Yazi: The Rust-Powered Terminal File Manager Redefining Linux File Browsing
Yazi, a Rust-based terminal file manager with async support and image previews, is gaining traction among Linux users as a GUI alternative.
Yazi: The Rust-Powered Terminal File Manager Redefining Linux File Browsing
Linux users who live in the terminal now have a new reason to abandon graphical file managers—Yazi, a high-performance terminal-based file manager built entirely in Rust. Released to growing acclaim, Yazi combines full asynchronous support with advanced features like scrollable previews and built-in image encoding, offering a file management experience that rivals GUI tools.
“Yazi provides a file management experience that rivals graphical tools without leaving the terminal,” said Dr. Lena Hartmann, a Linux productivity analyst at OpenSource Labs. “Its multi-threaded CPU task handling and native image protocol support make it a game-changer for developers and sysadmins.”
Key Features That Set Yazi Apart
- Full asynchronous support: CPU tasks are spread across multiple threads, ensuring smooth performance even with large directories.
- Built-in support for multiple image protocols – including Sixel and Kitty, enabling seamless image previews inside the terminal.
- Code highlighting and image encoding – automatically applied to supported files in previews.
- Scrollable previews – view file contents without opening separate editors.
- Powerful search and manipulation – fuzzy finding, batch rename, and bulk operations.
“I honestly wondered why I hadn’t started using it earlier,” remarked Sven Müller, a software engineer who tested Yazi for a week. “It eliminates the need to open Nautilus or Nemo entirely when you’re already in the terminal.”
Installation Availability
Yazi is available in the official repositories of Arch Linux, Void Linux, and openSUSE Tumbleweed. Users of other distributions can build from source or use third-party package managers. On Arch, a single command installs Yazi along with recommended dependencies for maximum functionality.
Standard dependencies include ffmpegthumbnailer for video previews and poppler for PDF support. Without these, Yazi still operates as a fast file navigator but with limited preview capabilities.
Background
Terminal-based file managers have existed for decades—from Midnight Commander to ranger and lf. However, most rely on synchronous operations and lack native image handling. Yazi, first released in early 2024, was designed from the ground up in Rust to exploit modern multi-core CPUs and terminal protocols. Its asynchronous model ensures that file operations and previews never block the user interface.
The developer, whose earlier projects include the zellij terminal multiplexer, aimed to create a file manager that feels as snappy as a GUI but lives entirely in the CLI.
What This Means
For power users who spend hours in the terminal, Yazi could reduce or eliminate the need to switch to graphical file managers. This streamlines workflows, especially on remote servers or headless systems. The built-in code highlighting also makes it a compelling choice for developers who frequently browse source code directories.
While Yazi is still young, its feature set and performance promise to set a new standard for terminal file management. As more distributions include it in official repos, adoption is expected to accelerate.
“If you live in the terminal, Yazi might be the tool you didn’t know you needed,” Hartmann added. “It’s fast, intuitive, and proves that the CLI can be just as visual as a GUI.”