dylanaraps

dylanaraps / dfm

Public

Dylan's File Manager

c file-manager file-manager-cli filemanager suckless
44
2
100% credibility
Found Mar 12, 2026 at 44 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
C
AI Summary

dfm is a lightweight terminal file manager that provides fast navigation, searching, marking, bulk operations, and image previews using Vim-like keybindings.

How It Works

1
🔍 Discover dfm

You hear about dfm, a super-fast way to browse and organize your files right in the terminal, perfect for quick navigation without leaving the command line.

2
📥 Get it ready

Download the files and prepare dfm on your computer with a simple build process so it's all set up for you.

3
🚀 Launch dfm

Open your terminal and start dfm to instantly see your current folder's files listed in a clean, colorful view with sizes, dates, and permissions.

4
📂 Navigate easily

Use familiar arrow keys or Vim-style shortcuts to move up and down the list, jump to top or bottom, and switch views like by size or date.

5
🔎 Search and select

Type to search files as you go, mark multiple ones with spacebar, and preview images right inside with a quick key press.

6
✂️ Copy, move, delete

Mark files, type simple commands like copy or move to handle batches effortlessly, and watch changes update live.

✅ Done and changed

Quit with 'q' or 'Q' to automatically switch to your final folder, leaving you right where you want with files perfectly organized.

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Star Growth

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AI-Generated Review

What is dfm?

dfm is Dylan's File Manager, a minimalist terminal file manager written in pure C that delivers snappy directory navigation and operations with near-zero resource overhead. It handles viewing files by name, size, permissions, or mod time; sorting by extension, size, or date; and bulk actions like copy, move, or Ranger-style renaming via vim-like keys and a command prompt. Users get a TUI that idles until input, supports incremental search, bookmarks, multi-select marks, inline image previews (sixel or kitty), and auto-cd on exit—no bloat, just POSIX essentials.

Why is it gaining traction?

It crushes alternatives like ranger or nnn on footprint: builds to 40-150KiB static binaries with no dynamic alloc or deps beyond libc, staying IO-bound fast even on huge dirs. Features like filesystem watching for live updates, customizable bindings, and low-bandwidth partial redraws make it feel responsive without terminfo hacks. Devs dig the manual TUI and line editor for that raw, efficient vibe.

Who should use this?

Vim/terminal diehards managing codebases or servers via SSH, where every KB counts. Sysadmins scripting bulk renames or previews on low-RAM boxes, or embedded C devs needing a dfm model github tool without GUI cruft. Skip if you want mouse support or ncurses polish.

Verdict

Grab it if you crave a lean dfm forthing alternative—compiles easily, docs cover config and usage well. But with 44 stars and 1.0% credibility, it's early; test on non-critical workflows first.

(187 words)

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