The best file managers, according to Hacker News commenters
15 file managers were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and October 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 6 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
On Hacker News, the most recommended file manager that earns the badge is Dolphin file manager: 66 people recommended it, 8 had mixed feelings and 16 criticized it between November 2025 and October 2026. Next is Midnight Commander (29 recommend, 5 mixed, 5 criticize), most often for “Comparable to GUI file managers”.
Top picks
The three most recommended file managers with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsMixed feelingsCriticizes One comment
Better than Windows Explorer
“responds as quickly as one would expect File Explorer to respond if it were developed by sane people”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft gave FBI set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects' laptops” Free, fast file manager that handles remote shares and huge folders natively; people prefer it to Windows Explorer. Caveat: critics say it's slow with big folders and bloated.
Midnight Commander
29 recommend, 5 mixed, 5 criticize, 85% approval
Shares rank 3 of 15 by recommenders
Comparable to GUI file managers
“The only file managers that I’ve used that felt competitive with the Mac are tools like Midnight Commander”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Finder is so frustrating and has been since day one” Fast, feature-rich two-panel terminal file manager people have used for years and find hard to beat. Common caveat: some find it flaky and say it hides how the terminal works.
Very fast, far quicker than Explorer
“It's still fairly early days, but it's SCREAMING fast and I find it very intuitive to use.”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “Stop Ruining It” Fast, lightweight replacement for Windows Explorer that people praise for speed and modern UI. Main caveat: no Unicode or non-English language support, and it's paid.
All 15 file managers, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Mixed counts the people with mixed feelings, who count toward neither side. Approval share is recommenders out of recommenders and critics; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 12, in which someone recommended it. Had for is the median time people say they have had or used it, shown when 10 or more said.
| Rank | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dolphin file manager | 66 | 8 | 16 | 80% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 2 | Finder (macOS) | 43 | 18 | 165 | 21% | 8 | 15 yrs21 people | — |
| Tied 3 | Midnight Commander | 29 | 5 | 5 | 85% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Tied 3 | Windows Explorer | 29 | 4 | 138 | 17% | 10 | — | — |
| 5 | File Pilot | 24 | 4 | 8 | 75% | 10 | — | Approved |
| 6 | Total Commander | 22 | 4 | 1 | 96% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 7 | Yazi | 20 | 4 | 0 | 100% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 8 | Nautilus | 13 | 3 | 20 | 39% | 8 | — | — |
| 9 | Directory Opus | 10 | 0 | 2 | 83% | 7 | — | Approved |
| 10 | Double Commander | 8 | 3 | 1 | 89% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Bloom file manager for Mac | 6 | 1 | 3 | 67% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Nemo file manager | 6 | 1 | 3 | 67% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 13 | Far Manager | 5 | 0 | 2 | 71% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 13 | Thunar | 5 | 2 | 1 | 83% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 13 | iOS Files app | 5 | 2 | 11 | 31% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment between November 2025 and October 2026. Someone who praises the same file manager in five threads counts once, in the column of their latest opinion.
A file manager earns the badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.
Counts come from Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How it works