Rat Commander

Rat Commander is a free two-panel terminal file manager for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It combines file browsing and editing with media viewing, archives, Git, remote filesystems, and system tools. The panels support layouts including details, trees, thumbnail grids, and 3D views, with horizontal or vertical splits. Its built-in viewer and editor include syntax highlighting, search and replace, Markdown rendering, tables, images, and in-place hex editing. Git features cover status, staging, commits, diffs, branches, and history. Remote filesystems over SFTP, SCP, FTP, and FTPS support file operations; SFTP and SCP also offer remote shell access over the same SSH connection. Rat Commander can browse and edit ZIP, TAR variants, 7z, and other archives, while RAR is read-only. QR codes support transferring files over a local network. Linux disk tools can mount, format, flash, and image disks and USB devices. Windows support excludes Drive Manager and Network Connections. The project is written in Rust with Ratatui and licensed under GNU GPL-2.0-only.

Rat Commander brings file management, editing, Git, remote connections, and system tools into a free terminal application. Note the read-only RAR support and Windows feature exclusions before choosing it.

Rat Commander suits people who prefer a terminal file manager with file editing, Git, archives, and remote filesystem access. It may also suit users who want system tools and file transfer features in one application.

Rat Commander is a free, two-panel terminal file manager for Linux, macOS, and Windows that folds editing, Git, remote filesystems, archives, and system utilities into one application. It suits technically minded users who want a keyboard-driven workspace without assembling a collection of external tools. Its breadth is unusually strong for a no-cost utility, although read-only RAR handling and two missing Windows tools matter for some workflows.

Overview

Written in Rust with Ratatui, Rat Commander is designed to provide its core capabilities without additional software requirements. The dual-pane interface supports vertical or horizontal splits, multi-file selection, and full, brief, details, tree, 3D, and thumbnail-grid views. Compatible terminals can show graphics, progress bars, and graphs at full resolution, while common images and audio can be rendered graphically or as ASCII.

Localization is a genuine strength: 18 built-in languages include English, French, German, Spanish, Hindi, Persian, and Arabic, with right-to-left support and user-added languages. Documentation is available in the repository and inside the application through F1.

Key features

Viewing and editing

The viewer and editor cover syntax-highlighted text, Markdown, CSV and TSV tables, block operations, search and replace, and media-tag editing. A hex editor adds in-place binary editing, executable analysis, byte maps, and binary comparison. Thumbnail browsing and interactive 3D views make the interface useful for visual files and structural exploration, not just directory navigation.

Git and archives

Git integration spans status, logs, staging, commits, stash, fetch, pull, push, synchronization, checkout, reset, clone, diffs, branches, history, and blame. That range can keep repository work in one terminal screen. Archive support covers ZIP, TAR variants, 7z, and other formats with browsing and editing; RAR files are read-only, so users who routinely modify RAR archives need another tool.

Remote and system tools

SFTP, SCP, FTP, and FTPS servers appear as local-like filesystems, with transparent file operations. SFTP and SCP also provide remote shell access over the same SSH connection. FTPS accepts system-trusted certificates and can pin self-signed certificates by SHA-256; SSH uses known_hosts and SSH configuration. A one-shot local HTTP server and QR code can send files, while a QR-opened page can receive them through a random URL token.

System utilities include process exploration, CPU-load and battery information, process termination, a disk explorer, Linux disk management, and a Linux network-connection monitor. Linux disk tools can mount, format, flash, and image disks and USB devices. Windows includes all features except Drive Manager and Network Connections.

Pricing

Rat Commander costs free. The free plan is self-contained, with no paid tiers or usage limits stated, and there is no trial because the product is already free. That makes it suitable for individuals, technical teams, and anyone wanting the complete feature set without seat fees or renewals. It is licensed under GNU GPL-2.0-only.

Platforms

Linux, macOS, and Windows are supported. Linux users receive the full system-tool set; Windows users should account for the missing Drive Manager and Network Connections features. The application runs in a terminal and requires nothing else to install.

Who it's for

Choose Rat Commander if you want one terminal workspace for local files, code editing, Git, archives, remote servers, media, and low-level binary inspection. It is particularly well suited to developers, system administrators, and power users who value broad keyboard-oriented tooling and multilingual or right-to-left interfaces. It is less suitable when editable RAR archives or Windows disk and network management are essential.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Combines file management, editing, Git, remote protocols, media tools, and system utilities without external-tool requirements.
• Pro: Deep Git coverage and SSH-based remote shell access reduce context switching.
• Pro: Full-resolution terminal graphics, thumbnails, 3D views, and 18 languages broaden its usefulness beyond plain text navigation.
• Con: RAR support is read-only, limiting archive maintenance.
• Con: Windows lacks Drive Manager and Network Connections.

Alternatives

Pick Terminal File Managers to compare the wider category. nnn is a free open-source terminal manager spanning Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Clifm is a free GPL version 2-or-later option for Android, Linux, and macOS. TUIFIManager is free, GPL-3.0 software available on Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Alfa is free MIT-licensed open source distributed as separate npm packages across API, desktop, self-hosted, and web environments. far2l is a free GNU/GPLv2 choice for Linux and macOS, marked as beta software. FileManagerTUI is free MIT-licensed software for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Newt is free open-source software for Linux, macOS, and Windows. pointer is a free Unlicense single binary for Linux and macOS.

Verdict

Rat Commander is the strongest fit for users who want an expansive, self-contained terminal file manager with serious Git, remote, editing, and system capabilities at no cost. Look elsewhere if editable RAR archives or Windows drive and network management are non-negotiable.