Double Commander
Hacker ApprovedRanked 9 of 19 file managers by recommenders
Free, open source, cross-platform dual-pane file manager that copies Total Commander's shortcuts and plugins, and people use it as a reliable alternative.
Free, open source, cross-platform dual-pane file manager that copies Total Commander's shortcuts and plugins, and people use it as a reliable alternative.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Free and open source
“Does everything as TC, supports its plugins and is cross platform and open source.”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “The history of development of Norton Commander (2011)” “Double Commander is open source and no cost.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” Cross-platform file manager
“It's cross-platform, so could switch file manager on Windows first to make it easier to switch to Linux later.”
Comment from 4 Sep 2026 in “O&O ShutUp10 – The antispy tool for Windows 10 and 11” “Does everything as TC, supports its plugins and is cross platform and open source.”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “The history of development of Norton Commander (2011)” Total Commander-style shortcuts and plugins
“Does everything as TC, supports its plugins and is cross platform and open source.”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “The history of development of Norton Commander (2011)” “Double Commander is an exact copy with the same (and configurable) shortcuts.”
Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account” Dual-pane layout like Midnight Commander
“only double commander (forgot the exact name, it's a dual pan file browser like midnight commander) that worked”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great” “I mostly use clones like Midnight Commander, Krusader and Double Commander”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “The history of development of Norton Commander (2011)”
Other file managers people recommend
The four most recommended other file managers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphin file manager | 77 | 19 | 80% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Finder (macOS) | 61 | 172 | 26% | 9 | 15 yrs22 owners | — |
| Windows Explorer | 36 | 141 | 20% | 11 | 2 yrs4 owners | — |
| Midnight Commander | 34 | 5 | 87% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Double CommanderThis page | 11 | 2 | 85% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
15 of the 18 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Yes, I know about it and it's good.”
“Does everything as TC, supports its plugins and is cross platform and open source.”
“I mostly use clones like Midnight Commander, Krusader and Double Commander”
“froze or crashed while doing ordinary things like copying files”
“It has what I need, including script buttons, very nice.”
“DoubleCommander is a great alternative.”
“it seems to have what I need”
“The Portables downloaded from Sourcefoge do not work.”
“DoubleCommander is a near-direct replacement”
“It's cross-platform, so could switch file manager on Windows first to make it easier to switch to Linux later.”
“Double Commander is an exact copy with the same (and configurable) shortcuts.”
“I run DoubleCommander when I really need a file manager”
“Double Commander is open source and no cost.”
“Double Commander isn't the prettiest but it works quite well.”
“only double commander (forgot the exact name, it's a dual pan file browser like midnight commander) that worked”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.