An excerpt from the repository, fetched Nov 12, 2026.
Read the project’s introduction
nnn - Supercharge your productivity!
[Features] $~~$ [Quickstart] $~~$ [Plugins] $~~$ [Wiki]
nnn (n³) is a full-featured terminal file manager. It's tiny (~150 KiB), nearly 0-config and incredibly fast.
It is designed to be unobtrusive with smart workflows to match the trains of thought.
nnn can analyze disk usage, batch rename, launch apps and pick files. The plugin repository has tons of plugins to extend the capabilities further e.g. live previews, (un)mount disks, find & list, file/dir diff, upload files. A patch framework hosts sizable user-submitted patches which are subjective in nature.
Independent (neo)vim plugins - nnn.vim, vim-floaterm nnn wrapper and nnn.nvim (neovim exclusive).
Runs on the Pi, Termux (Android), Linux, macOS, BSD, Haiku, Cygwin, WSL, across DEs or a strictly CLI env.
(more use cases)
Features
Quality
Privacy-aware (no unconfirmed user data collection)
POSIX-compliant, follows Linux kernel coding style
Highly optimized, static analysis integrated code
Frugal
Typically needs less than 3.5MB resident memory
Works with 8 colors (and xterm 256 colors)
Disk-IO sensitive (few disk reads and writes)
No FPU usage (all integer maths, even for file size)
Minimizes screen refresh with fast line redraws
Tiny binary (typically around 150KB)
1-column mode for smaller terminals and form factors
Hackable - compile in/out features and dependencies
Portable
Language-agnostic plugins
Static binary available (no need to install)
Minimal library deps, easy to compile
No config file, minimal config with sensible defaults
Plugin to backup configuration
Widely available on many packagers
Touch enabled, handheld-friendly shortcuts
Unicode support
Modes
Light (default), detail
Disk usage analyzer (block/apparent)
File picker, (neo)vim plugin
Navigation
Filter with automatic dir entry on unique match
Type-to-nav (turbo navigation/always filter) mode
Jump to an entry with visible relative offset
Contexts (aka tabs/workspaces) with custom colors
Sessions, bookmarks, mark and visit a dir
Remote mounts (needs sshfs, rclone)
Familiar shortcuts (arrows, ~, -, @), quick look-up
cd on quit (easy shell integration)
Proceed to next file on file open and selection
Search
Instant filtering with search-as-you-type
Fuzzy, regex (POSIX/PCRE2) and string (default) filters
Subtree search plugin to open or edit files
Sort
Ordered pure numeric names by default (visit /proc)
Case-insensitive version (aka natural) sort
By name, access/change/mod (default) time, size, extn
Reverse sort
Directory-specific ordering
Mimes
Built-in previewer for directory and text files
FIFO-based previewer plugins with extensive mime support
Open with desktop opener or specify a custom opener
File-specific colors (or minimal dirs in context color)
Icons and Emojis support (customize and compile-in)
Plugin for image, video and audio thumbnails
Create, list, extract (to), mount (FUSE based) archives
Option to open all text files in $EDITOR
Convenience
Detailed file stats and mime information
Run plugins and custom commands with hotkeys
FreeDesktop compliant trash utility integration
Cross-dir file/all/range selection
Create (with parents), rename, duplicate files and dirs
Create new file or directory (tree) on startup
Batch renamer for selection or dir
List input stream of file paths from stdin or plugin
Copy (as), move (as), delete, archive, link selection
Easily copy, move paths in system clipboard to current dir
Dir updates, notification on cp, mv, rm completion
Copy file paths to system clipboard on select
Launch apps, run commands, spawn a shell, toggle exe
Access context paths/files at prompt or spawned shell
Lock terminal after configurable idle timeout
Capture and show output of a program in help screen
Basic support for screen readers and braille displays
Quickstart
Beginners
Install nnn, preferably using the package manager.
Run the following command to generate (and optionally add to your rc file) a shell function to start with.
sh -c "$(curl -Ls https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jarun/nnn/master/misc/quickstart.sh)"
Use the shell function name you chose to run nnn with your preferred configuration.
Power users
Install nnn and the dependencies you need.
Install plugins.
Configure cd on quit.
The desktop opener is default. Use -e to open text files in the terminal. Optionally open detached.
In a CLI environment, set NNN_OPENER to nuke. Use option -c. For GUI apps, consider xopen.
Sync subshell $PWD to nnn.
Use -x to sync selection to clipboard, show notis on cp, mv, rm and set xterm title.
Bid ls goodbye! alias l='nnn -dDe' 😎
Visit the Live previews and Troubleshooting Wiki pages.
Don't memorize! Arrows, /, q suffice. Tab creates and/or cycles contexts. ? lists shortcuts.
Videos
nnn file manager on Termux (Android)
NNN File Manager
This Week in Linux 114 - TuxDigital
I'M GOING TO USE THE NNN FILE BROWSER! 😮
NNN: Is This Terminal File Manager As Good As People Say?
Checkmate, GUI users. | 4P
Elsewhere
AddictiveTips
ArchWiki
FOSSMint
gHacks Tech News
Hacker News [1] [2]
It's FOSS
Linux Format Issue 265; Manage files with nnn
LinuxLinks [1] [2] [3]
Linux Magazine; FOSSPicks
Make Tech Easier
Opensource.com
Open Source For You
PCLinuxOS Magazine Issue June 2021
Suckless Rocks
Ubuntu Full Circle Magazine Issue 135; Review: nnn
Using and Administering Linux: Volume 2: Zero to SysAdmin: Advanced Topics
Wikipedia
Developers
Arun Prakash Jana (Copyright © 2016-2026)
0xACE
Anna Arad
KlzXS
Léo Villeveygoux
Luuk van Baal
NRK
Sijmen J. Mulder
and other contributors
Visit the Tracker thread for a list of features in progress and anything up for grabs. Feel free to discuss new ideas or enhancement requests.
Read the full README on GitHub