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jarun/nnn

A tiny, fast terminal file manager in C for browsing, batch renaming, disk usage analysis and launching apps.

Open-source alternative to:FinderWindows Explorer

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What is it?

nnn (n³) is a terminal file manager written in C. It is designed to be small, with a binary of around 150 KiB and a low memory footprint, and it works with little or no configuration. Beyond basic browsing, it can analyze disk usage, batch rename files, launch applications and act as a file picker.

The core program is extended through plugins, which are language-agnostic and cover tasks such as live file previews, mounting disks, finding and listing files, diffing files and directories, and uploading files. It also offers contexts (tabs or workspaces), bookmarks, sessions, search-as-you-type filtering and integration with the FreeDesktop trash. A Neovim plugin, nnn.nvim, is available.

nnn runs on Linux, macOS, BSD, Android through Termux, Raspberry Pi, WSL and Cygwin, both inside desktop environments and in pure CLI sessions.

Key features

  • 01Batch renamer for selected files or a whole directory
  • 02Disk usage analyzer with block and apparent size modes
  • 03Plugin system for previews, mounts, archives and more
  • 04Contexts, bookmarks and sessions for navigating multiple locations
  • 05Search-as-you-type filtering with fuzzy and regex options
  • 06cd-on-quit shell integration and a Neovim plugin

Use cases

  • Browsing and organizing files over SSH on a server or Raspberry Pi
  • Batch renaming photos or media files from the terminal
  • Finding which directories consume the most disk space
  • Using a terminal file manager on Android through Termux

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install nnn, preferably using your package manager (see the Wiki install guide)

  2. 2

    Run the official quickstart script from the README to generate a shell function (review it first)

Things to know

  • Some features, such as remote mounts, need extra tools like sshfs or rclone, and many extras require installing plugins.

Topics

#terminal#file-manager#tui#cli#disk-usage#batch-rename#ncurses#android#command-line#developer-tools

FAQ

What is nnn?
A tiny, fast terminal file manager in C for browsing, batch renaming, disk usage analysis and launching apps. nnn (n³) is a terminal file manager written in C. It is designed to be small, with a binary of around 150 KiB and a low memory footprint, and it works with little or no configuration. Beyond basic browsing, it can analyze disk usage, batch rename files, launch applications and act as a file picker.
Is nnn free to use? What license does it have?
nnn is open source under the BSD-2-Clause license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is nnn still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to nnn was on Oct 7, 2026.
What can I use nnn for?
Browsing and organizing files over SSH on a server or Raspberry Pi Batch renaming photos or media files from the terminal Finding which directories consume the most disk space Using a terminal file manager on Android through Termux
How do I install nnn?
Install nnn, preferably using your package manager (see the Wiki install guide) Run the official quickstart script from the README to generate a shell function (review it first)
Where can I get nnn?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/jarun/nnn

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