6 ms·

Ranger: A console file manager with VI key bindings

84 points by crowf 6y ago

bvrmn 6y ago
Unfortunately after 1.9.1 ranger has changed color handling and ignores terminal colors and tries to use its own scheme. It there any recipe to make ranger use terminal pallet?
rjzzleep 6y ago
I'm kinda liking nnn it feels more intuitive than ranger. Although I find the documentation on configuration lacking. https://github.com/jarun/nnn https://github.com/jarun/nnn
- apjana 6y ago
  It's here - https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/Usage#configuration https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/Usage#configuration If that's not enough, can you be more specific?
eterps 6y ago
It just occurs to me that 'managing files' is not something I tend to do anymore. My files generally stay in the place they are. And when I do manage files it usually involves a VCS anyway. I do think file managers might be very useful for previewing files.
wincent 6y ago
Another Ranger-like that is worth a look is "lf", written in Go, and in my experience faster: https://github.com/gokcehan/lf https://github.com/gokcehan/lf
- adem 6y ago
  It's a good option if you're on a Windows machine.
KKPMW 6y ago
I use the command line extensively but never found a need for a file manager in there. Just `cp`, `mv`, `rm`. Am I missing something big by not having one?
- benterris 6y ago
  I use ranger quite a lot when I have to explore the contents of a folder I just cloned or downloaded. Moving around with vim keybindings is much quicker than typing many `cd`, `ls` and `cat`, as you have a preview of files or folder contents on the right side. I find it also quite useful when doing some housekeeping and cleaning, as while moving around you can mark several items to delete or move them all at once.
- OskarS 6y ago
  Ranger is fantastic, if you're used to vim keys you should definitely check it out. It do all those things you mentioned, but honestly my favorite use of it is as a replacement for `cd`. If you run it with `. ranger` (which I have alias'ed to `rd` in in my terminal), you end up cd'd to whatever directory you left off ranger at. Combined with the "f" command in ranger (as well as bookmarking folders with "m"), you can zip around your filesystem incredibly quickly.
- unixhero 6y ago
  You never tried and gotten used to orthodox file managers perhaps, such as the mighty Midnight Commander. That's okay. Yes you're missing out on a world of productivity.
  - KKPMW 6y ago
    > That's okay. Yes you're missing out on a world of productivity. Feels like a sentence like this doesn't explain much. I assume you are not moving files around all day, so where is the productivity exactly in a tool like Midnight Commander? What it allows you to do?
- BeetleB 6y ago
  One answer you probably won't be happy with: You don't need to memorize lots and lots of command line options. I can never remember the ones for tar, for example. Bookmarking directories (local and remote), although there are command line ways to do this. Being able to quickly view the contents of multiple files (that don't have a simple pattern in the filename). Frankly, any operation you want to do on multiple files that don't have a convenient regex to specify on one command. Say you have a directory of 100 files, and you want to copy about 15 of them elsewhere. It's just a lot easier in midnight commander to select them than to type out all their names. And then there's stuff like selecting all files that have certain permissions, etc. No doubt you can do this from the command line, but again: Convenient when you don't know how. Bulk renaming of files - again: I don't remember how to do this on the command line, and it's dangerous if I screwup. Easily navigate any compressed files and copy stuff into/out of it.
mekster 6y ago
There's also vifm but somehow I don't get to use console file managers but just manage files the traditional methods of cd, ls etc. https://vifm.info/ https://vifm.info/
- DavideNL 6y ago
  I find Ranger a lot easier, in Vifm I always have the feeling that 1 wrong keepress can have massive consequences without having any idea what happened/how to undo it. Perhaps that's just me not knowing vifm well enough...
- vlunkr 6y ago
  vifm is great. I prefer it over ranger or nnn but for some reason its not as popular.
tandav 6y ago
just a reminder: vim has it's own file browser netrw: vim . It has many known bugs but I use it because it don't need any extra install/config patching. Just simple file browser to find a file to open in vim.
- em-bee 6y ago
  i wish it had more features though, like creating new files or directories, moving them, etc, while updating buffers that have those files open...
  - nickjj 6y ago
    Fern has all of this and it's really fast too. It even supports marking multiple files to do renames in a Vim buffer. I just made a video about it yesterday at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFc2kr734rs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFc2kr734rs
- MayeulC 6y ago
  Someone knows if you can replace that vim interface with ranger itself, BTW? That could be quite handy in a pinch (having a split dedicated to ranger, for instance).
  - quarantine 6y ago
    I use neoranger to do exactly this.
  - I_complete_me 6y ago
    https://github.com/francoiscabrol/ranger.vim https://github.com/francoiscabrol/ranger.vim
branon 6y ago
GNU Midnight Commander user, checking in ;)
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
Comkid 6y ago
As an extensive ranger user, some of the features which lead to me not even running a graphical file manager: > Using ranger to change directories (see: https://github.com/ranger/ranger/wiki/Integration-with-other-programs#changing-directories https://github.com/ranger/ranger/wiki/Integration-with-other...) > Launch ranger using a keybinding from my shell (`bind` or `~/.inputrc` for bash, `bindkey` for zsh), which when combined with the previous technique allows me to very quickly switch folders (also combined with bookmarks) and get my bearings > `:filter` to filter the items in the current folder (supports regex and has a live preview which updates as you type, can get laggy in large folders) > `:flat` to flatten directory structures (-1 for infinite depth) > `m<key>` to bookmark something, which you can jump to with `'<key>` (apostrophe) > `om` to sort by last modification time, `os` to sort by size > `dc` to recursively find the size of a directory (can be slow) > `C-n` to create new tabs and `gt`/`gT` to switch back and forth between tabs which can be useful for copying/moving files
- MayeulC 6y ago
  I also use `:bulkrename` a lot. It just opens a list of filenames in vim for modification, which makes it extremely simple to use regexes, macros, visual block modifications to rename a batch of files to your liking. As well as `~` to switch from tabs to split-panes. I'm just missing jumping to a file/folder by typing a few letters, as I have yet to get started with plugins like someone suggested me ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23507694 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23507694 ). Edit: someone wrote about `f` below, that looks like a very good answer. Ah, and a little too eager to produce image previews for huge svg or png files (~20M), while leaving the background process when I change files. That can suck up huge amounts of RAM.

84 points by crowf 6y ago

Unfortunately after 1.9.1 ranger has changed color handling and ignores terminal colors and tries to use its own scheme. It there any recipe to make ranger use terminal pallet?

rjzzleep 6y ago

I'm kinda liking nnn it feels more intuitive than ranger. Although I find the documentation on configuration lacking. https://github.com/jarun/nnn https://github.com/jarun/nnn

apjana 6y ago
It's here - https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/Usage#configuration https://github.com/jarun/nnn/wiki/Usage#configuration If that's not enough, can you be more specific?

eterps 6y ago

It just occurs to me that 'managing files' is not something I tend to do anymore. My files generally stay in the place they are. And when I do manage files it usually involves a VCS anyway. I do think file managers might be very useful for previewing files.

wincent 6y ago

Another Ranger-like that is worth a look is "lf", written in Go, and in my experience faster: https://github.com/gokcehan/lf https://github.com/gokcehan/lf

adem 6y ago
It's a good option if you're on a Windows machine.

KKPMW 6y ago

I use the command line extensively but never found a need for a file manager in there. Just `cp`, `mv`, `rm`. Am I missing something big by not having one?

benterris 6y ago
I use ranger quite a lot when I have to explore the contents of a folder I just cloned or downloaded. Moving around with vim keybindings is much quicker than typing many `cd`, `ls` and `cat`, as you have a preview of files or folder contents on the right side. I find it also quite useful when doing some housekeeping and cleaning, as while moving around you can mark several items to delete or move them all at once.
OskarS 6y ago
Ranger is fantastic, if you're used to vim keys you should definitely check it out. It do all those things you mentioned, but honestly my favorite use of it is as a replacement for `cd`. If you run it with `. ranger` (which I have alias'ed to `rd` in in my terminal), you end up cd'd to whatever directory you left off ranger at. Combined with the "f" command in ranger (as well as bookmarking folders with "m"), you can zip around your filesystem incredibly quickly.
unixhero 6y ago
You never tried and gotten used to orthodox file managers perhaps, such as the mighty Midnight Commander. That's okay. Yes you're missing out on a world of productivity.
- KKPMW 6y ago
  > That's okay. Yes you're missing out on a world of productivity. Feels like a sentence like this doesn't explain much. I assume you are not moving files around all day, so where is the productivity exactly in a tool like Midnight Commander? What it allows you to do?
BeetleB 6y ago
One answer you probably won't be happy with: You don't need to memorize lots and lots of command line options. I can never remember the ones for tar, for example. Bookmarking directories (local and remote), although there are command line ways to do this. Being able to quickly view the contents of multiple files (that don't have a simple pattern in the filename). Frankly, any operation you want to do on multiple files that don't have a convenient regex to specify on one command. Say you have a directory of 100 files, and you want to copy about 15 of them elsewhere. It's just a lot easier in midnight commander to select them than to type out all their names. And then there's stuff like selecting all files that have certain permissions, etc. No doubt you can do this from the command line, but again: Convenient when you don't know how. Bulk renaming of files - again: I don't remember how to do this on the command line, and it's dangerous if I screwup. Easily navigate any compressed files and copy stuff into/out of it.

mekster 6y ago

There's also vifm but somehow I don't get to use console file managers but just manage files the traditional methods of cd, ls etc. https://vifm.info/ https://vifm.info/

DavideNL 6y ago
I find Ranger a lot easier, in Vifm I always have the feeling that 1 wrong keepress can have massive consequences without having any idea what happened/how to undo it. Perhaps that's just me not knowing vifm well enough...
vlunkr 6y ago
vifm is great. I prefer it over ranger or nnn but for some reason its not as popular.

tandav 6y ago

just a reminder: vim has it's own file browser netrw: vim . It has many known bugs but I use it because it don't need any extra install/config patching. Just simple file browser to find a file to open in vim.

em-bee 6y ago
i wish it had more features though, like creating new files or directories, moving them, etc, while updating buffers that have those files open...
- nickjj 6y ago
  Fern has all of this and it's really fast too. It even supports marking multiple files to do renames in a Vim buffer. I just made a video about it yesterday at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFc2kr734rs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFc2kr734rs
MayeulC 6y ago
Someone knows if you can replace that vim interface with ranger itself, BTW? That could be quite handy in a pinch (having a split dedicated to ranger, for instance).
- quarantine 6y ago
  I use neoranger to do exactly this.
- I_complete_me 6y ago
  https://github.com/francoiscabrol/ranger.vim https://github.com/francoiscabrol/ranger.vim

branon 6y ago

GNU Midnight Commander user, checking in ;)

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

Comkid 6y ago

As an extensive ranger user, some of the features which lead to me not even running a graphical file manager: > Using ranger to change directories (see: https://github.com/ranger/ranger/wiki/Integration-with-other-programs#changing-directories https://github.com/ranger/ranger/wiki/Integration-with-other...) > Launch ranger using a keybinding from my shell (`bind` or `~/.inputrc` for bash, `bindkey` for zsh), which when combined with the previous technique allows me to very quickly switch folders (also combined with bookmarks) and get my bearings > `:filter` to filter the items in the current folder (supports regex and has a live preview which updates as you type, can get laggy in large folders) > `:flat` to flatten directory structures (-1 for infinite depth) > `m<key>` to bookmark something, which you can jump to with `'<key>` (apostrophe) > `om` to sort by last modification time, `os` to sort by size > `dc` to recursively find the size of a directory (can be slow) > `C-n` to create new tabs and `gt`/`gT` to switch back and forth between tabs which can be useful for copying/moving files

MayeulC 6y ago
I also use `:bulkrename` a lot. It just opens a list of filenames in vim for modification, which makes it extremely simple to use regexes, macros, visual block modifications to rename a batch of files to your liking. As well as `~` to switch from tabs to split-panes. I'm just missing jumping to a file/folder by typing a few letters, as I have yet to get started with plugins like someone suggested me ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23507694 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23507694 ). Edit: someone wrote about `f` below, that looks like a very good answer. Ah, and a little too eager to produce image previews for huge svg or png files (~20M), while leaving the background process when I change files. That can suck up huge amounts of RAM.