Midnight Commander For Linux

Midnight Commander is an open source application that provides users with a feature rich text-mode, twin-panel file manager application that runs entirely in a terminal emulator. Supported operating systems include GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.

It is a command-line visual (full-screen) file manager that allows users to do basic file management operations on the aforementioned computing platforms, such as copy, move, rename and delete single or multiple files, as well as entire directory trees.

Key features include the ability to easily set new permissions and owners to files, search for files, create hard and symbolic links, create relative symlinks, edit symlinks, run commands in the subshell. An internal viewer and editor is also included, but only for text files.

It lets users to create directories, select groups of files, compare directories, use advanced chown, compare files, view directory sizes, edit extension and menu files, as well as to access directory hotlist, active VFS lists, background jobs, and command history.

Besides the keyboard navigation, users will be able to use the application with their mouse device, but only when running it in X Window terminals. It is possible to configure its layout, display bits, virtual file system, confirmations, and panel options.

The application can be easily extended with support for extracting CAB, ISO9660, ARJ, RAR, ZIP, ACE, and 7z archives, as well as accessing VFS (Virtual File System) Samba shares, as well as CVS (Concurrent Versions System) services, by installing various packages.

Officially supported Linux distributions include the Debian (Squeeze, Wheezy, Jessie, Sid) and Ubuntu (Lucid Lynx, Precise Pangolin, Quantal Quetzal, Raring Ringtail, Saucy Salamander). A source archive is also available for download, but the best way to install it is through the default software channels of your operating system.

Summing up, Midnight Commander is and will always be a system administrator's best friend. It offers a Ncurses-based text-mode interface that runs on any X11 terminal emulator or over SSH (Secure Shell) and other remote shells.