# Vifm – Vim-like file manager
<img align="left" src="data/graphics/vifm.svg"/>
[![][AA]][A] [![][FF]][F] [![][UU]][U] [![][SS]][S]
Vifm is a curses based Vim-like file manager extended with some useful
ideas from mutt. If you use Vim, Vifm gives you complete keyboard control
over your files without having to learn a new set of commands. It goes not
just about Vim-like keybindings, but also about modes, options, registers,
commands and other things you might already like in Vim.
Just like Vim, Vifm tries to adhere to the Unix philosophy. So instead of
working solutions which are set in stone user is provided with a set of
means for customization of Vifm to one's likings. Though builtin
functionality should be enough for most of use cases.
_Version 0.15. This file last updated on 12 June 2025._
## Resources and Contacts ##
| Usage | Link
| :---: | :--:
| Website | https://vifm.info/
| Wiki | https://wiki.vifm.info/
| Q & A | https://q2a.vifm.info/
### Communication ###
| Reason | Channel
| :----: | :-----:
| Bugs & Feature Requests | [GitHub][bugs-gh], [SourceForge][bugs-sf] or via [email]
| Preferred place for asking usage questions | Posting on the [Q&A] site
| Read-only and very low traffic news mailing list | [vifm-announce]
### Other resources ###
| Usage | Where to find
| :---: | :-----------:
| Repositories | [GitHub][repo-gh] and [SourceForge][repo-sf]
| Vim Plugin | [Repository][vim-plugin]
| Colorschemes (maintained) | [Repository][colors] and [colorscheme-previews]
| Devicons/favicons | [[1]][devicons-1], [[2]][devicons-2]
| vifmimg (image preview) | [Repository][vifmimg] (using [Überzug] to display the images)
| sixel image preview | [Repository][sixel-preview] (for [Sixel]-capable terminals)
| thu.sh (image preview) | [Repository][thu.sh] (Sixel or Kitty)
## Screenshots ##
More screenshots are [here][gallery].
[gallery]: https://vifm.info/gallery
## Getting Started ##
A good idea for quick start might be skimming over [cheatsheet] for the main
mode (that is Normal mode), reading some sections on basic usage on
[the wiki][wiki-manual] and looking at sample configuration file (run
`:edit $MYVIFMRC`).
How well Vifm will serve you in part depends on how well you understand its
Vim-like nature. The following posts are highly recommended reads to help you
improve with that:
- [Seven habits of effective text editing][7-habits] by Bram Moolenar
- [Your problem with Vim is that you don't grok vi][grok-vim] by Jim Dennis
[7-habits]: https://www.moolenaar.net/habits.html
[grok-vim]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/1220118/1535516
## Installation ##
Below are some suggestions on how Vifm can be installed in various
environments using methods most native to them.
| OS, distribution or package manager | Installation command
| :---------------------------------- | :-------------------
| Alpine | `apk add vifm`
| Arch and derivatives (e.g., Manjaro) | `pacman -S vifm`
| Debian and derivatives (e.g., Ubuntu) | `apt install vifm`
| Fedora and derivatives (e.g., Rocky, Qubes OS, RHEL) | `dnf install vifm` or `yum install vifm`
| FreeBSD | `pkg install vifm`
| Gentoo | `emerge vifm`
| Guix | `guix package -i vifm`
| Linuxbrew | `brew install vifm`
| NetBSD | `pkg_add vifm` or `pkgin install vifm`
| Nix | `nix-env -i vifm`
| OpenBSD | `pkg_add vifm`
| OpenSUSE | `zypper install vifm`
| Slackware | `sbopkg -i vifm`
| macOS | `brew install vifm` or `port install vifm`
### AppImage ###
In case of a Linux distribution which doesn't package Vifm or which offers an
outdated version, an AppImage binary can be used to avoid compiling from
sources. This method of installation requires downloading an `.AppImage` file
on a system younger than 10 years with a FUSE-capable kernel and marking that
file as executable.
As a convenience, here are commands that download AppImage binary for the latest
release and save it as `~/.local/bin/vifm` (thanks to [@benelan], see
[GitHub#975]).
#### `curl` + `sed` ####
```bash
curl -Lso ~/.local/bin/vifm \
"https://github.com/vifm/vifm/releases/latest/download/vifm-v$(
curl -Ls "https://api.github.com/repos/vifm/vifm/releases/latest" |
sed -nE '/"tag_name":/s/.*"v*([^"]+)".*/\1/p'
)-x86_64.AppImage" && chmod +x ~/.local/bin/vifm
```
#### `wget` + `jq` ####
```bash
wget -qO ~/.local/bin/vifm "$(
wget -qO - "https://api.github.com/repos/vifm/vifm/releases/latest" |
jq -r '.assets[] | select(.name|endswith(".AppImage")) | .browser_download_url'
)" && chmod +x ~/.local/bin/vifm
```
## License ##
GNU General Public License, version 2 or later.
[Q&A]: https://q2a.vifm.info/
[email]: mailto:xaizek@posteo.net
[vifm-announce]: https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/vifm-announce
[vim-plugin]: https://github.com/vifm/vifm.vim
[colors]: https://github.com/vifm/vifm-colors
[colorscheme-previews]: https://vifm.info/colorschemes.shtml
[devicons-1]: https://github.com/cirala/vifm_devicons
[devicons-2]: https://github.com/yanzhang0219/dotfiles/tree/master/.config/vifm
[vifmimg]: https://github.com/cirala/vifmimg
[sixel-preview]: https://github.com/eylles/vifm-sixel-preview
[thu.sh]: https://github.com/iambumblehead/thu.sh
[Überzug]: https://github.com/jstkdng/ueberzugpp/
[bugs-gh]: https://github.com/vifm/vifm/issues
[bugs-sf]: https://sourceforge.net/p/vifm/_list/tickets
[repo-gh]: https://github.com/vifm/vifm
[repo-sf]: https://sourceforge.net/projects/vifm/
[cheatsheet]: https://vifm.info/cheatsheets.shtml
[wiki-manual]: https://wiki.vifm.info/index.php?title=Manual
[Sixel]: https://www.arewesixelyet.com/
[@benelan]: https://github.com/benelan
[GitHub#975]: https://github.com/vifm/vifm/issues/975
[AA]: https://ci.appveyor.com/api/projects/status/ywfhdev1l3so1f5e/branch/master?svg=true
[A]: https://ci.appveyor.com/project/xaizek/vifm/branch/master
[FF]: http://ci.vifm.info/badges/svg/master
[F]: http://ci.vifm.info/
[UU]: http://cov.vifm.info/badges/svg/master
[U]: http://cov.vifm.info/branches/master
[SS]: https://scan.coverity.com/projects/699/badge.svg
[S]: https://scan.coverity.com/projects/vifm-vifm
Before first commit, do not forget to setup your git environment:
git config --global user.name "your_name_here"
git config --global user.email "your@email_here"
Clone this repository using HTTP(S):
git clone https://code.reversed.top/user/xaizek/vifm
Clone this repository using ssh (do not forget to upload a key first):
git clone ssh://rocketgit@code.reversed.top/user/xaizek/vifm
You are allowed to anonymously push to this repository.
This means that your pushed commits will automatically be transformed into a
pull request:
... clone the repository ...
... make some changes and some commits ...
git push origin master