xt

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Text-mode file manager for Linux, inspired by XTree and ZTreeWin.

Why xt?

I have used some flavor of XTree since the 1990s, and ZTreeWin is still, to me, the best text-mode file manager there is. I wrote xt because I missed something as good as it running on Linux: the existing alternatives seem to be abandoned.

As much as I like ZTreeWin, its development is extremely slow. That is why xt will probably get a Windows version too.

xt follows ZTreeWin's keys and way of working whenever possible; the differences are listed in Comparison with ZTreeWin.

Disclaimer

xt is an independent project, written from scratch. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Zedtek, Inc. (ZTreeWin) or to the owners of XTree. It contains no code from those programs; their names are mentioned only to describe what inspired xt and how it compares. XTree, ZTree and ZTreeWin are trademarks of their respective owners.

Screenshots

The directory tree, the file window and the statistics, in the classic theme:

Branch (B) lists the files of a whole branch; tagged files (T) are highlighted and counted on the right:

Split window (F8), each side with its own directory:

Viewer (V), with syntax colors:

Themes: besides the classic blue, dark, light, mono, norton, solarized, gruvbox (below) and nord:

Installation

Ready-made binary: download the archive for your system from the Releases page: Linux x86_64 or ARM64 (static, runs on any distribution) or Windows x86_64. Extract it and put xt (xt.exe) somewhere on your PATH, e.g.:

tar xzf xt-v0.1.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz
install -m 755 xt-v0.1.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/xt ~/.local/bin/

Each archive has a .sha256 next to it, to check with sha256sum -c.

With Cargo (needs Rust, via rustup), from crates.io, where xt is called xt-fm (the name xt was taken); the command is still xt:

cargo install xt-fm

Or the latest code, straight from GitHub, or from a clone of the repository (in the project folder):

cargo install --git https://github.com/andrelnfernandes/xt
cargo install --path .

The binary goes to ~/.cargo/bin/xt (which rustup already puts on your PATH). To update, run the same command again; to remove it, cargo uninstall xt-fm.

Usage

xt [directory]

With no argument, it opens the current directory. xt --help shows the options.

Quitting and changing the shell's directory (Alt+Q)

A program cannot change the directory of the shell that launched it. So, as in other file managers, Alt+Q writes the current directory to a file (--cwd-file) and a small shell function does the cd. Put this in your ~/.bashrc (or ~/.zshrc):

xt() {
    local tmp dir
    tmp=$(mktemp) || return
    command xt --cwd-file "$tmp" "$@"
    dir=$(cat -- "$tmp")
    rm -f -- "$tmp"
    [ -n "$dir" ] && [ -d "$dir" ] && cd -- "$dir"
}

With it, xt works as before; only when you quit with Alt+Q does the shell end up in the directory you were in inside xt. Q and F10 quit without changing anything.

Windows (experimental)

xt also builds for Windows (Windows Terminal or the classic console). It passes the automated tests there, but has not been used day to day yet, so expect rough edges. Each release has a ready-made xt.exe (see Installation), or install it with Cargo, the same way.

What changes on Windows:

• Attributes (A) edits R, H, S and A, as in ZTreeWin: RA sets exactly those, +H -A turns some on or off. The file list shows them as r-sa.
• Hidden files and directories are the ones with the H attribute (a name starting with a dot is an ordinary name).
• eXecute and Edit go through cmd, with names in double quotes. A %NAME% inside a file name is still expanded by cmd.
• The default editor is notepad, O uses start, and Ctrl+B suggests xt-batch.bat (starting with @echo off).
• Deleting a read-only file deletes it, as rm does on Linux.
• Copying symbolic links needs Developer Mode or administrator rights.
• Configuration in %APPDATA%\xt\config.toml, history in %LOCALAPPDATA%\xt\.
• The built-in terminal (Alt+X) runs cmd (%COMSPEC%). Entering it still takes the shell to the tree's directory, but the tree does not follow the shell's cds, and there is no $XT_TAGGED.

For Alt+Q in PowerShell, put this in your $PROFILE:

function xt {
    $tmp = New-TemporaryFile
    xt.exe --cwd-file $tmp @args
    $dir = Get-Content -Raw -Encoding UTF8 $tmp
    Remove-Item $tmp
    if ($dir -and (Test-Path -LiteralPath $dir -PathType Container)) {
        Set-Location -LiteralPath $dir
    }
}

Configuration

The easiest way is the configuration screen: F12 (or Alt+F10, as in ZTreeWin; on Ubuntu/GNOME, Alt+F10 usually maximizes the window and never reaches xt). It has four pages:

Page	Options
1. Programs and formats	editor, date format, number format, Git commands
2. Display and sorting	show hidden files, initial sort order and direction, what Enter does in the file window, initial mode of the file window, syntax colors in the viewer, colors of the built-in terminal
3. Confirmations and history	confirm on quit, Prune confirmation, don't keep entries containing @, the built-in terminal's own shell history
4. Copy, compare and refresh	ignore 2 s, ignore 1 h, automatic refresh, where Alt+C/Alt+M paths start

The option's letter (or Enter) changes the value, PgUp/PgDn or 1–4 switch pages, F4 picks the theme from a list (with an instant preview), F3 saves and applies, Esc cancels (it asks if there are changes).

Everything is stored in ~/.config/xt/config.toml (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/xt/), which can also be edited by hand; the screen preserves your comments. To start from a commented file with all the defaults:

mkdir -p ~/.config/xt && xt --default-config > ~/.config/xt/config.toml

• theme: classic (XTree blue), dark, light, mono (the terminal's own colors), norton, solarized, gruvbox or nord.
• [options]: the options from the configuration screen.
• [colors]: overrides individual colors on top of the theme, using names ("yellow"), "#rrggbb" or indexes from 0 to 255.
• [keys.any], [keys.tree], [keys.files]: rebind keys, in both windows or in just one (this one takes precedence). E.g.: "f3" = "view", "ctrl+r" = "relog"; "none" disables a key. F1 inside xt shows the keys currently in effect, including your changes.

An error in the file does not stop xt from starting: it uses the defaults and shows the error in the footer (and the configuration screen will not save until the file is fixed, so it doesn't erase what you wrote).

Git (optional)

Git is not in XTree or ZTreeWin, so it starts off: turn it on with F12 (page 1, "Git commands") or git = true under [options]. It needs the git program.

• Ctrl+G opens the Git menu in the footer; the next letter chooses:
  • Status, Log, Diff (against HEAD: staged and unstaged together, with colors) and Blame open in the viewer, with search.
  • Add and Unstage.
  • Commit opens Git's own editor, as git commit does.
• The commands act on the tagged files in the list, otherwise on the current file; in the tree, on the current directory. Status always covers the whole repository.
• The file list shows each file's status before its name, with the two letters of git status --short: M staged, M changed but not staged, A added, ?? untracked, R renamed. Unchanged files show blanks. The status is read again after xt's own operations, after F3, and every 10 seconds (to catch commits made in another terminal).
• In the viewer, D shows what changed in a file since the last commit (its git diff HEAD, with colors) and D again goes back to the file, at the same place. "Diff" appears in the footer only for files with changes; E still edits the file, and the diff is updated on return.
• For push, pull and other commands that use the network, use eXecute (X), e.g. git push.

Status letters in the file list, with the Git menu open (Ctrl+G):

Status in color, as in a terminal (here with the dark theme):

D in the viewer: what changed in the file since the last commit:

Built-in terminal (Alt+X)

Not in XTree or ZTreeWin: your shell ($SHELL) running inside xt's screen, in the bottom part, with the tree and the files still visible above it.

A cd in the terminal takes the tree along:

Alt+O types the tagged files at the prompt:

• Alt+X opens the terminal and goes back to xt. The shell keeps running while hidden, with its history and whatever it had on screen; exit closes it.
• Quitting xt ends the shell and whatever runs in it. If a program is running there (say, vim), Q and Alt+Q ask first, even with confirm_quit off (Linux and macOS).
• Alt+Z opens it in full screen; inside, it switches between full screen and the panel. Alt+X then reopens it the way it was.
• The tree follows the shell: a cd in the terminal moves the tree's cursor to the same directory (Linux).
• The shell follows the tree: when you enter the terminal from another directory, it goes there. This only happens when the shell is waiting at the prompt; with a program running (vim, less...), nothing is typed.
• $XT_TAGGED has the tagged files, set when you enter the terminal. It is an array: in bash, use "${XT_TAGGED[@]}" (cp "${XT_TAGGED[@]}" ~/backup); in zsh and fish, $XT_TAGGED. With other shells (sh, dash) there is only the cd.
• Alt+O types the tagged files at the cursor, quoted and relative to the shell's directory (wc -l 'a.txt' 'b c.txt'). From the tree or the file window, it opens the terminal and types them.
• Shift+PgUp/PgDn scroll back through what went off the screen.
• On leaving the terminal, the open directories are reread.
• Its own history: the commands typed in it go to a shell history of their own, apart from your other terminals': ~/.local/state/xt/bash_history (zsh_history...), through HISTFILE; in fish, the xt session (fish_history). If your rc file sets HISTFILE unconditionally, it wins. Turn it off with F12 (page 3) or terminal_history = false.
• Programs that take the whole screen (vim, htop, less) work inside it; all keys go to them, except Alt+X, Alt+Z and Alt+O.

The keys can be changed in [keys.any] (terminal, terminal_full, terminal_tagged): Alt+T, for instance, is the "Terminal" menu in some terminals. The colors are chosen with F12 (page 2) or terminal_theme under [options]: native (those of the terminal xt runs in), xt (the background and text of xt's theme), solarized, gruvbox, nord, dracula or one_dark.

To enter the terminal and the directory, xt writes a small script in a folder of its own (in ~/.cache/xt/, readable only by you) and types . script at the prompt; the leading space keeps the line out of the history in bash (ignorespace) and in zsh (HIST_IGNORE_SPACE). Inside the terminal, XT_TERMINAL=1, for prompts and scripts that want to know.

Keys

Navigation

Key	Tree	File window
↑ ↓ PgUp PgDn Home End	moves the cursor	moves the cursor
→ / +	expands the directory
← / -	collapses (or goes to the parent)	page up (in columns: previous file)
→	expands	page down (in columns: next file)
Alt+F		display mode: name columns, columns with size, details, long names
Backspace	parent directory	shows the files of the parent directory
Space	down one line	same
*	logs and expands the whole branch
\ or /	Treespec: go to a directory by typing the path	same (in Branch/Showall: goes to the file's directory)
Shift+letter, 0–9	next directory starting with it	next file starting with it
Alt+K	shows the size or file count of each directory in the tree	same
B	Branch: files of the whole branch (logs first)	same
S	Showall: files of everything that has been logged	same
F	Filespec: file filter	same
Alt+S	sorts the files: name, extension, date, size; order	same
F3 (or F2)	rereads the directory from disk	same
V		views the file (text/hex, with search)
F7	Autoview: list with the contents of the selected file alongside	same
Ctrl+S		searches for text in the tagged files and untags those without it
Ctrl+V		views the tagged files in sequence
O		opens the file in the default program (xdg-open)
Ctrl+O		opens the tagged files in the default program
Alt+F5		opens a ZIP/TAR as a directory
E		opens the file in the editor
X	runs a shell command	same
Alt+X	built-in terminal (and back to xt)	same
Alt+Z	built-in terminal in full screen	same
Alt+O	built-in terminal, typing the tagged files	same
L	Log: opens another directory in the window
C	Compare: compares with the other window and tags
F8	splits the screen into two windows (or back to one)	same
Tab	switches window (split screen)	same
Enter	opens the file window	goes back to the tree
Esc		goes back to the tree (at the file's directory)
Alt+I	Info: directory details (and what is logged in it)	Info: file details
A	Avail: mounted file systems and free space
?	window statistics	same
F1	help: list of the keys in effect	same
F12 / Alt+F10	configuration screen	same
Q / F10	quit (asks for confirmation)	quit
Alt+Q	quits, leaving the shell in the current directory (see above)	same

Tags and operations

Key	Tree	File window
T / U	tags / untags the files in the directory	tags / untags the file and moves down
Ctrl+T / Ctrl+U	tags / untags everything logged (filespec)	tags / untags the whole list
I	inverts the directory's tags	inverts the list's tags
Ctrl+F7 / F8 / F9	tags / untags / inverts the logged files of the branch
C		copies the file
M	creates a subdirectory	moves the file
D	deletes the directory (only if empty)	deletes the file
Alt+P	Prune: deletes the directory with everything in it
R	renames the directory	renames the file
A		permissions (octal, e.g. 644)
N	changes the directory's date	changes the file's date (Ctrl+N: of the tagged files)
Ctrl+B		Batch: creates a script or list with one line per tagged file
F5 / Ctrl+F5		creates a ZIP/TAR with the file / with the tagged files
Ctrl + C M D A	same, on the tagged files	same, on the tagged files
Alt+C	Compare of the whole branch	copies the tagged files, recreating the paths
Alt+M		moves the tagged files, recreating the paths

Group operations act on the tagged files of the current list (the directory, or the open Branch/Showall).

With or without paths: Ctrl+C / Ctrl+M copy or move all the tagged files straight into the destination. Alt+C / Alt+M recreate each file's path at the destination; where that path starts depends on the mode. For /home/me/proj/src/ops/mod.rs, listed from src/ops (the list's root: the current directory, the Branch root, or the root of the tree in Showall), copied to dest:

Mode	Result
Full	dest/home/me/proj/src/ops/mod.rs	from the root of the disk, as in ZTreeWin (default)
Tree	dest/src/ops/mod.rs	from the root of xt's tree (here proj); not in ZTreeWin
Current	dest/ops/mod.rs	from the list's root, its name included
Relative	dest/mod.rs	only what is below the list's root

At the destination prompt, F6 switches between with and without paths and F7 cycles the modes; both show in the prompt itself. The mode the prompt starts with is chosen on page 4 of F12 (copy_paths). Inside an archive, paths start at most at the archive's root. Alt+D and Alt+A work like Ctrl+D and Ctrl+A.

Picking the folder (F2): in any prompt that asks for a folder (Copy, Move, Log, and the folder of Ctrl+B and F5), F2 opens a tree to choose it, as in ZTreeWin. It starts at the folder typed so far; the tree keys move around (directories are read as they are opened), Tab switches to the other window's tree with the screen split, Enter puts the folder in the prompt (Ctrl+B and F5 keep the file name) and Esc goes back without changing it. Nothing runs until you confirm the prompt.

Split screen: F8 opens a second window, starting in the same directory; Tab switches between them (without the split, Tab does the same as Enter). Each window has its own tree, cursor and filespec; use L to open another directory in it. With the screen split, Copy/Move suggests the other window's directory as the destination, and both windows are refreshed after any operation.

Compare (C in the tree, with the screen split): compares the files of the current directory with those of the other window's directory and tags, as you choose: Unique (not present on the other side), Newer, Older, Identical (same size and date), Different, or All new (unique + newer: what is missing to bring the other side up to date). B (or Alt+C in the tree, as in ZTreeWin) switches the scope to the whole branch: xt logs the branch, compares following the relative paths (src/a.rs ↔ <other>/src/a.rs) and opens the Branch with the tagged files. Dates up to 2 seconds apart count as equal (FAT/exFAT).

To synchronize: C B A and then Alt+C (copy with paths), which already suggests the other window as the destination.

Sorting (Alt+S): Name, Ext, Date or Size; Order toggles ascending/descending and Path first groups by directory in Branch/Showall. The current order appears in the file window's title (e.g. Size↓) and the cursor stays on the same file. The initial order comes from sort and sort_descending in the configuration; new windows (F8, Log) inherit the current one.

Treespec (\ or /): opens a prompt with the current path; as you type, the tree cursor goes to the first directory starting with what you have typed (case-insensitive). / or \ complete the name and go down one level; Tab and Shift+Tab complete and then move to the next/previous directory at the same level; Backspace goes back up levels; Enter confirms; Esc returns to where you were. ↑ brings up the history (saved between runs). A path outside the tree becomes a Log when confirmed. In Branch/Showall, \ goes straight to the directory of the selected file, with it highlighted.

Display modes (Alt+F): cycles, in ZTreeWin's order, between names in several columns, names and sizes in columns, details (one column with size, date and permissions, the default) and long names (one column, full names only). In the column modes, files run from left to right, ← → move one file and ↑ ↓ one row; names longer than 20 characters are cut off with …. The initial mode is set in file_display (page 2 of the configuration).

Autoview (F7): splits the screen between the file list and the contents of the selected file, which follows the cursor. The file window's keys keep working (T tags, for example); Shift+↑/↓/PgUp/PgDn/Home/End scroll the contents; F7, Esc or Enter exit. It shows the first 1 MiB of each file (V shows up to 16 MiB).

KByte (Alt+K): shows to the right of each directory in the tree the Size (total in K) or the Count (number of files); None turns it off. Before choosing, All/Tagged count all files or only the tagged ones, and Branch/Directory add up the whole branch or just the directory. Directories not yet logged show ?. Each window has its own setting.

Edit and eXecute: E opens the file in the editor ($VISUAL, $EDITOR, Debian/Ubuntu's editor or vi). X asks for a command line and runs it with sh in the current directory; %f becomes the file under the cursor, %t the tagged files and %d the current directory, all already quoted (%% is a literal %). Example: tar czf backup.tgz %t. At the end, xt waits for Enter so you can read the output. When it returns, the open directories are reread.

History: at prompts, ↑/↓ bring up previous entries. Each type of prompt (Filespec, Copy/Move destination, Log, eXecute...) has its own history, stored in ~/.local/state/xt/history.toml (or $XDG_STATE_HOME/xt/), readable only by you, since it may contain typed commands.

Open (O): opens the file in the system's default program (xdg-open: images in the image viewer, PDFs in the PDF reader, etc.), in the background, without leaving xt. Ctrl+O opens all the tagged files. Inside an archive, the entry is first extracted to a temporary folder, deleted when xt exits. Another program can be chosen in opener (or in the configuration screen).

Archives: Alt+F5 in the file window opens .zip, .jar, .war, .apk, .tar, .tar.gz or .tgz as a tree, read-only: navigation, Filespec, Branch, Showall, tags, View and Compare work inside it, and Copy (including Ctrl+C and Alt+C with paths) extracts the files. Esc in the tree closes the archive and returns to where you were. For safety, entries containing .. or an absolute path are ignored, and symbolic links inside archives are never extracted.

Automatic refresh: xt watches (via inotify) the current directory of each window and rereads it on its own when another program creates, deletes, renames or modifies files there, keeping the cursor on the same file. Changes are batched (at most one reread every half second) and wait for the end of any operation in progress. Other directories still need F3.

Ctrl/Alt menus: as in ZTree, the footer shows only the one-key commands. F9 switches to the Ctrl menu, then the Alt menu, and back. With one of these menus opened by F9, the next letter counts as Ctrl+letter or Alt+letter (e.g. F9 M = Ctrl+M); Esc cancels. In terminals with the kitty keyboard protocol, just holding Ctrl or Alt makes the corresponding menu appear while the key is pressed.

Ctrl+M: in most terminals, Ctrl+M arrives the same as Enter. xt automatically enables the kitty keyboard protocol when the terminal supports it (kitty, WezTerm, foot, Ghostty, recent Alacritty, iTerm2), and then Ctrl+M moves the tagged files as in ZTree. In VTE-based terminals (GNOME Terminal, Ptyxis, Terminator, Tilix) use F9 M (or Alt+M and F6 at the prompt).

During a long log, progress appears in the footer and Esc cancels.

Filespec (F): specifications separated by spaces, ; or ,, of three kinds, as in ZTreeWin:

• name: glob (*.rs, a?c*, [abc]*), case-insensitive; in quotes, the name can contain spaces ("meu arquivo*");
• date: <, =, >, <=, >= or <> and a date in the order of the configured format, with /, . or - and a 2- or 4-digit year (>01/05/2026; 2026-05-01 always works), or TODAY and TODAY-n (>TODAY-7: last 7 days);
• size: the same with an s after the operator (>=s200000); in xt K, M and G also work (>s100M).

A leading - negates (-*.bak; -<s1K is the same as >=s1K). Within each kind, positive specifications are ORed together, except >a immediately followed by <b, which is the range between the two (>=01/05/2026,<=31/05/2026: May); <> excludes. Between kinds, AND applies: *.txt,=TODAY,<s1000 are the .txt files from today smaller than 1000 bytes.

Copy/Move: the destination can be a directory (relative to the directory under the tree cursor, absolute, or with ~) or, for a single file, a new name. If the destination already exists, xt asks: Yes / No / All / Skip all. The copy is made to a temporary file that only replaces the destination at the end: canceling (Esc) or an error never leaves a half-written file. Permissions and modification time are preserved, and symbolic links are copied as links. Moving across disks copies and then deletes.

New date (N): changes the modification date. The prompt comes pre-filled with the current date in your format; it also accepts now and today. With only the date (no HH:MM), each file keeps its own time of day. Symbolic links are skipped (the date would change that of the file they point to).

Batch (Ctrl+B): asks for the name of the file to create and a line mask, and writes one line per tagged file. Parameters: %f path, %d directory, %n name, %b name without extension, %e extension, %s size. In lowercase they come out quoted, safe for the shell (convert %f %b.png); in uppercase, as plain text, for lists (%N;%S). A .sh file gets #!/bin/sh and execute permission (run it with X). An existing file is not overwritten.

Create archive (F5 / Ctrl+F5): creates a .zip, .tar, .tar.gz or .tgz (according to the name you type) with the current file or the tagged files. The paths inside are relative to the list's root, as with Alt+C: in a Branch, subfolders are kept. It shows progress and Esc cancels; the file is written to a temporary file and only gets its name at the end, so it is never left half-written. Symbolic links are stored as links. An existing file is not overwritten.

Info, Avail and statistics: Alt+I shows type, size, permissions, owner and group, dates (modification, access and change), inode, links and device of the file or directory (for a link, where it points; for a directory, also what is logged in it and in its branch). A in the tree lists the mounted file systems with total, used, free and % used, like df. ? summarizes the window: what is logged, the list, the tagged files and the disk (mount point, free and used); below it, the machine (system and kernel, CPU, uptime, load, memory and swap, shell, terminal), the network (IP addresses of each interface, gateway and DNS) and xt itself (version, PID, memory in use, executable and configuration file).

Delete really deletes (it does not go to the trash) and always asks for confirmation.

Prune (Alt+P in the tree): logs the whole branch, shows how many files, directories and bytes will be deleted and asks you to type PRUNE (or the directory's name, or Y, depending on prune_confirmation). It deletes the files and then the directories, from the deepest up, with progress and Esc to cancel. Symbolic links are removed without following the target, and other mount points inside the branch are skipped (a USB drive mounted in there is not deleted). The tree's root cannot be pruned.

Syntax colors: the viewer colors source code and scripts in about 150 languages (Rust, Python, shell, C, JavaScript, SQL, YAML, Markdown...), recognized by extension, by name (Makefile) or by the first line (#!/bin/bash). C turns colors on and off while viewing; the default is syntax_highlight (page 2 of the configuration). Colors are adjusted to stay readable on the current theme's background, the classic blue included. Only the first 20,000 lines are colored, so huge files never slow the viewer down.

Viewer: arrows/PgUp/PgDn/Home/End scroll, ←→ scroll horizontally, H toggles text/hex, E opens the file in the configured editor (back in xt, the viewer shows the new contents at the same place; not for files inside archives), Esc closes. Binary files open in hex. Files over 16 MiB show only the beginning. Search, as in ZTreeWin: F searches from the start, B backwards from the end, / (or S) from the current page and \ backwards from it; Space continues in the same direction, + and - choose the direction. The match is highlighted.

Searching the tagged files (Ctrl+S) and viewing them (Ctrl+V): Ctrl+S searches for text in all the tagged files of the list and untags those that do not contain it, with progress and Esc to stop. Ctrl+V opens the remaining ones in the viewer, one after another: Next and Prev switch files (Alt+Home/Alt+End: first/last) and U untags the current one. The term is the same in both searches: after a Ctrl+S, Space in Ctrl+V goes straight to the next match, moving on to the next tagged file when the file ends. At the search prompts, F2 toggles case sensitivity (when case-insensitive, accents also count: AÇÃO finds ação) and F4 switches between text and hex (byte pairs such as 4d 5a). A * in the middle of the term matches anything on the same line (erro*disco); a term never crosses a line break. It also works inside ZIP/TAR.

In the tree, a + on the connector (├─+) marks a collapsed directory that has subdirectories.

Structure

• src/model/ — in-memory directory tree (arena), independent of the UI
• src/app.rs — global state (prompts, operations) and command execution
• src/pane.rs — one window: tree, file list, cursors and filespec
• src/input.rs — commands and the prompts' text field
• src/keymap.rs — default keys, configuration overrides and help (F1)
• src/ui.rs — screen drawing (ratatui)
• src/viewer.rs — text/hex viewer
• src/archive.rs — ZIP/TAR reading
• src/watch.rs — notifications of changes on disk (inotify)
• src/shell.rs — editor and shell commands (with safe quoting)
• src/term.rs — built-in terminal (pseudo-terminal, key codes, colors)
• src/git.rs — Git menu (Ctrl+G) and status markers, through the git program
• src/config.rs — configuration file, themes and formats
• src/settings.rs — configuration screen (F12)
• src/state.rs — prompt history between runs
• src/model/compare.rs — Compare rules
• src/model/filespec.rs — file filter
• src/ops/ — copy, move and delete, in steps (progress, conflicts, cancellation)
• docs/screenshots/tools/ — regenerates the README screenshots (run.sh, Linux)

Roadmap

• Phase 0 — classic screen, navigable tree, file window
• Phase 1 — Filespec, Showall/Branch, text/hex viewer, log with progress
• Phase 2 — tagging, copy/move/delete/rename, makedir, permissions, re-log
• Phase 3 — split window (F8), Log, Compare, ZIP/TAR, inotify, Edit, eXecute, history in prompts
• Phase 4 — configuration, themes, configurable keys, help (F1), persistent history, release build and installation

For later

• .deb package (license and maintainer still to be decided)
• Windows version: builds and passes the tests (see Windows (experimental)); still to be tried in daily use. Maybe macOS
• the items under "Not implemented" below

Comparison with ZTreeWin

A command-by-command survey based on the official ZTreeWin v2.2 manual (ztwhlp.pdf, from 2011, in particular the "Quick Command Table" and section 3.7 on configuration). Newer versions of ZTreeWin may have changed details.

Implemented

Tree with on-demand log (+, *), file window, Filespec, Branch, Showall, tags (T, U, I, Ctrl+T/U), Copy/Move/Delete/Rename with the Ctrl (tagged) and Alt (tagged with paths) versions, Make dir, Delete dir, Prune, Attributes, View, Edit, eXecute, Compare (directory and branch), Sort, Log, split window (F8 and Tab), relog (F3), Open (O), automatic refresh, browsing and extraction of archives, history in prompts, help (F1) and configuration screen (Alt+F10).

Simplified

Feature	In ZTreeWin	In xt
Filespec	name with its own name and extension rules, date, size, attribute, inverted filespec (Ctrl+I), labels	glob for names, date and size as in ZTreeWin (with K/M/G); no attributes, inversion or labels
Viewer	Alpha, Dump, Hex, Junk and Wrap modes; character sets; hex editing; bookmarks; auto-scroll	text (UTF-8) or hex, with ZTreeWin's search (F, B, /, \, Space, + and -), syntax colors (which ZTreeWin does not have), no line wrapping; up to 16 MiB
Ctrl+S	text, hex or Unicode; searches only the ZIP index	text or hex
Attributes	Windows attributes (R, A, S, H)	Unix permissions in octal (644); no owner/group. On Windows, R, H, S and A, as in ZTreeWin
Sort	Name, Ext, Date, Time, Length, Alpha, nuMber, Size, Value, Unsorted; Charset; same/diff in split screen	Name, Ext, Date, Size, ascending/descending, Path first; each window has its own order
Compare	options Identical, Unique, Newer, Older, Size, Binary, Case; display filter	tags unique, newer, older, identical, different or unique+newer; no binary comparison
Prune	deletes only the subdirectories or the current one too; only empty directories; recycle bin	always deletes the whole directory, permanently; configurable confirmation
Delete	optional recycle bin	deletes for good
Log	several logged drives, Global, drive switching	one root per window; L opens another directory
eXecute	batch parameters %1–%8, new window (NTW)	sh with %f, %t and %d; always in xt's terminal; also a built-in terminal (Alt+X)
History	history window with bookmarks	↑/↓ at the prompt, one history per type, saved between runs
Configuration	7 pages, per-element color editor (F4), Alt-Export	4 pages with the options that make sense on Linux; F4 chooses among 8 ready-made themes; individual colors in config.toml
Archives	any format with an external archiver, create (F5), extract (Alt-F5)	ZIP/JAR/WAR/APK/TAR/TGZ: open (Alt+F5), extract with Copy, create with F5 (ZIP, TAR and TAR.GZ)
Split screen	optional statistics panels per side	no statistics panel
Menus	Ctrl/Alt menu when holding the key	same in terminals with the kitty protocol; F9 in any terminal

ZTreeWin configuration options that were not brought over because they are Windows-specific: RSH attributes, recycle bin, junctions, OEM/ANSI, EBCDIC, window size, shortcuts (.lnk). The rest depend on features not yet built (below).

Different keys

The keys follow ZTreeWin's. The exceptions:

Function	ZTreeWin	xt
Configuration	Alt+F10	F12 or Alt+F10 (on GNOME, Alt+F10 maximizes the window and never reaches xt)
Move tagged	Ctrl+M	Ctrl+M in terminals with the kitty protocol; in others, F9 M (or Alt+M and F6)
- in the tree	unloads the branch from memory	only collapses (stays logged)
F2	(nothing)	rereads the directory, same as F3
F9	applications menu (not implemented)	Ctrl/Alt menus
F12	macros (not implemented)	configuration
/	same as ? (statistics)	Treespec, like \ (? still shows the statistics)
Ctrl+C, Ctrl+M in the tree	(nothing)	Copy/Move of the current directory's tagged files

All keys can be rebound under [keys] in config.toml.

Not implemented

• Tree: Global (G), Graft (Alt+G), Mirror (Alt+M), Oops (O, recover deleted files), Release/unload from memory (Alt+R, -, Ctrl+Backspace), Hide (Alt+H), Wash (Alt+W), Volume (Ctrl+V), F5/F6 (hide subdirectory levels), tag by attribute (Alt+T/U), Treespec in edit mode (F5, wildcards) and special folders (F6), type-ahead search with prompt (|) and active mode, drive switching (< and >).
• Files: Open in a new terminal window (Alt+O), Batch of the current file (Alt+B), JFC (J, compare the contents of two files), ZAAP (Y), sHortcut (H), Print (P), Rename with mask, find and replace and case change, owner/group (chown), Megaview (Ctrl+F7 in the file window), merge tagged files between windows (Ctrl+F6), Partial Untag (Ctrl+F8), copy path to the clipboard (Ctrl+Insert).
• General: macros (F12), applications menu (F9), bookmarks (F11, [ and ]), Quit and shell (Ctrl+Q), saving and loading the log (Zlist, Ctrl/Alt+Z), recycle bin, colors by name and attribute (ZCOLORS.INI), mouse, ZTreeWin command-line options, video commands (Alt+F6–F9).

License

xt is released under the MIT License.