elio
elio is a free, open-source terminal file manager with panes for Places, Files, and Preview.
What elio is
elio is a free, open-source terminal file manager with panes for Places, Files, and Preview. Users can navigate by keyboard or mouse and choose grid or list views. Its previews cover text, code, documents, archives, media, and other file types, with inline images in supported terminals. File actions include creating and extracting common archive formats, finding duplicates, and trashing, restoring, or permanently deleting items. Remote file access is supported. Shell wrappers for bash, zsh, fish, and Nushell can leave the shell in the browsed directory when elio exits, and an optional zoxide integration opens a picker based on recorded directory history. elio works without additional preview tools; optional Poppler, FFmpeg, resvg, and 7-Zip can add richer previews and archive support. Installation methods are listed for Arch, Fedora, Debian and Ubuntu-based Linux, macOS through Homebrew, FreeBSD, and Cargo. It can also be configured as the file chooser on Linux and FreeBSD.
Good
- Offers grid and list views with keyboard and mouse navigation.
- Previews documents, archives, media, and code.
- Supports archive creation and extraction.
- Can restore items from trash.
- Shell wrappers support four shells.
Watch out
- Inline images require a supported terminal.
- Richer previews and archive support may require optional tools.
- File chooser configuration is listed for Linux and FreeBSD.
Who it suits
elio suits people who prefer managing files from a terminal and want previews and common file operations in that setting. It is also relevant to users of Linux, macOS, Windows, or self-hosted setups.
Verdict
elio combines terminal navigation with broad previews, archive operations, and optional shell integrations. Users who want inline image previews should check that their terminal is among the supported options.
Plans and prices
From elio's own pricing page, checked 7 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| elio | Free | No paid plan or usage limits stated on the opened pages |
The facts
Each one read from elio's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Archive support
- Yeschecked 21 Sep 2026
- Dual-pane layout
- Nochecked 21 Sep 2026
- File chooser
- elio can be configured as the file chooser on Linux and FreeBSD.checked 7 Oct 2026
- File operations
- It supports creating and extracting common archive formats, duplicate finding, and trashing, restoring, or permanently deleting files.checked 7 Oct 2026
- File previews
- It previews text, code, documents, archives, media, and other file types, with inline image rendering in supported terminals.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Layout and navigation
- It has Places, Files, and Preview panes, grid and list views, and supports keyboard and mouse navigation.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Preview dependencies
- elio works out of the box, while optional Poppler, FFmpeg, resvg, and 7-Zip tools add richer previews and archive support.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Preview pane
- Yeschecked 21 Sep 2026
- Purpose
- elio is a terminal file manager with rich previews, inline images, bulk actions, and trash support.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Remote file access
- Yeschecked 21 Sep 2026
- Security reporting
- The project asks reporters to use GitHub private vulnerability reporting and says it aims to acknowledge new reports within 7 days.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Security scope
- The security policy describes elio as a local terminal file manager that does not run a server, accept remote logins, or intentionally process untrusted network requests.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Shell integration
- Shell wrappers for bash, zsh, fish, and Nushell can leave the shell in the directory browsed when elio exits.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Supported systems
- The install page lists packages or installation methods for Arch, Fedora, Debian and Ubuntu-based Linux, macOS through Homebrew, FreeBSD, and Cargo.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Support policy
- Security fixes are provided for the latest released version of elio.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Terminal compatibility
- Inline image previews are listed as supported in terminals including Kitty, Ghostty, Rio, Warp, WezTerm, iTerm2, Konsole, foot, and Windows Terminal.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Zoxide integration
- An optional zoxide integration opens an interactive picker based on recorded directory history.checked 7 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Linux support
- Yeschecked 21 Sep 2026
- macOS support
- Yeschecked 21 Sep 2026
- Windows support
- Yeschecked 21 Sep 2026
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