Midnight Commander

GNU Midnight Commander (mc) is a free cross-platform orthodox file manager and a clone of Norton Commander.

Midnight Commander is a console application with a text user interface. The main interface consists of two panels which display the file system. It is used in a similar way to many other programs run in the Unix shell. Arrow keys control file selection, the insert key is used to select files and the Function Keys perform operations such as renaming, editing and copying files. Later versions of the Midnight Commander additionally have mouse support for easier operation. Such versions are aware of GPM and X terminal emulators which support mouse reporting. When running inside an X terminal, these versions can update the name of the window in which Midnight Commander runs (if allowed by the terminal emulator).

Midnight Commander's features include the ability to view the contents of RPM package files, to work with common archive formats as if they were simply another directory, and to function as an FTP or FISH client. Midnight Commander also includes an editor called mcedit. mcedit's features include syntax highlighting for certain languages, and the ability to work in both ASCII and hex modes. Users also have the option to replace mcedit with the editor of their choice (Options Menu>Configuration>[Don't] Use Internal Edit).

Midnight Commander is now included in most Linux distributions and is licensed under GNU General Public License.