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wtf is nnn?

jarun/nnn — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-21

21,533CAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TL;DR

A tiny, blazing-fast terminal file manager that lets you browse, rename, search, and manage files entirely from the keyboard, with a plugin system for previews, thumbnails, and more.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((nnn))
    What it does
      Terminal file manager
      Keyboard driven
      Near zero config
    Built in features
      Disk usage analyzer
      Batch renamer
      Fuzzy search
      Tabs and bookmarks
      Archive support
    Plugins
      Live file previews
      Image thumbnails
      Vim neovim embed
    Platforms
      Linux macOS BSD
      WSL Termux Android
    Audience
      Terminal power users
      Developers

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Navigate and manage files entirely from the terminal with keyboard shortcuts, no GUI needed.

REASON 2

Use nnn's built-in disk-usage analyzer to find which folders are consuming the most space on a server.

REASON 3

Batch-rename dozens of files at once using nnn's built-in mass-rename feature.

REASON 4

Browse remote folders mounted with sshfs or rclone as if they were local directories.

What's in the stack?

C

How it stacks up

jarun/nnngentilkiwi/mimikatzdarkflippers/unleashed-firmware
Stars21,53321,52221,517
LanguageCCC
Setup difficultyeasyhardhard
Complexity2/54/54/5
Audiencedeveloperops devopsdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Wtf does this do

nnn (pronounced "n cubed") is a file manager that runs inside a terminal window rather than as a graphical app. A file manager is the program you use to browse folders, open files, copy and rename things, and so on, nnn does this entirely with text and keyboard shortcuts. The README pitches it as tiny, nearly zero-config, and fast, with a small memory footprint (typically under 3.5MB) and a binary around 100KB. You move around with the arrow keys, filter the current folder by typing, and press a single character key to do most actions. The README lists a wide set of built-in features: a disk-usage analyzer that shows where space is going, a batch renamer that lets you edit many filenames at once, the ability to pick files and pass them to other programs, multiple tabs (called contexts) with their own colors, bookmarks, sessions, jumping to remote folders that have been mounted with sshfs or rclone, instant search-as-you-type with fuzzy or regex options, sorting by name, time, size, or extension, a file picker mode for use with editors, FreeDesktop-compliant trash integration, creating and extracting archives, and changing directory in your shell when you quit nnn. Beyond the core program there is a separate plugin repository that adds things like live previews, image, video and audio thumbnails, mounting and unmounting disks, file diffs, and uploads. Independent plugins exist to embed nnn inside vim and neovim. You would use nnn if you spend most of your time in a terminal and want a fast keyboard-driven way to navigate files without leaving it. It is written in C, runs on Linux, macOS, BSD, Haiku, Cygwin, WSL, the Raspberry Pi, and on Android via Termux.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
I just installed nnn. Walk me through the basic keyboard shortcuts to navigate folders, open files, copy, move, and delete items.
Prompt 2
How do I use nnn's disk-usage analyzer to find the largest directories on my Linux system?
Prompt 3
I want to batch-rename a folder of files in nnn. What is the exact workflow for the built-in batch renamer?
Prompt 4
Show me how to install the nnn plugin for live file previews and image thumbnails in my terminal.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is nnn?

A tiny, blazing-fast terminal file manager that lets you browse, rename, search, and manage files entirely from the keyboard, with a plugin system for previews, thumbnails, and more.

What language is nnn written in?

Mainly C. The stack also includes C.

How hard is nnn to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is nnn for?

Mainly developer.

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