Rusty Files

A terminal-based file manager written in Rust. Fast, keyboard-driven, and refreshingly free of mouse dependency.

Features

• Single-pane tree navigation - Browse your filesystem with a clean, hierarchical view
• Multi-file selection - Select files using Shift+arrows, Ctrl+click, or click-and-drag
• Standard file operations - Copy, cut, paste, delete, rename with familiar keyboard shortcuts
• Sudo support - Seamlessly handles operations on protected files with password prompts
• Trash system with undo - Delete files safely to trash, undo mistakes with Ctrl+Z
• File opening - Launch files with system default applications
• Smart rename - Full text editing with cursor positioning, selection, and system clipboard integration
• Status bar - Real-time feedback on file counts and selection sizes
• Performance-conscious - Minimal resource usage, instant response times

Installation

From Source

Requirements:

• Rust 1.70 or later
• A terminal emulator (most likely already installed)

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/rusty_files.git
cd rusty_files
cargo build --release

The binary will be available at target/release/rusty_files.

Optionally, install system-wide:

cargo install --path .

Usage

Launch the application:

rusty_files

Or navigate from a specific directory:

cd /your/directory
rusty_files

Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation

Key	Action
↑/↓	Move cursor up/down
←	Go to parent directory
→ or Enter	Enter directory / Open file
Shift+↑/↓	Extend selection

File Operations

Key	Action
Ctrl+C	Copy selected files
Ctrl+X	Cut selected files
Ctrl+V	Paste files
Ctrl+N	Create new file or directory
Ctrl+R	Rename file (with full text editing)
Delete	Delete selected files (moves to trash)
Ctrl+D	Copy full path to system clipboard
Ctrl+Z	Undo last operation
Ctrl+Space	Toggle selection on current item

Selection

Key	Action
Ctrl+Click	Toggle individual file selection
Click+Drag	Select multiple files
Shift+Click	Select range (terminal support varies)

Rename Mode

When renaming a file (Ctrl+R), additional shortcuts become available:

Key	Action
←/→	Move cursor
Shift+←/→	Extend selection
Home/End	Jump to start/end
Shift+Home/End	Select to start/end
Ctrl+A	Select all
Ctrl+C/V/X	Copy/paste/cut text (uses system clipboard)
Backspace/Delete	Delete character or selection
Enter	Confirm rename
Esc	Cancel rename

Application

Key	Action
Ctrl+Q	Quit application

Building From Source

Dependencies

Rusty Files uses the following Rust crates:

• ratatui (0.29) - Terminal UI framework
• crossterm (0.28) - Cross-platform terminal manipulation
• arboard (3.4) - System clipboard integration

All dependencies are automatically handled by Cargo.

Compilation

Debug build (faster compilation, slower runtime):

cargo build

Release build (optimized):

cargo build --release

Platform Support

Fully supported on:

• Linux - Primary development platform with full feature support
• macOS - Full support including Terminal.app and iTerm2 integration for Ctrl+T

Both platforms support:

• Cross-platform file operations (copy, cut, paste, delete, rename)
• System clipboard integration (requires xsel, xclip, or wl-clipboard on Linux)
• Platform-aware file opening (xdg-open on Linux, open on macOS)
• Sudo operations for privileged file access
• Terminal launching at current directory

Design Philosophy

Rusty Files aims to be:

• Fast - Because life is too short for spinning cursors
• Keyboard-first - Your fingers shouldn't need to leave home row
• Forgiving - Undo support and trash system prevent catastrophic mistakes
• Unobtrusive - Small binary, minimal dependencies, no configuration files to maintain

Technical Details

Trash System

Deleted files are moved to ~/.local/share/rusty_files/trash with timestamp prefixes, enabling:

• Safe deletion without permanent data loss
• Undo operations via Ctrl+Z
• Manual recovery if needed (files remain accessible in trash directory)

Sudo Operations

When operations fail due to insufficient permissions:

1. Password prompt appears automatically
2. Credentials are validated before operations
3. Operations are tracked in undo stack
4. Cached credentials are explicitly cleared to prevent password bypass

Performance Optimizations

• Lazy size calculation - File sizes computed on demand and cached
• Non-recursive directory sizing - Prevents lag when selecting large directories
• Efficient rendering - Only visible portions of file tree are processed
• Directory state memory - Returns to previous position when navigating back

Known Limitations

• Shift+click selection may not work reliably in all terminal emulators (use click-and-drag instead)
• Directory sizes are not calculated recursively (feature, not bug)
• No configuration file support (everything uses sensible defaults)
• Undo stack is in-memory only (cleared when application exits)

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. When reporting bugs, please include:

• Operating system and version
• Terminal emulator being used
• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Expected vs. actual behavior

Acknowledgments

Built with:

• Ratatui - Terminal UI framework
• Crossterm - Cross-platform terminal library
• Arboard - Clipboard library

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Made with Rust. Tested with files.