ytree: A slightly different file manager

File managers at the console are sometimes a lost cause. For decades now, shifting and sorting has always been done in the graphical arena, and that’s probably what most people expect.

There was a time when two-pane text-only file managers were top dog, and the legacy of that for Linux is the venerable Midnight Commander.

Doing it differently is the trick these days. There are plenty of discrete file managers that do the same things, but in different ways. ranger, vifm, fd and clex are just a few.

Add ytree to that.

I don’t remember xtree personally, which I believe ytree attempts to emulate. I do enjoy the unusual arrangement and the three viewmodes, swapping between them with the enter key.

File managers have their allegiances though, and I am probably too accustomed to mc and it’s long list of embellishments to consider changing camp.

If you want something that hearkens back to xtree, or perhaps just need something with a little more efficient use of space, consider ytree.