and Preview areas displayed side by side.
- Rich preview support for text, source code, structured data, documents, archives, media files, and binary metadata.
- Inline image rendering in terminals that support Kitty Graphics, iTerm2 Inline, Sixel, or related protocols.
- Grid and list views with keyboard and mouse navigation.
- Fuzzy search for locating files and folders quickly inside the current directory tree.
- Trash workflows for moving items to the operating system trash, restoring files, or deleting them permanently.
- Open With and external opener integration for launching files in matching applications.
- Customisable places, pane layout, key bindings, file classes, colours, and themes through TOML configuration files.
- Cross-platform support – runs under Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Website: github.com/elio-fm/elio
Support:
Developer: elio-fm
License: MIT License

elio is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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